The Woodpecker
The woodpecker pecked out a little round hole
And made him a house in a telephone pole.
One day when I watched he poked out his head,
And he had on a hood and a collar of red.
When the streams of rain pour out of the sky,
And the sparkles of lightning go flashing by,
And the big, big sheels of thunder roll,
He can snuggle back in the telephone pole.
Elizabeth Roberts
I hang our bird feeders outside the snug window in a tree and also in the big cherry tree outside the kitchen window, so during the day we can watch the birds feeding We have a variety of visitors, blue tits, chaffinches, mistlethrush, blackbirds, robins but yesterday I could hardly believe my eyes when I spotted a woodpecker eating the peanuts. He was there for quite a while.
The hens will not venture out into the snow - I have moved them from the hen hut into the empty goose hut (sigh) as there is more room for them to potter during the day I close the door, once I have given them clean sawdust, food and water and they are quite secure. I am aware of paw prints in the snow each morning when I go through the garden to the hen hut and I am worried that if I left the door open a hungry fox could quite easily pop inside for breakfast. Beyond the back of our garden are open fields and countryside so we know there are many wild animals out there.
We are entering Day 12 of the snow and whilst it would appear a thaw seems to be happening - the roads are treacherous due to ice so again I am staying put! I normally go to our village church for advent but all services are cancelled due to the bad weather so later today I think we are getting the tree down from the loft and decorating the house - watch this space!
How lucky attracting a woodpecker to your garden. I love it when I see different birds visiting the garden. I too hang some seed and fat blocks in the trees outside the window of our living room so that I can watch the birds easily during the day. I also have a feeding station which is positioned at the back of the house. It sounds as though you've still got the snow bad there. Ours has started to thaw, but there's still quite a covering, and of course, there's lots of ice about.
ReplyDeleteHi Jo - yes the weather is still the same and whilst there seems to be a thaw it is still very cold. Best keep warm eh?
ReplyDeleteFabulous photo Denise, I wish I could take them as good as yours. I saw a woodpecker, pecking in my neighbours lawn, I had no idea they did that!
ReplyDeleteNo snow here, but thick fog.
kath - not my photo I googled it - by the time I got my camera sorted yesterday the little chap took one look at me and flew off! I told Jon about it and he asked me if I was sure it was a woodpecker - a bit of searching around told me it was! keep warm!
ReplyDeleteI love watching the birds on the feeders too. A Woodpecker?? How wonderful!
ReplyDeleteA fox visits our garden but we don't have chickens so there's no breakfast for them here.
The snow thawed a little here yesterday but after a freezing night it has left our grove like an ice rink!!!! :0
David has just come in and told me he heard on local radio that there is a blizzard on the east coast - do hope that doesn't include you.
ReplyDeleteCould you please e mail me the name of your village so that I can send you a christmas card.
He is wonderful, great image. I have only ever seen one in the garden once and it was very fleeting. I love to watch the feeder, you never know what may turn up. At the minute we have a very handsome March tit but he is too quick for me!
ReplyDeleteI love woodpeckers...except when they peck at our wooden house,then they are told to "bugger off". We have several types here; one is the pileated woodpecker which is about the size of a crow.
ReplyDeleteStay warm.
Jane x
'Our' woodpecker is very camera shy! We get lots of birds too, but it's a red letter day when the woodpecker appears - we haven't seen one since the summer. They seem to like peanuts!
ReplyDeleteEarlier in the day there was a little thaw but it's freezing again now. We're getting the tree down from the loft too - plenty to do inside. I've also ordered the grandchildren's Christmas presents online - I just hope they can get here ...
Lovely to meet you too Elaine - thank you so much for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteYou have captured a superb image and I just love the little poem.
We have had a thaw here in Suffolk - after a week of gentle snowfall. Not too icy either thank goodness. From watching the news it all looked very treacherous in Yorkshire though. Such a shame your village church advent service was cancelled.
Hope you get out soon but in the meantime stay snug and warm indoors!
Jeanne
The cold weather means that garden feeding posts and water are invaluable for wild birds.
ReplyDeleteLovely woodpecker photo - we have regular visits from the Greater Spotteds but haven't seen a Green Woodpecker for ages.
Tread carefully, Denise, and keep warm. I don't blame your chickens for not wanting to venture out. Pity you can't feed them remotely ;-)
Hello there! I just found your comment on my blog and was delighted to follow you back to yours :) I've been watching the weather forecasts in the UK and I must say it looks more like Canada's winter than ours ~ I'll enjoy looking back at your previous posts. I see we have some interests in common ... calligraphy, for instance. I will be happy to add you to my blogroll :) Hope you are able to keep snug and warm. By the way, happy to hear that you had a visit from a woodpecker ~ they do love peanuts, don't they!
ReplyDeleteHi Denise
ReplyDeleteYou are more than welcome to buy a hairband - how fantastic :-)
I am happy to accept paypal. Which colour were you interested in?
Thanks a lot
Zoe aka Scentedsweetpeas
PS your blog is gorgeous, wow what great photos! Sorry I had to reply re the hairband like this but there was no e-mail on my message system for you.
What a beautiful woodpecker! Wow, you are really having some weather! We have a friend outside Manchester who has showed us photos, too. Sending love!
ReplyDeleteYes, it's definitely time to hole up and stay indoors. Brrrr! The hens sound to be in the best place too (hugs). Our bird feeders are frequently "dive-bombed" off the trees by the pheasants and grouse in our garden - it's not that we don't feed them too, it's just they are greedy little sods! Our eldest emailed me photo's this morning from Newcastle, outside his Uni - sheesh, and I thought WE had it bad where we were! Hope you're keeping snug and safe hon, and the thaw comes soon.
ReplyDeleteMum who lives near Thirsk said they had so much snow she and the dog could hardly walk - sensibly she decided to stay in...snow all gone here not that we had much but it is very icey. Chickens out but refusing to lay - I mean why would you when it is this cold!
ReplyDeleteBird feeders in constant use! Isn't it marvellous in this weather how many of them you can see!