First a warning to anyone who does on-line banking (I don't), there's a new scam around called tab napping. Basically it means that if you have a secure site open but go to another page or site when you return it may have been cloned and you are entering your bank details onto a phishing page. Always check the URL which should have s after the http indicating that the page is still secure. More details can be found on the web under 'tab napping'.
The climbing rose over the front door is bursting with blooms, these will soon fade and the show will be less for the rest of the summer. Some of the other roses in the garden have begun to flower so there will always be roses somewhere in bloom.
I seem to have had some interesting bird sightings recently. Last Friday as I was driving through the tunnel of trees at Ashelford Corner I surprised a buzzard that must have been sitting on one of the lower branches. It was forced to fly ahead of the car, only a few feet above it, until it found an escape route via a gateway at the side. That was quite impressive.
Then on Saturday as we were driving to Lynmouth there was a golden eagle sitting on a perch in the garden of a cottage at Barbrook. I'm sure it was a real one, I tried to have a good look at it as I drove past on the way home and it still looked real. If it was a model then it was a very good one. Going to Lynmouth reminded us how beautiful Watersmeet and the Lyn Valley are so that is top of our list of walks to do soon. If so I will stop and check that bird out if it is still there.
Another interesting bird sighting was of a heron which was gliding over the garden yesterday morning. I grabbed my camera and found a spot where I could look down on Paul's lake but there was no sign of it, not surprising as Paul was out on his tractor mower.
Finally, as I sat at the pc very early this morning I noticed a couple of magpies foraging around the walls of the house. We don't really like these birds because they are known to eat eggs and chicks but these 2 seemed to be collecting snails. They are welcome to those. One of them was even banging on the window by my pc before it noticed me trying to take a photo.
The climbing rose over the front door is bursting with blooms, these will soon fade and the show will be less for the rest of the summer. Some of the other roses in the garden have begun to flower so there will always be roses somewhere in bloom.I seem to have had some interesting bird sightings recently. Last Friday as I was driving through the tunnel of trees at Ashelford Corner I surprised a buzzard that must have been sitting on one of the lower branches. It was forced to fly ahead of the car, only a few feet above it, until it found an escape route via a gateway at the side. That was quite impressive.
Then on Saturday as we were driving to Lynmouth there was a golden eagle sitting on a perch in the garden of a cottage at Barbrook. I'm sure it was a real one, I tried to have a good look at it as I drove past on the way home and it still looked real. If it was a model then it was a very good one. Going to Lynmouth reminded us how beautiful Watersmeet and the Lyn Valley are so that is top of our list of walks to do soon. If so I will stop and check that bird out if it is still there.
Another interesting bird sighting was of a heron which was gliding over the garden yesterday morning. I grabbed my camera and found a spot where I could look down on Paul's lake but there was no sign of it, not surprising as Paul was out on his tractor mower.
Finally, as I sat at the pc very early this morning I noticed a couple of magpies foraging around the walls of the house. We don't really like these birds because they are known to eat eggs and chicks but these 2 seemed to be collecting snails. They are welcome to those. One of them was even banging on the window by my pc before it noticed me trying to take a photo.
That's about it folks, just a few odd snippets. The weather has been good, I worked in the afternoon and cut all the grass when I got home. Nothing else of note.
