Over the last ten days we’ve had an out and out heatwave which is set to continue for another week. Not a single drop of rain has fallen, and although I’m boiling alive day and night, I have no intention of complaining. BUT…… wildlife is really suffering. The rescue is flooded with animals that are literally dying from thirst and after 24 hours of refreshments they are good to go again. So I’m leaving water out everywhere…..and am hoping all you guys are too….
Strangely, the rescue is also flooded with herring gull chicks. These birds are similar to ducklings in as much as they remain totally and utterly wild, however young they are when they come in. I think it’s probably because it’s important that both follow the mothers so the first face they see is the only one they will ever accept! Herring gulls are seriously vicious and we do have to be careful around them, especially as they get bigger!
Summer is the ideal time for playing out, and Hubs and I always walk an hour to this pub each week as the house martin’s nest there…..it’s fantastic watching them hatch and fledge….tiny aerial acrobats they are. This year the pub has been decorated and all the nests were removed, but after a good snooping session I found the new ones under the porch. Marvelous!
And the sunsets on the way home are to die for!
On the way back, we always cut across the fields, as the dogs simply love weaving through the long grasses and I just love the sound and feel of the rustling swaying plants, it always reminds me of my childhood. Sadly, I’ve just found out that the field is going to be built upon, so after all these years of cutting across it at dusk, this year may be our last….
The haystacks now litter the fields.
And the vibrant fields of rape are everywhere.
The pond is now TEEMING with tiny frogs, which are about half the size of my little finger nail….
And the swifts are everywhere….every time I see them on the wire I always think of the Leonard Cohen song….
Like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
A great mantra for me!
On our bike rides we always stop to say Hi to the lambs, which sure are getting big…..I always dread the day when they disappear though….
My hollyhocks are out, one of my favourite cottage garden plants.
Along with the first of my cucumbers.
Long walks in the pinewoods are back on the menu.
And the beach is a haven in this weather….as the sea breeze is so cooling.
Since we’ve had the dogs we’ve had real problems letting them off the lead as Sam always takes off following some scent or other, and Annie just runs in wider and wider circles trying to herd him. They can become dots in the distance in seconds and of course Sam always refuses to come back…..wayward he is! Now we only let Annie off and put Sam on an extending lead, hopefully once Annie is trained we can work on His Lordship!!! He may even learn from watching her! One can only hope!
All my seedlings are now in bloom along with Flighty’s marigolds…..
And Finally….I’ve now also decorated the porch! Yeay!!!! This is my lovely old cauldron that houses all sorts of rubbish….and the hat that acts as a lid is hubs Indiana Jones hat, the Indy hat for short. Every time he dons it an adventure is on the cards!!!
I’m glad you at least have this summer to enjoy your wavy grassy walk through the fields. And Sam and Annie seem to love it as well. I saw two neighbor dogs playing wildly in the front yard with a kind of frisbee toy, chasing, grabbing the frisbee, leaping over each other — reminded of your happy two 🙂
Look how lovely your flowers are! Even the cucumber blossoms look so summery and cheerful. Summer sunsets are the best, aren’t they?
Thanks Nikki……I will have to make the most of the grassy field…..sighs…..
Lol….those dogs sound wonderful to watch, there’s nothing like watching animals play, they do seem to know how to enjoy themselves don’t they.
I’m about to pick my first cucumber….marvelous. And Summer sunsets are, as you say, simply the best!xxxx
I love seeing the little frogs when they’re so tiny! It’ll be such a shame when they build on the summer walk home xx
I love the little frogs too, we have HUNDREDS at the moment, then suddenly they all disappear….
Oh….the POOR field!!! xxxx
What a lovely area you have to explore. A shame about the field, so many are disappearing, I wonder what will be left for wildlife in the end.
I do like the cauldron with the Indy hat as a lid.
Yes…..the wildlife is being increasing driven out isn’t it, I wonder what future generations will get to see….
Lol….I DO love the Indy hat!!! xxxx
Yes it really is so hot, I’m making sure I leave lots of water out. Its nice to have the weather to be able to sit out in the evenings though or like you go out for walks. I’m not going to complain, we’ve been sun-starved for the last two years.
Oh Annie….the evenings are delicious aren’t they, I can’t remember weather like this for years…..we’re going to have an Indian summer by the looks of it!xxxx
Do you live in Norfolk? I seem to recognise the pine woods and beach. We don’t seem to have had so many swifts and house martins returning this year – the sky is usually full of them. We moved from our last house because of all the building work that was beginning to surround us, it left us nowhere to walk our dog.
