The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,100 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 18 trips to carry that many people.
Peanut and Victor had a very busy Xmas and New Year with 5 private dates and 2 charity events in their diaries. Luckily for me they were all indoors, and in some beautiful rooms – Victor looked especially grand in the billiards room at Fowey Hall Hotel.
The families enjoyed learning owl facts [ most people know the word nocturnal, but diurnal is a new one for many] and making owl masks.
Of course when the children wear their masks they are definitely not allowed to move their eyes but have to remember to move their heads to see, just like the owls do!
Trenython Manor had a glorious Xmas tree in the room, making a wonderful backdrop for the close up and personal photographs with the families. I would love to offer evening owl walks through their gardens when the weather warms up a bit.
Lankelly Rugby Club Junior Xmas Party chose a Hogwarts theme this year, so an invitation for the owls to attend was an obvious choice. I made sure I was prepared and researched the owls famous in the Harry Potter series, putting together fact sheets showing the children how these owls live in the real world – rather than being used mainly for postal deliveries as in the stories. As both Victor and Peanut were at the party the children, and adults, could see the huge diversity of these fascinating birds – especially after I pointed out that Peanut was just as fully grown as Victor and not his baby at all!
The invitation to the Rugby Club’s party came as a direct result of the support I have been giving to CHICKS – Country Holidays for Inner City Kids – who have a holiday retreat in the nearby village, Tywardreath. Peanut and I attended two of their fundraising Xmas mornings, one in Snuggles Nursery in Bodmin and the second at Happy Days Nursery in St Blazey. For a small donation anyone could have a close up photograph taken of them with Peanut. This went down really well and we raised £80 for the charity which was fab!
Snuggles Nursery put us in their sensory room, which was perfect! Peanut is very used to the public attention and is so photogenic that the nursery are thinking about having him as their mascot!!
I already have a few more dates booked for 2016, which is really exciting as it means my business is starting to fly 🙂 Plans to work with CHICKS and deliver activities to those children are in the pipeline and still lots of digging and building in the field to do too. Meanwhile using other venues is giving me the chance to get out with the owls, meet loads of lovely people and share the owl love!!
No of course they don’t, but if anyone asks they got new aviaries, a new weathering and went to a few parties. Yes, new aviaries and parties! In between getting ready for Christmas and looking after my husband, who broke his hand at work and then a week before the feast day had a bone shaping operation on his foot [very painful and on crutches for a while yet], the new aviaries were finished enough for the two big owls to move into!
It was hard work in the cold, wind and rain but with the help of some amazing friends – especially the man with the larch! – we finished on the 23rd and Victor and BB were in their bigger, stronger and most importantly drier homes.
We already had a lot of the materials and the steel roofing sheets and larch made it all good and solid. The final push on the 23rd saw Pete, my son Cameron and me in the pouring rain taking out crucial panels from the old aviaries to put into the new. The owls were put onto bow perches and it was a matter of having to finish or they would have no where to go that night. The final netting was stapled by the light of the mobile phone – but we did it!!
Still need to get a load of gravel on BB’s floor [I have a ton of pea gravel at the bottom of the field to bring up via wheelbarrow as its so muddy!] and after a bit more trim and a lick of paint they will be done. BB is now in residence in a 12×12 foot space and Victor has a 6x12foot area. Both have rope swings and plenty of room to spread their wings. Both also seem much happier, more animated and alert – my Xmas present 🙂
Then the following Monday we had another building day and an amazing weathering shelter was built from another old fence panel and the skillful hands of Owen – with Cameron helping too. Meanwhile Trace and I moved gravel [again/still] and took more of the old down. Now Peanut and Whisper will have somewhere to perch out of the wind at the farm – it is really taking shape.
Ideal – and it has handles so I can move it 🙂
So that’s the new builds, big owls all secure and safe from the wild wind and rain.
I will tell you about the owl Xmas parties next time; here is a selfie from Peanut for now – belated Merry Xmas and Happy New Year everyone!!
Bird Lady of Fowey 