Gardening

 The weather seems to be starting to dry a little and, though still cool, it is looking good to start work in the garden this year.

The bed near the pond on the path side is showing a lot of one year old foxgloves.  That is promising to look good in the late Spring and Summer months.

I have tidied up the greenhouse ready to prep it for the new years planting.  All of the displaced glass panes have been re-set and the next job is going to be to clean the windows.

The tomatoes are starting to germinate, and I have a couple of courgettes showing first growth.  When they have true leaves, they will be individually re-potted and grown on ready to be planted out in their final growing pots.

My experiment with inexpensive badger fencing, using canes and chicken wire has had mixed success.  I have stripped it out on two beds and I am now looking for an alternative secure fencing solution to keep the badgers from damaging our crops.

The next task is doing something with the old fencing.  I can use some of the canes for plant support and half of the chicken wire is fit to use again, if we need it!  I have also recovered a lot of tent pegs.

This is the first step to sorting out the garden - the next task is to sort out some of the planting beds to bring them back under control.  Let's have a cup of tea first......

Westport Lake Walk

 Ah! a dry day in all of the wet days..... lets go for a walk.

The lakeside walks are moderately small and very interesting, including diverse bird habitats and a good cafe. The car park machines also work more efficiently if you pay by coin.

Today the most sound was that of Canada Geese, who are often found around and within the waters of the big lake.

At present, the big numbers are made up of Black Headed Gulls, and they are just starting to show the summer plumage.

Tufted ducks seem to be there in larger than usual numbers, the males are black and white with a head tuft and the females are a dark brown colour.

The Trent and Mersey Canal runs at the side of the lakes and close to the cafe.  There are often boats moored there waiting for the times for the Harecastle Tunnel just west of the site and there is often an oatcake narrowboat at this mooring.

Just along the mooring is one boat that is flying a yellow flag with 3 inverted horseshoes and two hanging sheep and 3 yellow chevrons at the base.  I cannot find reference to this flag and wondering if anyone recognises it.

Snow and water

 Winter weather has finally arrived, with temperatures of -5 degrees Celsius and a covering of snow.

This is a night shot using my Nikon D3200 with a 18-105 Nikkor DX lens and illuminated by our new LCD outdoor lamps.

In the morning the snow was a little thicker and the temperature was closer to freezing at 0 degrees Celsius.  The drive has just been scraped and salted to make life easier for extracting the car from the garage.

We have just attended a family funeral and on our journey, we stopped off at Carsington Water for refreshments and a short walk.  I was surprised to see the level of the Reservoir so low at this time of year.  The vegetation on the exposed lakebed was significant and well established - that does not bode well for the new year.

In my camera cupboard I have had a Nikkor AF 70-300mm ED lens which I have not used for many years, so I thought I would give it a go....

Ah! - does anyone want a free Nikon zoom lens?  Hardly used.....

Pre Christmas Adventures

The three days leading up to Christmas Eve are usually days of preparation, so the shopping trips also include other visits to places of interest and walks out. 

Bakewell Church Christmas Tree festival is an annual event which shows off trees decorated by local clubs, schools, services and businesses.  It is always a worthwhile adventure, but this year the Chancel display is out of bounds to visitors, following a stress break in one of the roof beams.

This is James Bazley, "The Jester From Chester" doing his stuff at Little Morton Hall.  He is always a good act and the crowds enjoy his merry antics.

The big act at Little Moreton is the Renaissance Collective, PIVA. They were running through their Tudor songs and music repertoire and entertaining a significant crowd in the main hall.  This event always lifts our spirits.

Red Kite over the Staffordshire Moorlands.  These birds are becoming more common to the Northeast of Stoke-on-Trent.

We also saw some Teal, which are another "not so common" visitor to the Staffordshire landscape.

And we could not go into the Christmas season without seeing the Red Pandas at Peak Wildlife Park. They are very placid and trusting, and a joy to photograph.

Merry Christmas

Gladstone Pottery Museum Photo-session

 

The Gladstone Museum on a wet day is a bit of a bind.  Everything is slippery and the bottle ovens are exposed to the weather inside.  Still, there are techniques for producing good photos of life in the past.

These two images show a woman walking towards a Magic Lantern Show.  The first one is the original photo and the second one is the same imaged enhanced for quality.  Light levels and exposure have been adjusted to give a better overall image.

This image can then be converted to monochrome and made to look like an old Black and White image.

Of course, a later show is also attracting an audience, especially as it is raining.

Inside the showroom is a bit more tricky as the lighting is low. Here, the Magician is setting his show up at the start of the proceedings, before the lanterns are lit on the back of the screens to generate the shadow images of the main show.

Outside is the opportunity to purchase an elixir or two to help with all sorts of ailments.

And, of course, there is always someone to sell cakes and pies for a penny or two.  What a good day out.

Goosanders

In recent years, the number of Goosanders seen at Westport Lake in Stoke-on-Trent has increased considerably.  These are predatory fish eaters and they have a long and thin, serrated edged beak.

Notice the sharp edge between the brown and white feathers on the neck.  A near relative species, the Merganser has a merged margin to these neck colours and it shows a less distinct boarder.

Goosanders hunt in packs, perhaps 2-6 birds swimming in a row. This strategy is very well organized.

The hunting birds swim quickly forward with their heads in the water.  This enables them to see and fish in the catch zone and allows them to select suitable prey that they can swallow whole.  Any fish that divert to the side may be caught by one of the other pack members.

Goosanders can move faster on the surface than they can swim under water, so this method of hunting allows then to cover a larger area of lake or river very quickly.  They will dive for food.

The local gulls tend to keep out of the way of this organized hunt.  They tend to compete rather than cooperate in food gathering.

You cannot watch birds on Westport Lake without spotting groups of Tufted ducks.  These are part of the resident community.

Grey Herons are also a likely bird to see.  There is usually the odd one perched on a tree or rock, often resting after a successful hunt. Herons are opportunists and ambush predators.

Hedgehog

This afternoon we spotted a Hedgehog foraging on the garden.  This is a rare event these days.

It was finding small insects in the lawn and especially along the side of the greenhouse base wall.

It looked healthy and when it had finished its feeding, it disappeared under the Laurel bush and probably went in to the thick vegetation on the front garden.

The whole event was observed by Pumpkin, the cat from across the road.

There is a lot of respect on our garden between the local pets and the wildlife.  I hope the hedgehog is well hidden for when the Badgers make an appearance later in the Night.