I live in Formby Elaine, just outside of Liverpool, so we have several beaches around and lots of countryside.
How awful that you actually had to MOVE……greenbelt doesn’t stay greenbelt for long around here which is a real shame!xxxx
Good morning Dina…..Your posts are always so enriching. I love them and agree so much with your sentiments about life.
Yes, it is hot everywhere, but we are also being blessed with the beautiful flowers that sunshine brings. Very important to keep water out for animals and also for us to drink!
Keep cool my friend, and keep making life beautiful:)xxxx
Thanks Janet….it#s still boiling here but the garden is loving it and everything is really growing madly!!!xxxx
Thanks Sam….oh Summer is fabulous isn’t it? if only it lasted longer, and it’s been years since we’ve had any sunshine.
I LOVE swifts, and really like the way they loiter on the wire!xxxx
What a wonderful post. Summertime is wonderful, especially when you live in such a beautiful area. Amazing pics, especially the Swifts on a wire. xx
Yes, plenty of water in the garden for wildlife.
Your plants are doing well 🙂
Sad to hear of yet another housing estate being built on farmland…when will they learn?
Your porch looks great – what a WONDERFUL cauldron! Hope you’ve got a good besom ready for Halloween 😉
Rose H
x
Thanks Rose….yes, our wildlife does need to drink. I remember coming home after a holiday only to fine dead hedgehogs on the lawn, they’d died from a lack of water.
Sighs….when all the greeery has gone, then they’ll learn and have to start creating it all over again….
Lol…I’m ALWAYS sorted for Halloween!xxxx
what a lovely post and such gorgeous pictures… how tragic that the beautiful field is to be built on…
Sounds such a lovely thing to do – walk to the pub through the countryside….
The beach looks wonderful! Ours is all pebbly and littered with thousands of people all the time….;)
Hope Sam learns to come when you call him etc so you can let him off the lead eventually…
I have been filling the ‘pond’ sculpture each day by my house… lots of bees drink from it…! But yes, I’ve been thinking about the creatures needing a drink in this hot weather.xxxx
Thanks Arose….I will miss my field of long grass dreadfully…..especially the bats that flit about …..
I know you’d love the walk to this pub, and then to sit there with a beer and just watch the birds zipping about, wonderful it it!
I love pebbly beaches too…but not the thousands of people….of course I don’t count as people!!! When I’m in a traffic jam I always moan…I forget that I’m the traffic jam….anyway…I digress…Lol
Sam….I despair!!! That dog!!!! A law onto himself he is.
Oh…I like the sound of your pond sculpture….and y’know, I’ve NEVER seen a bee drink water, how very interesting!xxxx
Lovely summer post, SnowBird! The pups look peppy, the garden looks to be thriving, and the porch is divine…happy for all the wildlife you’re helping and sorry for the dreadful heat; we’re having it, too, and I’m setting out lots of extra water dishes.
I do wish every field didn’t have to turn a profit for developers…
Thank you for the glorious tour…I LOVE your hollyhocks! Joy to your week and hopes for cooler temperatures…maybe your darling will surprise you and don his Indy hat
You and me both Kitty re developers making a quick buck…here they seem to have Councillors in their pockets! I seem to spend my life signing petitions to protect greenbelt land that is supposed to be protected anyway!
But….the summer is a lovely time to enjoy nature and that’s what I’m doing….and it’s great for the dogs too……I’m glad you’re where you are looking after your stunning wildlife too…they do need all the help they can get don’t they? It’s a case of extremes where you live isn’t it….you’ve had to battle to keep the birds alive in the winter by de-icing the snow….now it’s a battle to keep water from drying!!!
Lol….hubs is off for a few days now….so who knows re the Indy hat!!! Thanks Kitty.xxxx
I’m enjoying catching up on your Summer activities and stories. The mention of swifts reminds me of those in Italy that were whizzing about flying high and very low around the house in the late afternoons and much to quick to capture on camera.
Thanks Linda. Oh swifts….AND in Italy….sighs…..I have never caught a swift in flight either….only ever on the wire!
I do think they are the most amazing little birds, and to think they fly all the way to Africa! xxxx
A great flow of activities and natural growth.
Your cucumbers are well on. Mine, if that’s what I’ve got, are producing leaves and nowt else. Your leaves look similar, so maybe I do have cucumbers trying hard to produce. I do wonder if they’ll have time to develop. It really was not warm enough to plant anything in any shape or form till mid May. My cold frame was created a couple of weeks later.
