This afternoon has been heaven. It was the usual busy morning with breakfasts and guests but with the help of Angela and our new helper - young Jessica - we were able to get all the work done which meant that for an hour or so this afternoon I was able to relax and enjoy this beautiful spring day. The courtyard at Lambriggan Court is a sun trap and the most perfect place to sit quietly on the love seat with a cup of tea - and just enjoy. It was so peaceful , feeling the sun on my face and listening to all the birds. No wind today so couldn't even hear the waves crashing on the beach over the hill at Perranporth. The courtyard is such a sun trap that we even have our own banana plant which produces hands of small green bananas later on in the year. Next year we hope to plant some vines around the courtyard too - I am sure they will do well. Jon is thinking of vines on a bigger scale. In fact there is talk of a Lambriggan Vinyard at some point - possibly next to the walnut orchard. There are a few vinyards in Cornwall which produce very fine wines. We shall have to research this thoroughly first!
I even had time today to go 'walkabout' around the grounds. I noticed that we still have daffodils out and the Camelias are still blooming. They have not stopped blooming since last year - stunning reds and pinks. There is an abundance of blue-bells and white-bells and a yellow canopy of celandine. A profusion of pink Campion and mauve flowering ground geraniums. The cider apple tree is in blossom along with all the cherry trees and everthing is turning green.
Sitting in the jungle house on the lake I watched the black-necked swans gliding through the water. The moorhen who started off with several young now has only one left ducking and diving by her side. The mallard ducks who have made their home with us are keeping a very close eye on their ducklings but no matter how vigilant they are it won't be long before there are only one or two left. For the moment though it is wonderful to observe them. A couple of sparrows are trying to nest in the thatched roof of the jungle house but it was only newly thatched last summer so I don't think there's much hope. It is so peaceful in the jungle house on the lake - it feels like another world. One night last summer we had a BBQ in the jungle house with our neighbours. With lanterns and the noises of our birds and the sound of the waterfall between the lakes it felt and sounded like we were in the depths of Africa not Cornwall!!!
Back in the house it was time to clean out the ne-ne gosling and it's companion. We had collected a ducking from a friend's farm to keep the gosling company and to stop it from becoming too imprinted ( it is important that gosling knows it is a bird and not a human being!). The ne-ne gosling has trebled in size at least in the last 9 days since it has hatched . At first the two birds were very wary of each other and stayed in separate corners of their box. Now they are the best of friends and stick together all the time. If you are staying at Lambriggan Court later in the year do not be surprised to see a duck and a goose waddling about together . Actually you should not be surprised at anything you find at Lambriggan Court . I'm not any more.....
Sunday 20 April 2008
Thursday 10 April 2008
A new arrival at Lambriggan Court
Tuesday came and went with no sign of our very rare nene(pronounced nay-nay) goose egg hatching. Wednesday was really the last day that we were hoping would result in a gosling but we were kept waiting until late afternoon when Jon announced when 'candling' the egg that the beak was now in the air-sac. An extremely important move because if this doesn't happen then there will not be a hatching.
By bed-time the whole beak was well into the air-sac and we could hear the faint tap , tap , tapping from the inside of the egg . At one point with this very rare egg to my ear the telephone rang and I was in a bit of a dilemma whether to put the egg down or answer the phone which I just knew was going to be a guest looking for accommodation. I usually always put the guest first even if it means putting dinner or a shower on stand by - other bed and breakfast owners will recognise this situation- but I am afraid in this instance the ne-ne goose egg pipped everyone else to the post and I missed the phone call ( Jon would be relieved to hear this). Luckily the guest phoned back later and I was able to explain , much to his great amusement!
The ne-ne gosling was obviously very active during the night and to our great relief and delight we had an exhausted but live ne-ne gosling at 6.30am this morning when Jon went to make a cup of tea.
The first thing our guests wanted to know this morning was had the egg hatched? We were able to show them our new addition - only two and a half hours old - whereupon the gentleman proceeded to take lots of photos . His holiday snaps will certainly be different from the usual ones. Not many people will be returning from Cornwall with photographs of such a bird that is still rare enough to be on the endangered species list!
As I write this our little gosling is stretched out quite happily under the heat lamp after having sips of water every couple of hours and this afternoon has had his first taste of chick crumb mixed with water.
I am sure the neighbours will be round tonight to 'wet the baby's head' ( any excuse will do ) and our guests this weekend will have an added bonus to their stay at Lambriggan Court.
All in all a good day's work.
