Solid Conservatory Roof Conversion

Our conservatory has been a great asset for the last 15 years, but there were one or two issues we needed to address.

In addition, the crazy high temperatures during this summer have made it a no-go area during the hottest hours of the day.

So a couple of months ago we started thinking about refurbishment options.

Entroware Triton laptop: broken mouse button

I was quite upset a couple of days ago to find that my nice Entroware Triton had a broken right mouse button.

I've only had this laptop 14 months, and its been brilliant in every way ...until this happened.

So I certainly wasn't ready to give up on it and shell out for a new computer!

Patio WiFi: extending wifi range

Its been dry and very hot down here in Sunny Southern England during the last couple of weeks.

Great weather for gardening or for doing other jobs outside, except for a couple of hours either side of midday when it is just too darn hot!

So that's the time to retreat down the garden to our pergola-shaded-patio and check out BBC News, or scan FaceAche, or waste a bit of time on Twatter.

BatGuru: a British bat ID helper

My BatGuru is a program written in Gambas which helps me identify British bat species based upon echolocation call data.

It simply saves me having to juggle the key parameters in my head as I scan the charts in my reference book.

But identifying bats from their calls is tricky due to the wide variability of their calls.

BirdBox2018: our mixed species nest

Its been a very interesting season watching how the story unfolds in our mixed tit species nest.

The chicks have now left the safety of the box to take their chances in the big wild world.

So this post just reviews what we observed and what I think may have happened.

BirdBox2018: Blue Tits hatch in Great Tit nest

All 6 of the blue tit eggs hatched by the 15th May.

By my reckoning it was almost 5 weeks from the time the first egg was laid until the last had hatched.

Common Pipistrelle Feeding Buzz

Bat echolocation is all about catching a meal.

After all, if bats could safely feed during the day, they wouldn't bother to stumble around in the dark of night. 

So its good to catch the occasional ultrasonic recording of bats catching their prey.

the Hog is back!

After an absence of 4 or 5 years, the hedgehogs have returned to our garden.

Well, one hog, at least that's a start.

So now we need to give this little guy a helping hand.

BirdBox2018: The Great Tit Takeover

Things were going well for our resident blue tits.

They had spent weeks checking out the nest box on our maple tree before building a nest and laying a few eggs.

Then the great tits rocked up!