First session in the new hide...

Today was the day I had planned to have my first session in the new hide; "The Hive". Unfortunately, I hadn't read my messages properly and so I arrived to find Simon on site, trashing Rhodies again. No big deal, he said, and switched to putting the perch up on the barn owl box instead - since it required two people. Very pleased with it, the perch looks really natural and a bit like an arm beckoning the birds in. With any luck it will make the box more attractive to a breeding pair as the owlets will be able to venture out of the box, pre-fledge, with a little more safety now. I'm also hoping that the knot on the tree that is directly below the box, will sprout shoots in the spring and give the birds some cover and a slight safety "netting", in case they fall.

The forest pheasant flasher

Whilst up there, Simon discovered a load of twigs inside the box which we assume were the beginnings of a squirrel's drey, as Owls don't make nests as such, so they were removed and Simon kindly left shortly afterwards; crashing around in the Rhodies and photographing wild birds from a hide don't mix at all.

So toastie I steamed the window panes

I chucked some mixed fruit, seed and nuts about the ground in front of the hide, checked the suet log holder was full and left a dead mouse out on the old tree stump (courtesy of my cat) in case there was a hungry bird of prey about. I stuck the camera through the third window and left the panes in the others for warmth and settled in for my first go at shooting from this newest hide. I was expecting a fair wait on account of Simon's activity all morning, but thankfully it was an almost immediate start with woodpeckers and nuthatches zooming down in a frenzy to get at the peanuts. They were followed by the smaller tits and a couple of Robins. I let them all feed awhile first without shooting. I wanted them to get used to the moving lens poking out of the front of the hide and not see it as something to be scared of. Then I progressed to randomly clicking the shutter whether birds where there or not. Eventually I started shooting and I'm certain I needn't have waited - the birds weren't bothered at all!

Two hot coffees and a second mug-shot soup later, and I had to resort to lighting the gas cooker to take the chill off - one open window really does change the comfort rating of the hide in Winter - soon afterwards, another wave of birds came through and a third hour was lost, camera clicking away. By this time I had the wellies off, and the burner on the floor beneath my feet, between my stool and the camera shelf - warm air rising up to my hands and face and steaming up the 3 remaining window panes - proper toastie.
A pair of blackbirds visited me one at a time and didn't stay long, unlike the two greedy male pheasants that seemed to be far less fearful than those of last winter. Male pheasants really are stunning at this time of year - so many colours and such water-logged lighting really brings them out, as it does with bluebells after rain.

the first proud male ("Flasher")

The mist made everything seem slightly eerie and mystical, but the low light was horrendous for shooting in. I juggled the ISO for a while and then reverted to timing the shutter to coincide with the moment the nuthatch pauses to check for predators. A challenging, but brilliant, first shoot. A few tweaks needed on the suet log feeder and a cushion for the stool would make life a little more comfortable. I also think that putting an old piece of underlay down on the floor would deaden the noise of me fidgeting on the stool, but most of all, I need to fill the beanbag properly; balancing a D4 and 500mm lens on a bag of apples and macaroni really isn't ideal.

and the second slightly shabbier male ("skunk") who is
a Mongolian Ring-necked pheasant - no less

Wow - What a Yule!

Saturday 24th December
After unpacking and getting everything set up, Tracey spent the afternoon making snowflake decorations for the Yardarm whilst the rest of us pretty much sat around our new makeshift dining table, drinking and relaxing or feeding the fires.
Visitors came and went and the Yule log went on the main fire sometime late afternoon, the plan being for it to burn throughout Sunday and on into Monday morning. We each made wishes or cast thoughts into the flames of things we wished to get rid of, as is ancient custom for Yule logs - thankfully they are not just chocolate sponge and icing.

Christmas morning chores

Cassius was lit and drying out nicely all afternoon and by 9pm the temperature at the door had reached 350 degrees C... so hot in fact, that it blew the glass out of the thermometer and cooked a roast potato in just 9 minutes!  A worrying amount of smoke was escaping from a crack in the back though, so we calmed things down and shunted the fire over to the other side of the oven, then let it die down.

Christmas morning saw more visitors, bucks fizz (or just fizz), and a breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled egg on toast - perfect. This was followed by Flee making minor repairs to Cassius using some remaining fire cement and Ant getting the Turkey going on the spit.
The boys kept the flames perfectly adjusted all day, with the kettle on it's own fire... constantly on the go, the Turkey over some hot embers and the main fire burning away with the remains of the Yule log just rolled to the edge still smouldering. Another fire was laid inside "pac-man" (an old donated BBQ which was to serve as our hostess trolley to keep things warm if our timings were all out) and a final fourth fire inside Cassius of course for the spuds and veg.

