On our way to the shops this afternoon, we saw someone standing on a patch of grass near the road, feeding the crows. Surely this cannot be a good idea. Feeding pigeons is a bad idea but feeding crows is worse. You really don't want crows to get used to swarming around people, expecting to be fed.
A selection of photos from this week - bluebells in the woods and some ducklings and goslings near the lake.
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Bandit sitting in a kitchen roll tube. She got her name from the bands around her body.
Bandit and Phantom.
Phantom was so-called because her face resembles the Phantom of the Opera mask. Here she is, with Bandit in the background.
This afternoon we were near Leicester meeting someone to pick up some mice to replace some of ours which had died recently. The new mice have been named Phantom and Bandit. We don't have any photos yet.
After collecting our mice we drove into Leicester and had a wander around the High Cross shopping centre. I think we mainly went because Emma wanted to go to John Lewis. That was ok by me because I'd never been to one so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I guess if you lived near one it'd be worth shopping there occasionally. We did buy some incredibly tasty dessert sauce though (Luxe Chocolate Noir with Tart Cherries).
Liverpool is launching a Penguin Trail, similar to the Cow Trail which Manchester did a few years ago. I was amused to read that one of the corporate sponsors was the discount chain Home Bargains. That says a lot about Liverpool.
Unfortunately since I no longer live in the area, it's unlikely that I'll get a chance to see any of them.
Emma bought some Halloween themed animal beds - a large pumpkin shaped one for the Degus, and a smaller one for the hamsters or mice.
Remy and Emile in the pumpkin bed.
Brennan and Fruitcake in the smaller bed. We tried several different hamsters in this bed before we eventually gave it to the boy-mice.
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A few photos from Warwick Castle, mainly falconry and some peacocks.
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Some photos from the Wiltshire Country Show, at Bowood House. We were there with the Hamster Show but there was time to take a look at the rest of the showground. The show seemed to be bigger than previous years but a lot of the events were repeated so if you weren't careful you could end up watching the same thing several times.
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There is a heron which regularly hangs around near the pond between Whitefriars and the Coventry University library. There seem to be fewer fish in the pond these days - the two might be related. The pond is also full of water lillies at the moment, so the fish might be hiding beneath those.
I've noticed that I haven't uploaded any photos of Remy recently. We still have him but he doesn't seem to pose for the camera as often as Emile.
We buy these parsley biscuits, and the Degus really love them. They run up to the side of the cage and beg for them. They don't eat them straight away but usually run around carrying them in their mouths for a few minutes first.
One of Fadle's babies - currently un-named but we refer to her as 'Big Blue' She has a slightly smaller sister called 'Little Blue'.
Chocolate Mousse hiding in the igloo.
All of our female mice. Clockwise, starting from the top:
Chocolate Mousse, Ikea, Shiny Black, Tricolour, Fake Cow, Momma Mousse and Pinky.
I have been away for most of the week, in the Lake District. I have had no Internet access or newspapers since Wednesday morning, and haven't had time to watch TV news so I've been feeling a bit cut off from the world. I was there attending my department's annual conference so it wasn't a holiday but we had a couple of free afternoons.
On thursday afternoon a few of us went for a walk to Grasmere. We saw a deer which seemed very calm and unafraid - it didn't run off as soon as it saw us but stood and watched us approach for a minute before wandering away.
A deer, seen on the walk to Grasmere.
View of Grasmere.
When we got to Grasmere I went to the 'famous' gingerbread shop, which I hadn't heard of until this morning. The gingerbread is a bit like a cross between cake and biscuit, with proper pieces of ginger in it.
Here are some more photos of Fadle and her babies. We have been buying jars of (human) baby food for them since it contains a good range of nutrients and no additives. It should help them grow.
There are 2 'Sapphire' babies and 1 'normal' coloured baby. We were hoping for some sapphires - it is possibly our favourite colour of Winter White.
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I sometimes walk through the woods on my way to the office. I've been told that there are woodpeckers in the area. Sightings of them are quite rare but they can occasionally be heard. This morning I heard the distinctive 'rat-a-tat' sound. I don't remember hearing them before - I probably have heard them but didn't notice at the time.
