Car Boot Sale.

Pete looked out of the window and saw this sparrowhawk eating one of the jackdaws. I hope it won't become a regular visitor to the garden as they go for all the little birds. The jackdaw was probably one of the birds that nested in the attic. When it was feeding time, upstairs it would sound like Hitchcock's 'The Birds'. Last year it was one nest, this year it was several including one in one of the chimney pots. Better not light a fire in the kitchen.

It was another sunny day today though with more cloud than yesterday. I took the opportunity to go to the Sunday afternoon car boot sale. It's held out in a field and is so big that it took me 2 hours to walk around. The car boot sale is the place to hear languages other than English possibly because recent economic migrants are on low wages and know it is a excellent place to buy things cheaply. Last week I seemed to hear people speaking in Lithuanian at every turn. Mine and Peter's parents came from Lithuania after the war though we were both born in the UK.( Pete in London and myself in Cornwall). Though Pete is fluent, I understand and speak only a little so I have never introduced myself to anyone I hear speaking the language and they do sound like quite a rough lot. We have a lot of Lithuanian migrants in the area who came to work here after Lithuania joined the EU. When we first came to Devon I don't think anyone in Devon had even heard of Lithuania.

A country lane on the way to the car boot sale.

The afternoon sun across my neighbour's field.

Part of the garden.

'Goodnight'

Petrol the old-fashioned way.

The sun was shining this morning so I started the day with coffee in the garden, joined by Patch who was hoping that I had something to eat as well. As I wasn't going in to work I thought I would combine a trip to Tesco with a visit to the dump and buy petrol on the way there. This highly efficient plan was foiled by the only garage on the way having a problem with its pumps so no petrol. After getting rid of more stuff at the dump, hooray! and doing some veg shopping, I negotiated the clogged Ilfracombe High street only to find that there was a tanker delivering fuel to the garage there and the garage was closed. I took the scenic costal route to Combe Martin and got petrol from the little independent garage there. This was the first time I've had someone fill the car for me ,(just like in old films), I was quite surprised. On the way I took the opportunity to take a few North Coast photos.

Rock formations at Hele bay.

Looking up the Bristol Channel from Hele Bay.

On clear days Wales can be seen on the horizon.

Looking along the coast near Combe Martin.
The first headland is known as Great Hangman.

This Red Damselfly joined me as I sat outside to eat my lunch. At 2" long it was not as impressive as the 4" long, yellow and black Emperor Dragonfly that sat on my hand for 5 minutes last week. I was desperately hoping that someone would come by to pass me my camera but nope. I was keeping a close eye on its mechanical looking jaws in case it wanted to see what my skin tasted like but it eventually flew away. The lenses of the eyes were like big blobs of glass .

An Evening with the Wild Indians.

Last night I went to the WI aka Wild Indians. When we first moved here I decided that I would go to any group that I was invited to. So when our second visitor was a neighbour inviting me to the local Women's Institute meeting I thought "Why not?" . In those days there were only 12 of us so we were able to meet in each other's homes. A great way to get to know people. Now we are usually 20 and we meet in the local village hall. I'm not conventional or a jam and Jerusalem person but I've found that our group fosters gentle relationships and is extremely supportive. The regular meetings are for some their main social activity, I'm in this group because away from work I'm perfectly happy at home either with my family or alone. Some, especially older members are alone by circumstance and not by choice. We support each other through illness and loss and also have a lot of fun. There are some very lively minds with interesting ideas. When we get together for joint group meetings apologies for absence are just as likely to be X is researching weaving in India or at an origami function in Japan (real examples) as ... visiting family up country. One member will be going trekking in Thailand for several months next year! Anyway last night's speaker was a lady from a local garden centre talking about 'Autumn Colour'. She had brought lots of plants with her but few of them inspired me. They were mostly shrubs with leaves that turn purple/red but I look for more beauty in the shape of the plant and the way the light shines through the leaves. I can't resist grasses and their flowering spikes. She did bring along an acer but not as nice as either of the 2 that I grow in pots.

She also confirmed that many plants have flowered very late this year or not at all due to the dismal weather we've had this summer. The passionflower growing around the porch has only just started to flower. If the mild temperatures continue there should be lots more flowers.

This is the gateway on the lane where Romas gets the college bus. The sun was shining this morning and as we drove up there on the fence was a Barn Owl.

It is not often we see the owls and to have one sitting there in the daylight was a definite photo opportunity. The farmer whose fields come down to the back of the house has created a wildlife sanctuary in the ruins of some old farm buildings. He's planted more native trees and has a nest box for Barn Owls in one of the barns. We often hear the owls in the evenings, sometimes it's like an overdone Disney film with all the whoo whooing, but we don't see them so often.

"What! Are you looking at me?"

Another easy afternoon at school today. Especially as I had to teach the same PE lesson and RE lesson as yesterday. It gave me time to concentrate on getting to know the children. And GOOD NEWS - it is now official, I will be teaching the reception class full-time in the spring and summer terms to cover maternity leave. I will get to know the children this term when I teach them for 1 afternoon each week and there will be lots of opportunities to liaise with their current teacher who is a lovely girl and extremely well organised. All the planning will be in place and I should have the chance to go on some relevant courses this term. How good is life?

Water is key

After such a long hot summer and the dreadful heat (there's no other word for it) of the last 3 weeks, water in the garden is essential for the 'backyard' wildlife.






















The birdbath and the two additional dishes on the ground are avidly visited by birds of all sorts, squirrels, and perhaps even a chipmunk or two. I surprised a chipmunk returning from my walk a couple of mornings ago. This evening, a blue jay, not a usual visitor to the birdbath, was taking a drink.

With natural water in such short supply, it's interesting to observe how much our 'backyard' critters rely on the water we provide. It's a bit of work keeping the birdbath and dishes clean and filled up almost on a daily basis, but nice to see how it's being used so much.

I just wish it would rain. It's so odd that there are floods and continuous downpours in the Midwest, and we're in the worst heat recorded historically. The heat's so extreme, the drought isn't mentioned so much in the media, yet. Those of us who are gardeners and outdoors people realize how bad it really is. It means that fruits don't develop, leaves drop off prematurely, and lots of people who aren't noticing are going to lose plants in their landscapes.