Tales from a down-shifted family
- Making the most of modest means
Morgan and I had a nice little walk through the dunes earlier. We were actually wandering across to the beach to check out what was happening with the RSPB Shear Madness. Unfortunately there wasn’t anyone there so we couldn’t find out more about the Manx Shearwaters or let them know that I often see them when...
We’ve managed to beat the birds to some of the soft fruit from the garden at last! Anna bought a single strawberry plant a couple of years ago and it has gradually been spreading around a small area of the garden. We have had strawberries on them before but had only managed to eat one...
We had a nice little trip to Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve on Saturday. It was more of a family stroll and a play in the park for the children rather than a naturalists day out, but the sun was shining (most of the time) and we all had fun. It did start pouring...
Springwatch starts tonight on the BBC. As mentioned elsewhere in this blog, this year (and for the next couple of years at least) they are coming live from Ynyshir RSPB Nature reserve in the Dyfi Valley, just up the road from us here in West Wales. It’s the perfect place for them with stunning scenery,...
The Aberystwyth Beekeepers Association has a photographic competition coming up, so Morgan and I are going to enter. The categories are: Inside the Hive Beekeepers Other Bees (not the honey bee) We are only allowed one photo per category so I now have to choose a single photo for each. I have to make sure Morgan...
There’s lots going on at Ynyshir RSPB reserve at the moment. Spring Watch will be coming from there in a couple of weeks so it is all go getting things ready for the production. A studio is being set up overlooking the lake and various nest boxes are being modified to accept cameras – I...
We’ve been watching the hives on and off over the last few days. I think the bees have settled into the relaxed way of life here in Ynyslas. They don’t seem to really get going until midday but are then pretty busy all afternoon. Both hives have been lively whilst the sun is out and...
The caterpillars are back, creating their weblike nests in the trees. This year they are in a Willow tree rather than the hawthorn at the moment, but once again I think they are the caterpillar of the Lackey Moth. Morgan discovered them this year and took this photo to show me.
The moth trapping has been fairly slow so far this year. there have been a few moths each time we put the trap out but no huge numbers and nothing too exciting. Last night was the same with only 14 moths in the trap from 11 different species. The Treble Bar was a new garden...
The Bank Holiday weekend was gorgeous here – That ‘s almost worth a blog post in its own right, but we also spent much of Monday in Aberystwyth and had a lovely walk through the Penglais Woods nature Reserve. The Bluebells are really early this year and are actually coming towards the end of their...
Fitness / Technology / Triathlon
Fixing the Altimeter on my Garmin Forerunner 910XT
Monday, March 17th, 2014
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