You now need a choosing hat to keep the cauldron warm when Indy hat is being worn.
If the weather keeps up I’m sure your plants will develop too. Your weather was so much worse than ours, and my plants were well behind this year, even in the greenhouse….I think the heat has given everything a real spurt. Here’s to you getting cucumbers!!!!
Now….WHAT is a choosing hat???? eh???? xxxx
I’m concerned about wildlife in the heat, too, with so many of their natural sources of water drying up. I’m sorry to hear that the field is being built on, it does seem that wildlife is being pushed into small corners, doesn’t it? And it does look and sound lovely walking there on a warm ,summer evening. The beach looks inviting, too – I wish we had a sandy beach near to us. My dog would love it!
It is a shame how little land is left for wildlife, and now we have animals like foxes and herring gulls increasingly coming into urban areas feeding on food left lying around. Most fields are farmed so it’s a real pity that our field is being developed, the bats and all sorts of other animals love it.
It’s incredible how quickly a lack of water can kill animals isn’t it, even ponds dry quickly in this weather.
Oh….you and your dog would love Formby beach, with all it’s woods and fields and dunes…..it really is lovely. Thanks Wendy.xxxx
Hollyhocks are a favorite of mine also but I had to stop growing them because there was such a bad problem with rust.
I had a terrible rust problem too, in previous years, but this year it seems to have gone away…the slugs are gobbling the leaves though! xxxx
There are so many lovely stories here… interwoven with some really beautiful pictures. I know, it is sad when a nice field is taken for building, but that’s part of the passing of time and development. Still, you seem to have such a beautiful environment. And envisioning the two of you walking together to the pub sounds almost like fairy tale bliss. I’m so happy for you both, and wish you both a very beautiful summer.
Awwwww….thanks Shimon. If my pictures are improving it’s thanks to your posts!!! Yes….so many patches of land are taken each year….one minute it’s greenbelt and the next it’s sold off…..
We are lucky where we live, we’re minutes from lot’s of beaches, and can be in the countryside quickly too, which is great!
Ahhhh, yes, hubs and I do love our walks and the dogs enjoy them too which makes them all the more special. xxxx
A joyously Summery post…despite the ‘hapless’ wildlife! Remarkable how Nature facilitates survival…even if/when the human species finds Nature’s Way a harsh way – sometimes.
Lovely vibrant pictures D! Hugs! :)xx
Thanks Bushka, the seasons are so strange now I don’t think wildlife have a clue ….. We are starting to get baby hogs in now, two months late….the Autumn hog breeding season is already a problem waiting to happen….
But….here’s to the glorious weather….it’s been a while since we’ve seen sunshine like this and everyone is outdoors which is a nice change.xxxx
We have been putting water out for the birds and it needs topping up often – the baby woodpeckers are using it as a bath!
Cucumbers looking good..
Oh my…..you are just plain showing off ….Lol….says I all green eyed!!!!xxxx
Lovely post again, gorgeous pics – shame they are going to build on that green space 🙁 Love the cauldron! You’ve been a very busy girl and I hope you’re enjoying the fruits of your labours xx
Thanks Gilly….yes, I will miss my field of long grass, I have so many fond memories of it.
Hubs calls the cauldron my witches brew!xxxx
A most enjoyable post with lots of interesting pictures. I especially like the one of the swifts.
Good to see your flowers in bloom including my ‘favourites’, and thanks for the mention. xx
Thanks Flighty….more and more of your marigolds are blooming by the day, they are lovely!xxxx
Your evening walk looks wonderful, such a shame that building is on the cards though. It’s been the same here this year, a new housing estate has gone up in a field where we used to take Archie. We can’t even get through now, so a lovely circular walk has now turned in to a walk there and back, we have to turn heel and walk back the way we came. I’m loving the weather we’re having at the moment, but I can see that some animals will suffer. I think we usually remember to feed animals but giving them a drink is often forgotten.
Oh how sad Jo, and there’s nothing worse than making a dog turn around and go back the way it came, it is so much more boring isn’t it…..
I’ve heard this hot weather is going to last until the end of August which will create real problems for wildlife, especially hedgehogs. Water does make such a difference, it’s literally a matter of life and death to wild animals….my bowls are growing by the day!!! xxxx
It’s always sad when a bit of green land is built on uisn’t it?
It is Sue, I know more houses are required but that means less and less space for wildlife.xxxx