Sunday, March 24, 2013

52 Weeks of Happy - Week Twelve

I think the main topic of conversation and frustration this week has been the weather!  We did manage a walk at Trentham on Monday and a drive over to Chesterfield to visit my sister on Tuesday but by Thursday the weather had changed completely. On Saturday morning we ventured out in the snowdrifts to the local shop for milk and newspapers.  There were no newspapers and they hadn't had a bread delivery but the milk was being delivered as we arrived.  Luckily our freezer is stocked with home made bread and we had popped out on Thursday morning to get fresh fruit and vegetables so it was really just the milk we needed.

Here are four things that have made me smile this week.......... 


1.  A black rabbit - grazing at the side of the river at Trentham.  I've never seen a wild black rabbit before.  I've been on several wildlife sites and apparently they are quite common in some areas of the UK.  I'm just amazed that I have got to the age I am and not seen one before. I thought at the time that it may be a runaway pet but you learn something new almost everyday!

2. Pink Tulips given to me last week by a friend still looking good and colourful against the snow outside the window.

3.  Finches - through the same window birds on the feeder, we have seen some lovely birds again this week especially the goldfinch, chaffinch and robins but the bird to the right of the photo is a greenfinch so I was happy to see them again in the garden after quite a long time.  When we first came here there were loads of them but they disappeared for a few years - here is the reason why.

4.  The Crooked Spire - a trip to Chesterfield to see my sister, lunch out and a walk in the park.  The photo above is of the Crooked Spire taken from Hady Hill but you can see the spire in the distance whichever way you are approaching the town.  It's always a good sign that you are nearly there.

Link to  Little Birdie  where  '52 weeks of Happy' started. Each week you find just four things that have made you happy to share.

28 comments:

  1. I love the spire in Chesterfield, it used to fascinate me when I was little and every time I see it now I remember bits of my childhood!

    Those diseases affecting garden birds are horrible. There's the other one too which you see on tits that cause those growths, I can't think what it is called but it's not nice.

    A nice collection of images for week 12. I need to think about mine this evening and put a post together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Louise. Look forward to seeing what you chose for week 12. I'm glad we never found any greenfinch in our garden suffering from that disease - they just disappeared. It is wonderful to see them again - we've seen three all together, two males and a female and they seem to be staying around:)

      Delete
  2. Wow, I didn't know you could get wild black rabbits! What a handsome fellow too! Lovely tulips and great pictures of the birds. That crooked spire is amazing. Have a good week. Hope it gets a bit warmer! Abby x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The black rabbit is cute isn't it? I've grown up knowing about and living not far from the crooked spire so I tend to take it for granted but it is amazing:)

      Delete
  3. So great to see the greenfinch back. The disease does sound horrible. I don't think I've seen a greenfinch down here at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When we first came here we had greenfinches in the garden, then they just stopped appearing, it's great to see them again:)

      Delete
  4. Nice to see the black rabbit. I used to visit Lundy regularly and they have a significant proportion of black rabbits there. Your tulips are pretty too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah,interesting, apparently there ae a few areas where people have often seen them. The tulips are over a week old now and still looking good:)

      Delete
  5. I love the little black rabbit. That is surely a sign of good luck?! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I've certainly started the week on a lucky note!!:)

      Delete
  6. I've never seen a wild black one either, I'd assume it was someone's pet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did the same but thinking about it I don't think a family pet would last 5 minutes in the wild:)

      Delete
  7. We saw one a few years ago and thought it was an escaped pet rabbit - you learn something new every day! I feel so sorry for the birds with this cold weather - love that photo of the birds on the feeder. No snow here though bitterly cold. What has happened to Spring?
    June

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope it has only disappeared for a short while, I couldn't get warm today. We've topped the feeders twice each day since the snow came and the birds seem to be well fed:)

      Delete
  8. Hope you're coping with the snow. I didn't know about the bird disease. It sounds really nasty and glad that you have some healthy bird visitors coming to your garden these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've had to postpone a couple of visits and spent the weekend at home but we've had plenty of birds to watch to while away the time:)

      Delete
  9. The little black rabbit is very cute. It would make me smile, too. We had one (or more than one, we don't know - we only saw one at a time) in our lane - it was the talk of the lane for a while. And I'd heard about the disease affecting greenfinches, it is worrying and like you say, explains if you don't see them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I expect a black rabbit would cause concern incase it was a pet one, it seems therre are plenty of them about. We don't see as many brown rabbits as we used to either:)

      Delete
  10. Ive never seen a black rabbit in the wild - I would have thought it was an escaped pet. The drifts have been horrendous around here and continue to cut some areas off! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Still lots of roads blocked off here too - the route we came back from Chesterfield via Brierlow Bar is cut off in two or three places. I expect it is quite challenging around your area too - take care and keep warm:)

      Delete
  11. I am in awe that you have still managed to get some good photos Rosie, I love the crooked spire of Chesterfield, we have family there and it never ceases to amaze the children when we drive by. Which makes me think next time we should stop and explore.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've only ever been inside the church once to a candlelit carol service one Christmas eve many years ago and have always wanted to look inside again. Hope you do stop and explore one day:)

      Delete
  12. We once stopped at The Wetherspoon in Chesterfield, very nice stay actually. I'm so over this weather, go away!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too, we've had to postpone a couple of trips we wanted to make because of the snow:)

      Delete
  13. Aha, black rabbits! There are quite a few that live around the town gate in Sutton Park and I've been lucky enough to see quite a few of them bouncing around (hubs is still sceptical though as he hasn't seen one yet) Also, I have on rare occasions seen them down at Hill Hook Nature Reserve.
    I adore Goldfinch, they are so sweet! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the goldfinches! We have hangers just outside the window and they come to those now sometimes four or five at a time - they are so pretty! There are lots more black rabbits around than I imagined:)

      Delete
  14. It is always lovely to acknowledge things that make us smile. Had a rough medical day at doctors, coming home hugging my dogs, sitting in my favorite chair, looking at the possibility of Spring somewhere on the New England horizon and reading inspiring thoughts on others bogs today has made me smile softly. Thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Willow - thanks for visiting and following and I'm so glad you've enjoyed reading here after what sounds like a rough day for you:)

      Delete