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Glorious weather today – sat outside in my backyard this afternoon with a glass of Gavi and watched a wren (I think) darting in and out of its nest under the soffit of my house.
Took a closer look and was impressed by its nest - and saw the lovely little creature looking back at me.
Zooming in - can you see him?
Even managed to capture it flying back to the nest with food – not bad for an i-phone.
Elsewhere, the white Desdemona roses in my pots have started to bloom.
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It was a day of pruning for me. I’ve a normal job so during the days isn’t possible. The events were usually rain the last weeks so I’m now in damage control mode. The chickens eat most of the weed I remove from the garden.
Try mixing chilli powder in with the food. Birds don’t mind but the squirrel will.
I bought some cheap powder from Amazon and it worked from me.
I picked this tip up from the RSPB site so have confidence that it should be safe.
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Today my wife and I took a drive down to Gothenburg and the Botanical Garden. The garden was established in 1923 and has grown over time, there are now over 20,000 different plant species from more than 130 countries.
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Lovely, one of my absolute bucket list things is the Botanic Gardens at Kirstenbosch, that and a super long train journey
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I’m tempted to ask how the RSPB know the birds don’t mind, and I’m not sure I want to check the results out on my roof, drive and patio 
…food for thought though.
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Shoot it instead
A few weeks ago we spotted a rat (of the non-furry tailed variety) on our bird feeder. The chilli powder trick did seem to work, but it needs careful handling to mix it thoroughly. I found it most effective when sprinkling it around the feeder, but that requires regular re-application, especially after rain.
I’m currently pondering a design to mount the feeder on a metal post. A fairly thin one should be impossible for them to climb.
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Using chilli powder around bird feeders will attract Mexican Squirrels!
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Lovely, Ian. You deserve a glass or two after that effort.
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Thanks Isca …looking forward to a nice red and some music
Wishing you a good evening and weekend …loved seeing your garden pics up thread.
I am more music room as you know but its been lovely looking through this section in the lounge
Cheers Ian
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A couple of before and after photos.
Strimmed and raked the wildflower patch of the Green last autumn and threw in some extra seeds…
The same patch this summer…
Though the nigella dominates, the white and blues look lovely together.
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Put some more sunflower seeds out for the goldfinches because they were all gone, and see the noisy green things scoffing it, then they sit in the tree mocking me after I have chased them off, waiting for another opportunity. Conversely, I don’t mind the woodpecker, but he is too alert to be photographed on a phone.
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The traditional cherry picking Is very meagre this year, we had lots of rain and storms with little opportunity to mature
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Jumped when I saw this little critter a few feet today as I salvaged some old planters/pots from a wilder area of the garden.
Young rat I assume. Breathing very heavily but moving, though clearly not well enough to run away.
30 minutes later it was on its side with flies on the fur.
Assumed nature would take over. Went out shopping as I really didn’t want to touch it unless I had to.
Had gone a few hours later, most likely devoured by the aggressive gulls nesting on our chimneys.
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