Double glove days.
Thursday 18th December, 2014.
After returning home we walked up through the plantation and I took some photos. Only the top of North Barrule is visible from the glen. The trees in Skyhill plantation obscure the view from higher up so this photo was taken at the lower edge of the trees, just above our top fence.
We hoped for a better view of Snaefell from the top corner but unfortunately it was hidden behind the low clouds.
While we were watching a gap appeared in the clouds and we thought for a moment that we could see Snaefell. But then we realised that the hill was too far east and we were actually looking at the summit of Claugh Ouyr.
On the way down I stopped to admire the horses in the field above Ballagarrow. They were dressed appropriately for the weather.
I have taken very few photos recently. We haven't been out much and the light is not really suitable for photography in the glen at this time of year. The hills to the south and east of the glen seem to act a cloud magnets and the clouds block the rather feeble winter sunlight. We drive out to the tip at Balladoole rather frequently, with load after load of hedge clippings and other garden refuse, and it is usually much brighter out on the northern plain. We often look back at the glen nestling between North Barrule and Skyhill; under a blanket of cloud or hill fog rather like a remnant of Manannan's cloak, the thick sea mist which was said to shroud the Island and hide it from approaching enemies.
Although we are still waiting for the first frost, the days have been cold. My fingers went numb when I tried to do some hedge cutting last week wearing only gardening gloves. So I tried double gloves. My light polarfleece gloves with Tim's large thorn-proof gardening gloves over the top. It worked quite well - combined with thermal socks, track suit pants over jeans, a trapper hat and a padded jacket over a couple of layers! It sounds like overkill but there was an icy wind and cutting a hedge is a fairly static occupation without enough activity to keep one warm.
We might have "double glove days" but least we don't have to endure the arctic "three dog nights". It is fortunate because we no longer have any four-legged friends to keep us warm, but it wouldn't have been a good idea even when we had enough dogs. I doubt whether Schipperkes would make such effective "hot water bottles" as huskies, and our boys were so excitable that trying to get three sleeping together on my bed would have been to invite trouble. It probably would have ended in a very hectic game . . . or a fight!
I have finished the "easy bit" of the holly/fuchsia hedge in front of the house which is reasonably level. I cut the fuchsia down to below the level of the holly to get more light down to the holly. This bit of hedge always looks rather messy because the fuchsia grows faster than the holly. We don't even benefit much from the fuchsia flowers because our side of the hedge is north facing and the best flowers are on the other side.
Before
After
The rest of this hedge is plain holly but is more difficult to cut because the ground slopes and working from a ladder is more precarious. I am going to cut a fair amount off the top to make it easier to reach and will aim to get a straightish slope about six inches above the string.
There has been some bird activity in the garden as well as the usual customers visiting the feeder. On Saturday I saw two long tailed tits on the peanut feeders. It is the first time that I have seen them since spring. They had gone by the time I fetched my camera but I wasn't too disappointed because the light wasn't really good enough. They should be back. I don't think they nest in the glen because we don't see them in summer. But we usually have little parties visiting the feeder in winter when they travel along hedgerows and the edge of woodland in search of food.
I also saw some great tits foraging in the rose bed at the end of the house and it reminded me that they would be looking for nesting sites soon. Tim put up the nest box on the pole by the hedge and there was an immediate flurry of interest. The pair of great tits came back to stake their claim and we also saw a dunnock and a robin on the fence having a close look.
Our only recent walk, apart from the one in the plantation to admire the first snow, was up the road through the glen. It was about ten days ago. We planned to walk up to the pool at the old quarry but when we reached the gate into "pheasant territory" we saw a warning notice about a shoot. We continued as far as the old shepherd's house before deciding to cut the walk short and return home. It was a wise decision because we passed a convoy of vehicles which were arriving just as we reached the road.
We wondered whether another batch of panicky birds would be flying down the glen to our garden but the only arrival was one female which crashed into our living room window a couple of days later. She veered off into our neighbour's garden but returned the next day. Tim saw her under the bird feeder and chased her away but she came back almost immediately. I went out to bait the trap, expecting her to fly away, but she watched with interest. Then she strolled nonchalantly into the cage as soon as I returned to the kitchen. She wasn't very happy when she found that she couldn't escape . . . and the feathers flew! But she wasn't injured and walked off happily towards the river when we released her.
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