18th September 2013. I was in the kitchen a couple of nights ago when the outside sensor light was triggered. I thought it was probably a fox but better just check.
I looked outside and couldn't seen anything then suddenly a little face popped up over a plant pot. It was a badger! I couldn't believe my eyes. I tried to grab my camera but it was gone by the time I got back.
I immediately looked up information about badgers and what they liked to eat to try and lure it back. The next night I left peanuts and bread with peanut butter on and kept checking to see if it came back. I was worried that putting the outside light on would frighten it.
This was my log from 21st Sep: Mr (or Mrs) Badger definitely came back last night, ate all the sandwiches and the peanuts, had a teeny dig in the garden then went off again. So now it knows I leave a little snackie out they may well be tempted to visit whilst I'm awake so I can get a photo.
And 22nd Sep: Aggghhhhh this badger watching is more difficult than I thought. I think the Badger must have slid in on his tummy like an s.a.s. soldier last night. The light wasn't triggered but by the time I went to bed - after checking a load of times during the evening - suddenly the food was gone! I think I need a motion triggered camera to capture him.
Then 23rd Sep: Oh flipping Norah! Stupid Badger! I put fruit, nuts and sandwiches out last night about 7pm and after that every half hour (at least) I went to look and it was all still there. Then at 10.30 I went to feed Sophie and it had ALL gone - unbelievable, I think the badgers laughing at me.
But later on 23rd September I spotted the badger and discovered that infact the light didn't bother it so I could leave it on all the time!
Then on 24th September I was watching the badger when something moved in the corner and suddenly there were 2!
Amazing! They visit every night now around a similar time looking out for food as they know there's always something nice left out for them. I put a trail of peanuts right up to the door so that I can have a good look at them and they don't seem bothered at all.
It's thought (by the Badger conservation people) that one is male and one is female but it's hard to be absolutely sure. I hope they're right as I'd love to see baby badgers next year.
The one we think is female (and I have called Rosie) is a little piggy and eats everything. The one we think is male (and I have called Charlie) usually eats a few peanuts then goes to get Rosie and watches her whilst she eats the bread and fruit etc. If Rosie's left to her own devices and Charlie isn't around she definitely doesn't leave anything for him! Poor Charlie......
My Sophie loves the badgers, she races round the conservatory when they appear then goes back to watch them. It's strange as she doesn't do that with a fox or another cat.
I always had a vision of what I wanted in my bedroom. The room was painted in dark colours with a red carpet (see before picture below) and wasn't huge so I knew I wanted to change it to very light and restful colours.
I also liked the idea of a feature wall in pearl grey. Once I'd decided on white and grey I remembered I'd bought 2 white stags heads ages ago which would be perfect for the grey wall.
I then thought I'd probably have a chandelier as I have them in the rooms downstairs. Until I spotted the perfect lightshade in a homestyling magazine. It was white feathers!!
I had to have the shade! It came in large and small so I thought in for a penny etc - I'll go large! It was a Danish designer that was responsible for the fabulous shade and it was available in a large store so I thought it'd be easy to get - but no. It took about 2 months of chasing the flipping thing to get it - but I got there in the end. I did think it was a bit of a silly price for little more than a paper shade but it's so unusual and absolutely perfect in the room a bit of extravagance now and then is ok.
It's funny to see the reaction it gets - men just say 'oh yeh a shade' and women want to see it switched on and usually break out in a grin when they spot it. It makes me smile every time I see it and that's for sure!
So here's the bedroom after - I still want to tweak a few bits but it's almost there.
Last night I was in the kitchen and I noticed the security light had triggered, in itself very unusual, so I went to see why.
I thought it would probably be just be a fox that had set it off but I couldn't see anything. Suddenly something moved - it was a badger!!
I was so excited as I'd never seen one before, I rushed to get my camera but the badger had wandered off, most likely startled by the light. I am now going to keep a good eye out for the badgers and maybe leave them a little snack to try and encourage them back.
