The Old Post Box

You might be interested to know that along with our house being Grade II listed, so is the post box which is in the wall attached to house. The wall is also listed. This autumn a few of the corner stones had fallen out and the pointing was starting to crumble, so I gave the wall a quick make over and pointed up the stones.



Flying Scotsman coming to Minehead

Exciting news for anyone who loves steam engines. The West Somerset Railway along with two other heritage lines, The Bluebell Railway and Keighley and Worth Valley has announced it will be hosting the world's most famous steam locomotive LNER 4-6-2 no 60103 Flying Scotsman  at the beginning of September 2017. After weeks of judging, the heritage railways selected were informed on Friday 18 November after a selection process undertaken by the National Railway Museum in partnership with Riley & Son (E) Ltd.

Paul Conibeare, General Manager at West Somerset Railway, said: "We're proud to have been selected as one of only three heritage railways to host Flying Scotsman in 2017 and are looking forward to promoting a successful and safe event".
Tickets will be for sale from the middle of February, so if you are planning a holiday in September 2017, look at the WSR website for further details.

Golden Guernsey Goats

This year we bought two Golden Gurnsey goats from Penfold goats in Devon and we have called then Rodney and Sidney. They are so friendly that they follow you around like a dog and even wag their tails! I have been finding it hard to take a photograph of them because everytime I turn up with a camera they come bounding over to see me. However the other goats aren't too keen on these youngsters, so it is taking some time to get them settled and to learn to avoid Bessie who has head butted them a few times, which is not good as she has horns.



Lots of Birds

This year has we have had an abundance of Sparrows and Swallows, also Housemartins have nested under the thatched roof above the holiday cottage door. Our Swallows have hatched young twice this year in all the old buildings, but soon they will be leaving us and an eerie silence will descend and then I know winter will be on its way.

New Fence

A couple of weeks ago when the ducks were in the cottage orchard we had a fox attack one sunny afternoon. I had fed the ducks at lunchtime by the pond and in the afternoon when I went to get them out of the orchard one of the Trout Indian Runner ducks was missing. I searched everywhere, there were no feathers or any sign of attack, but I came to the conclusion she must have been taken by a fox. The most vulnerable part of the orchard is the hedge along the road, so we have invested in a new small mesh fence and we have also improved the electric fencing which is along the river. In time the hedge will grow through the mesh. I just hope that we can now keep the ducks safe.

Wildlife

I have always fed the birds with peanuts and seed, but this year I started having problems with squirrels coming into the garden and eating all the food, so I thought I would invest in some squirrel proof feeders. I think this photo demostrates how they are not a deterent to the young squirrels.

New Rock Garden

I have been deliberating for some time on what to do with a small overgrown flowerbed in the garden. It had a very large Hypericom Hidcote shrub growing in it, which had a holly bush and brambles growing through it, and it also obscured a view up the garden. I also have the problem of one lawn being raised higher than the other, therefore making it difficult to merge the two. I have decided to have a raised bed built with local stone created between the two lawns and I will plant it with rock garden plants, which should enjoy being in the sun all day during the summer. Here is a photo of the area cleared of the shrub, a pampas grass and some ferns ready for us to start the work.