Home working neighbours
We moved to the mill nine months ago and part of the pleasure of living here is the wildlife we spot from our windows – no need even to put on a coat and go outside!
There are no sheep at the moment, they were moved after the ram had done his business, so we’re looking forward to their return with lambs in a couple of months. The chickens are the sole occupants of the field and very straggly some of them are. I keep meaning to find out if they are battery farm retirees. If so it must be a mind-blowing experience to come from a cooped -up existence to all this green freedom.
I have seen the occasional fly and ladybird in the house throughout the winter and today there are midges dancing in the sunshine over the mill race. Long may this mild weather last.
A has seen a kingfisher flash past, and enjoys the dippers as they chomp up insects in the wall along the river, but the king of the mill is the heron, pictured here from our kitchen window waiting patiently for fish. It’s used to us now and doesn’t fly away immediately when we leave the house, pausing for a while before flapping languidly away upriver to settle on a treetop and wait for us to leave it in peace. I say king, and we always refer to it as a he for some reason, but it could equally well be a sheron, couldn’t it?
How wonderful 🙂 Just trying to imagine the heron on the bird feeder on my study window, pushing all the blue tits out the way!
It is wonderful, Paul, and we’re hoping the otters might return when the mill race is dredged this year.
Judging by the way the heron swallows fish, I imagine it might just gulp down the whole birdfeeder!
Beautiful, Judy; how incredible it is to be able to get so close to nature!
It’s an amazing place and we feel very lucky to be able to spend some time here 🙂