Pac-Man

The Turkey took a little over 3 hours to cook, but unfortunately the 9-minute-spud of the previous night had given us false hope that we would be fine to put them on only once we knew the Turkey was cooked. Sadly Cassius reached only half the heat of the night before and took an absolute age to cook anything, so we transferred the majority of the oven food to Pac-Man to cook whilst we desperately tried to crank up the fires inside the oven and stall the Turkey. We had to have a cut-off point as none of us wanted to eat in the dark, so come 3pm we decided to just go for it and whatever state it was in, would be how it turned out - and actually, it wasn't half bad. The spuds were a little anaemic and the parsnips pretty solid, but the cauliflower cheese was awesome as were the bird, the sprouts, the stuffing balls and the carrot and swede combo. All in all a mighty effort and a mighty meal. Way better than the sandwiches and leftover pizza lunch that Ryan and Gemma had brought with them!, (Becky's Camembert however, did look pretty tasty). After lunch, the washing up was swift as most cooking dishes were single-use metal recyclables - oh what joy! The mead was opened and we retired to the fire and got it roaring. It had not been a cold day at all, but we feared the evening was going to turn chilly and possibly wet. The mist had rolled in quite quickly and everything felt just a teensy bit damp.
Mungo and Rain arrived shortly after 7pm and after a few more drinks, chocolates and presents, it was time for the evening movie... a very short, but memorable episode of "This is Your Life". I remember the programme being a fairly nostalgic and emotional affair when I was a kid, with the guests of the show often ending in tears. Well I'm relieved to say, ours was no different - and thankfully they were tears of laughter. Side-splitting laughter; the very best kind. Our cheeks hurt, our eyes stung and a gob-smacked Tracey took some time to compose herself after the shock and realisation of it all - brilliant. Unfortunately the movie is not suitable for public consumption on account of it being most definitely rated 18. Sorry folks - can't share here! The laughter continued long into the night and I think I crawled into my sleeping bag around 330am.

Best present ever... Cassius' new front door - made by Ant!

I have no idea what went on Boxing day morning, as I was the last one up. Apparently everyone had a bit of a lie-in but mine lasted until 11am - lovely. Tracey came to my tent with her god-awful frostie-the-snowman plastic singing toy thing and let me know we had guests, so it was definitely time to get up. More first time visitors to Rais, who had already been given the tour and were about to get going and enjoy their boxing day. Albeit brief, and I stank of booze and bonfires, it was lovely to see them and good that they got me out of my pit, I was close to going into hibernation - think I will when I get home and have had a bath.... 4 separate fires surrounding you all day plays havoc with your eyes - they need to be shut right now... for a very long time!

Autumn catch up.... been a little busy lately...

Not even sure where to start - it's been a bit hectic this autumn what with work being so manic and me travelling all over the place. But that doesn't mean work at Rais has stopped - not by a long shot...
I've personally not been to Rais as often as I'd like (I fear this will always be the case with my job), so most of November saw Simon up there alone again, path strimming and clearing rhodies like a machine - and regularly baiting the new hive for me; making the place unrecognisable, accessible and awesome all at once.
So much so, that in late November Simon caught his first woodpecker at the Hive on his mobile (I'm working on his camera angle but give me time) - the birds are regularly visiting the feeding post and seem to be un-fussed by human presence. I just hope it was as exciting for him as the news was for me - the Hive is working!
I had my birthday in November too, which meant I was blessed with some fantastic presents, including a full size, totally camouflaged, home made, Tawny owl box. So excited.
Early December we took ladders up there to get the thing fixed in one of the oaks on the Northern border. We faced it East to ensure any chicks don't cook in the summer and the box doesn't face any prevailing winds.

Moving the Yule Log

Since then, Ant has completed phase 1 of the mammoth (5 month) campervan renovation, so we had the privilege of his company (and his muscles), and after some searching, he picked out the perfect Yule log.
Now, considering it must burn for three days straight and provide enough light and heat for everyone, it has to be a pretty impressive and important piece - which means it weighs a tonne!
Light work for the boys to get it down into camp, where Flee and Ant had spent a long day logging in preparation for the yuletide celebrations.
Beside myself with excitement... christmas eve til boxing day in the wood - I can't wait. Cassius will be fired up to cook the roast potatoes and cauliflower cheese whilst the turkey turns on the spit - what could be finer? Except knowing that I will be sharing it with my nearest and dearest who have spent all year making it possible. Love you all and can't thank you enough - it's a dream come true - smiling all the way to the moonlit wayleave. x