May 19th – White Horse

Whilst walking the 4 legged children I often stop and just take in the view. Today’s photo is of the Westbury (or Bratton) White Horse, which can just be seen in the distance on a clear day.

It is located on the edge of Bratton Downs and lying just below an Iron Age hill fort, it is the oldest of several white horses carved in Wiltshire. It was restored in 1778, an action which may have obliterated another horse that had occupied the same slope. A contemporary engraving from the 1760s appears to show a horse facing in the opposite direction that was rather smaller than the present figure. There is, however, no documentation or other evidence for the existence of a chalk horse at Westbury before 1742.

The horse is 180 feet (55 m) tall and 170 feet (52 m) wide and has been adopted as a symbol for the town of Westbury, appearing on welcome signs and the logo of its tourist information centre. It is also considered a symbol for Wiltshire as a whole.

May 18th – Queues

The new normal? I’m not sure how many will agree with this observation, but since the 2m rule, people seem a lot more chilled and easy going.

The queues I have been in are generally well ordered, and people tend to chat to others in the line. No pushing and shoving. Let’s hope it continues after restrictions ease. We’re all in this together.

May 17th – Upcycling

I have always hated waste, and throwing things away to rot in landfill. I’d rather give things away free of charge rather than dump them.

Today’s picture is the start of an upcycling project being embarked on by my wife.

An old glass table has been rubbed down, painted and a mosaic design has started. I will let you know how it turns out.

May 16th – Memories

Again, love it or hate it, Facebook does pop up some memories which takes us back to different events.

This time last year we were a few days into our Motorhome trip up to Scotland, and the weather was great. We took the woofers on a lovely walk on the Northumberland coast.

Sitting here in lock-down, we’d dearly love to be on the road again, but c’est la vie, we are going to be cautious and stay put. It seems silly to put ourselves at risk, and would we really be able to relax? Better to wait for when things really get back to normal.

Today’s photo’s is of our 2 Flatties on that trip. Stay safe friends x

May 15th – Night-time guests

We closed our B&B over 18 months ago but we still get guests that haven’t pre-booked turn up. This little chap tried to check in, but the 4 legged children said “NO!!” After that it was a little camera shy

These little critters are in decline, and we don’t get to see them often. If you find them in your garden best leave them alone, unless they are obviously injured. A good article on how to care for them can be found here.

Quite a few years ago when we had 2 springers and 1 cocker spaniel, the dogs took a while to come back in after their final wee before bed. We went out to find an almost perfect circular moat of mud around a tuft of grass with a hedgehog sat atop.

Stay safe ….

May 14th – Help required??

You may be able to help. Alfie, our Large Munsterlander has a problem. The symptoms? Well he says that he occasionally has a syndrome which increases the weight of his head. It’s so bad, he needs to rest his chin on something.

After much observation, this syndrome seems to be triggered by nice smells coming from ‘uman foodz’ to quote Alfie. This was his excuse when a tray of blueberry muffins were removed from the oven, and he needed to rest his fat head on the table.

Does anyone else’s pet has this syndrome?

May 12th – Where are the strings?

I got another slap for this comment when my eagle eyed wife said “look at the Red kites”. Not my best photo, as they were very high, but nice to see anyway.

After being almost wiped out in the UK, a re-introduction programme was launched. In 1989, six Swedish birds were released at a site in north Scotland and four Swedish and one Welsh bird in Buckinghamshire. Altogether, 93 birds of Swedish and Spanish origin were released at each of the sites, with the last birds released in 1993 in Scotland and 1994 in England. 

The first successful breeding was recorded at both sites in 1992, and two years later kites reared in the wild themselves reared young for the first time. Successful breeding populations have become established in both locations.

These early successes justified the next stages of the programme with the aim to produce five self-sustaining breeding populations of red kites in Britain by year 2000. The eventual aim is to ensure that the red kite breeding population expands to colonise all suitable habitat throughout the UK.

May 11th – Price of property

Two deer …. Sorry – Couldn’t resist the dad joke….

Today’s photo was taken whilst walking the hounds from hell, who thankfully didn’t see them. It is so nice to be out and about in the countryside, looking for wildlife like these guys.

Obviously, you don’t see wildlife on every trip, especially when you have dogs as they have a tendency to make themselves known, and the other critters hide. Not only that, if you saw them every day, it would no longer be special.

May 10th – Building without planning permission!

We have been having a coffee in the morning out the front, and have noticed a very industrious builder incredibly close to the house……

OK – There’s a pair of pigeons constantly in and out of our hedge, and I am not sure about building a nest? The amount of work and material they take in I reckon they are building a block of flats. Even the dogs were jealous of some of the sticks they were carrying.

Pigeons aren’t my favourite bird, but I am starting to like these nest builders as it has given me a great excuse not to trim the hedge. I hope your nests are tidier after this lock-down. Stay safe, happy and healthy.