Hello and Welcome Fellow Ramblers: Rabbits and Rumours! s!

18^o in February

For an hour or two on Thursday it felt like summer had arrived! Temperatures of 18^o were recorded, the warmest February day in Britain since 1998! The sun really possesses a unique ability to raise the spirits! The winter (so far) has been reasonably mild and it’s lovely to see the spring flowering bulbs pushing through! Crocuses in pastel shades are already gracing our borders, snowdrops have been in flower for a while, daffodil spikes are growing by the day and a dozen red tulips are already out in flower under the protection of the hedge!

The Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Creeping outside to investigate a horrible screaming noise, I was confronted by our little female cat, by the name of Scully (X Files!) confidently dragging a baby rabbit round the back of the house! (Flea alert!!) By the time I had embarked on my rescue mission it was all too late! Poor bunny’s life had ebbed away with feline jaws clamped firmly around its throat! It seemed a little early in the year for baby rabbits, but apparently they can be born from January onwards if the weather is good! One doe can have 1 -14 kits per month until August, so it looks like we won’t need to spend much on cat food this year!

Myxomatosis

Although having said that, my LTA was out for his walk yesterday and saw that some of the local rabbit population have got myxomatosis. Myxomatosis (or myxi for short) arrived in Britain late in 1953. It is a viral disease which wiped out 99% of the British wild rabbit population at that time! Rabbits with myxomatosis develop swollen heads, blindness and are listless and often develop pneumonia. Believe me, they are not a pretty sight. I remember the disease being talked about when I was ‘little’ and got the impression that it was introduced intentionally to rid the countryside of the uncontrollable bunny population! But, I could be wrong! (As I often am!!)

Great Tit (Parus major)

And yesterday…a Great Tit (Parus major) had been to the local bird estate agent and was viewing the nest box situated on the archway!! Watch this space!

Rumours of Fleetwod Mac

Wednesday night saw me rocking to Rumours of Fleetwood Mac at our local theatre! They are an excellent Fleetwood Mac tribute band! They played a selection of tracks from a variety of albums, my favourites being the ‘old’ stuff, particularly Man of the World! Louise Rogan (Stevie Nicks) has an amazing voice! A good night out! Check them out on You Tube!

Thanks for your time!

The Bumpkin Rambler xx

Hello and Welcome Fellow Ramblers: Snow!

Snow in Shropshire

Well, just as the weathermen (and women) predicted the snow fell yesterday afternoon! Not in great quantities, but enough to cause the usual chaos on the roads etc!

The wind was bitingly bitter! What my dad would have called a lazy wind! Goes through you instead of round you!! Thankfully this morning the temperature is a ‘top coat’ warmer!

On my trip outside to feed the birds I crackled over crisp and pristine white icing. The cats hesitated by the door before venturing out into the white unknown after a whole day yesterday of sleeping on their cosy cushions in front of the fire! What a life!

Thanks for your time!

The Bumpkin Rambler xx

Hello and Welcome Fellow Ramblers: Classic Rock!!

January

Well, January is at an end and after a very mild winter so far the last few days have been extremely cold! At least the warmer temperatures have helped us save on the ‘firing’! This time last year we were definitely still shivering after weeks of relentless frost, and snow!! We have seen a couple of skitterings of snow on the surrounding hills, and a few frosts, but nothing compared to last year when it froze the water in the water butt solid! (Snow is forecast for today, so watch this space as they say!!)

The Classic Rock Show

It’s been a quiet few weeks, with the usual feeling of deflation after the festive period! Except… for a recent visit to our local theatre to see, and hear,

The Classic Rock Show!

As the tickets were more expensive than for the usual bands who frequent our local venue I was expecting great things!! And…I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed! An amazing evening, proof being the lack of hearing as we left the theatre!

I was blown away as the band played two of my all-time favourites…Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb (which I want played at my funeral, when I’m hoping to be just that!!), and Boston’s More than a Feeling, with the piece de resistance being Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird! The guitar solo (well a sort of double effort if that can be called a solo) was out of this world, and being only three rows from the stage the intricate manipulation of strings could be fully appreciated!! I thoroughly recommend the show to anyone into ‘classic rock’!! Other bands ‘homaged’ included Dire Straits, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin…need I go on? It could have been Robert Plant up there on stage, the singer’s voice was spot on!!

Roll on Spring

The wild birds are still flocking in to feed! The daffodils are poking through and the first snowdrops are evident in nearby gardens and the little lambs are gambolling about in the field opposite. Roll on Spring!!!!!!!

Thanks for your time!

The Bumpkin Rambler xx