2015

After many months of collecting any wood that we might be able to use to surface our paths we have enough to justify hiring a chipper. The machine is due to arrive before the end of the week. Experience taught us that trying to drag a petrol driven chipper along our paths to where the piles... read more

After finding a damselfly in the kitchen earlier this month , today I was surprised to see a cricket on the kitchen window frame. It was just after 17:25 that I spotted it, as I had come in to prepare our meal. At first I tried searching for images of "grasshopper" but my example ... read more

Having found our inspiration for our Viewing Platform back in June, things had moved on. With the work on the decking around the house completed Roger was waiting for me to lay the foundations for the the platform he is to build. Sand and paving slabs had been delivered and I had been busy t... read more

Close to the house the path round the grounds has a topping of wood chippings which are prevented from spreading with logs placed on each side of the path. It was the first time that I recall ever seeing a lizards, but that is clearly what they were, sunbathing on the logs. read more

In front of the house work continued on the construction of our "cart shed" or garage to those of a less rural persuasion! As the time for an afternoon tea break arrived I brough the drinks out to the side of the house near the newly constructed decking and spotted perhaps the biggest ... read more

In my excitement of posting about the Small Emerald Moth yesterday, I forgot to mention that at just after 08:00 yesterday morning I took a photo of the apparently injured juvenile moorhen seen seen four days ago . This time it was in the dinghy moored by the step in the new decking, holdin... read more

This afternoon just before 16:00 I was talking with David, our builder, when he drew my attention to what at first I took to be a butterfly resting on the gravel beside us, but not a variety I recognised. As ever, I had to research this one and it seems it is a Small Emerald Moth . It appea... read more

This morning, just after 09:20, I wandered out to the "lawn" - it's still a patch of mud beside the new decking - to take a photo of a young bird that was not behaving normally. It seems to have an injured leg and allowed me to get quite close. read more

This evening, just after 19:00 a damselfly flew into our kitchen through the open door. That's not quite "the grounds" which is where this post appears, but it did seem right to post it here as it's where all the other wildlife pictures appear. I call it a damselfly, as I understa... read more

If you've been following the Lake Views for July you'll have seen that the work on the decking had been completed by 27 July. However, it was not until today that we might have called the work complete. It's not just that the timber is all in place, but extra soil has been brought in to fi... read more

Apart from the vegetation, on which my comments normally concentrate, there are other changes to note this month. You'll see that the first photo, taken on the 3 July, is the last I took with the pergola under the bedroom window still in place. Looking back I realise that it is strange that... read more

Just one image today, taken at close of work. The basic quay heading is complete, although the step is still to be constructed. The tie rods are also sunk into the ground, and the first of the boards to form the inner rail for the decking is in place. read more

I didn't take a photograph at the end of the first day's work on the decking, but as I opened the bedroom curtains this morning I grabbed my camera to take photographs of the swan family that came cruising into view from behind the cottages. You can see their tracks amongst the lilies! The ... read more

It's was around 10 weeks ago we realised that the decking around the lawn was rotten enough to require replacement before the wedding. Luckily Roger was available to do the job. The new timber was delivered last week and work started today. Over the last few weeks, as we discovered boards t... read more

It was a warm dry night a week ago and for some reason Diana decided to pop outside and walk down the path beside the lake. When she came back she asked me to come out with her again. We took a few steps down the chippings path beside the decking and then she got me to look in the undergrowth to... read more