That actually explained what had most likely been digging up my garden recently - I had put it down to the foxes again as they're all I've seen big enough to dig that much. I discovered a total mess one day - the new bush that I'd planted for the birds was totally uprooted! It was also in the exact spot that I saw the badger last night - coming back to the scene of the crime!
Still to have badgers visiting is worth the occasional uprooted plant and apparently if they get fed they don't dig as much - so it's peanut butter sandwiches all round!
Well I did say I'd include some 'makes' here and now the house is starting to get sorted out I'm also starting to make some food as opposed to relying on ready made dishes. I'd much prefer to make everything from scratch but with the kitchen under a ton of d.i.y. items I could barely find a plate!
I started off with one of the simplest, idiot proof dishes I've ever come across - but totally delicious and really good for you! Fish pate!
Start with some smoked mackerel - I have found a honey flavoured one in Sainsburys which is lovely and a bit different. Remove the skin and flake the rest into small pieces. Mix the flakes of fish with some cream cheese - again I like to experiment with different ones, plain, smoked salmon or sweet chilli are current favourites. For 2 pieces of haddock I use 1/3 to 1/2 a tub. Then add between a dessert spoon to a tablespoon of ready made horseradish sauce, dependant upon how strong you like it. Finally add a little paprika and lemon juice to taste and Bob's your uncle!
Fastest thing ever and tastier than any shop bought pate. I usually eat it with some savoury biscuits or crackers but I also love it on toast. Mmmmmmm.....
My garden leads directly onto woodland and I was told this was a conservation area and would never be built on. This obviously was very attractive as I would never be overlooked by another house.
I am actually allowed to rent part of the woodland which makes my garden much larger and I can enjoy the trees & wildlife etc in the woods.
With the renting of the woodland comes responsibility - well I think so anyway. I was pretty horrified to discover quite quickly that the woodland has been used as a dumping ground - not unusual you may think but in this case it was by the builders that built the houses in 1995 (!)
Since 1995 everyone seems to have cast a blind eye on the situation. Well no more. I have spent weeks clearing areas of old wood, leaves etc but worse of bottles/cans/plastic/wire ( all dangerous for the wildlife). I have left a lot of leaves and wood as obviously it will mulch down and be good for the ground.
I decided to plant a few snowdrops/bluebells/daffodils etc under the trees in keeping with the woods. Once I started digging I wish I hadn't. I uncovered stone/slate and bricks plus all sorts of other building materials. After 2 hours I had uncovered this little lot (a pile much bigger than it appears):
It was appalling that the builders had taken the trouble to bury it all next to the trees and been allowed to get away with it when people like me that rent the area are told of 'rules of use' of the woodland. The slate was extremely sharp and often jutted up - had a child or even an adult fallen over it they would have really injured themselves.
I can't believe that builders are allowed to get away with this behaviour - how much longer would it take to get rid of the stuff than it did to dig holes and bury it?
I also can't believe that the 2 (possibly more) residents of the house had ignored it all for nearly 20 years *sigh*.
I've had a busy few weeks but I finally feel like I'm making some headway. The old floors which were pretty dreadful have now all gone and replaced with lovely gloss walnut - which I'm obsessed with and constantly looking at to make sure they're not scratched!
It'll be shoes off at the door from now on! To make that slightly a more pleasant task I have a collection of fluffy slippers for people to choose from and even a Jimmy Choo shoe horn to assist.
The old door brass handles (with mismatched screws - a lot of which were hanging out) and matches holding them in, discovered when I removed them, have been replaced with modern chrome.
Old:
New:
The light fitting have also been changed throughout and updated to match everything that is no longer brass but is now chrome.
Hall before:
Hall after:
I decided to keep the fireplace as apart from the awful swags across the top it was fine. A screwdriver, a hammer and some determination and the swags were gone! A quite bit of filler and paint and job done!
I wasn't very keen on the marble inlay either and found a fantastic product to change it to stone effect. All you had to do was sand down the marble, put on a base coat and then apply 3 thin coats of the paint. As long as you are patient and don't try to put the paint on too thickly it works a treat and saves a fortune by not buying a new fireplace. The fire itself has been replaced by an electric one all I need to do now is get someone to fix it in place........