By bed-time the whole beak was well into the air-sac and we could hear the faint tap , tap , tapping from the inside of the egg . At one point with this very rare egg to my ear the telephone rang and I was in a bit of a dilemma whether to put the egg down or answer the phone which I just knew was going to be a guest looking for accommodation. I usually always put the guest first even if it means putting dinner or a shower on stand by - other bed and breakfast owners will recognise this situation- but I am afraid in this instance the ne-ne goose egg pipped everyone else to the post and I missed the phone call ( Jon would be relieved to hear this). Luckily the guest phoned back later and I was able to explain , much to his great amusement!
The ne-ne gosling was obviously very active during the night and to our great relief and delight we had an exhausted but live ne-ne gosling at 6.30am this morning when Jon went to make a cup of tea.
The first thing our guests wanted to know this morning was had the egg hatched? We were able to show them our new addition - only two and a half hours old - whereupon the gentleman proceeded to take lots of photos . His holiday snaps will certainly be different from the usual ones. Not many people will be returning from Cornwall with photographs of such a bird that is still rare enough to be on the endangered species list!
As I write this our little gosling is stretched out quite happily under the heat lamp after having sips of water every couple of hours and this afternoon has had his first taste of chick crumb mixed with water.
I am sure the neighbours will be round tonight to 'wet the baby's head' ( any excuse will do ) and our guests this weekend will have an added bonus to their stay at Lambriggan Court.
All in all a good day's work.
Saturday 5 April 2008
Spring marches on
It's been a few weeks since I wrote the last blog for Lambriggan Court but we have been so busy with all our guests over the Easter period and since that I have just been unable to find the time. I decided this morning after clearing breakfast that I would sit down and catch up with all that has been happening . The two new suites were finished just in time for our Easter guests and it was lovely to see the surprise and delight on their faces when they saw The Lemon Suite and The Furniss Suite for the first time. It really was worth all the extra effort to create these very special, beautiful rooms.
The weather forecast for this weekend was absolutely awful but so far we seem to have escaped it here at Lambriggan Court. The sun is shining through the kitchen window and the grasses and Cornish Palms are blowing in a balmy breeze. A few clouds but generally a beautiful blue sky. I can just hear the surf pounding the beach over the hill in Perranporth.
There are some new sounds in the dawn chorus at the moment. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker can be heard tapping away at the telegraph post down in the field. They usually inhabit woodlands and parks and old trees but I imagine that to a Greater Spotted Woodpecker a telegraph pole will suffice. I do hope it misses the wires! The GSW is quite distinctive by a large white shoulder patch that catches the eye. There are 180 species of Woodpeckers, of which only three are British and gained their English name because of the habit of some species tapping and pecking noisely on tree trunks with their beaks.
The other noisy morning visitors at the moment are the Canadian Geese flying overhead in their V-shape formation signaling that Spring has arrived.
Wandering into our newly planted walnut orchard have been the Red Deer -eyeing up the new shoots. This has meant extra work for us to put fences around the saplings to protect them or we would lose the whole orchard to the deer.The Red Deer is one of the largest deer species and the European Red Deer tend to have reddish/brown summer coats. Only the stags have antlers which start growing in the Spring and are shed each year , usually at the end of Winter. Stunning animals to look at but unfortunately could create total devastation in our orchard.
This morning there was a moorhen on the top lake who soon moved her newly-hatched brood to the lower lake away from one of the male swans. Moorhens are from the coot family and are only about 13 inches in length. Both parents incubate their eggs and then feed their young on insects which they find by picking through water reeds. The eggs usually hatch over a period of 2-3 days and then the young will swim off with one of the adults. As they mature their diet expands to include vegetation, insects and worms. They have multiple broods each year as they lose many young to foxes and other predators (including swans!).
Elsewhere at Lambriggan Court the hedges are budding, the gunnera (like giant rhubarb) have sprouted after hibernating for the Winter, the cherry trees are in full bloom and there is a carpet of primroses and wild violets. The Mallard ducks are splashing around in the fountain in the courtyard , four pairs of owls are now nesting and four baby wallabies are entertaining our guests. We have established that at least one of the grey wallabies is carrying a white baby or 'joey'.
However the most exciting 'happening' this week is discovering that one of the rare goose eggs we put in the incubator is definitely alive and kicking and if all goes well a hatching is due on Tuesday or Wednesday this week. Nene geese (pronounced nay-nay) - a native of Hawaii and a couple of the other nearby islands were brought to the brink of extinction in the early 1940's. Sir Peter Scott - the renowned naturalist was given special permission to take 6 pairs from the wild and initiate a captive breeding programme. This continues today as the nene geese are still very much on the endangered species list. We are keeping our fingers crossed that all goes well in the next few days . I shall keep you informed.
Meanwhile the chickens are on the move up to their new home in the orchard minus the cockerel
that was lost to a fox a few weeks ago!
The weather forecast for this weekend was absolutely awful but so far we seem to have escaped it here at Lambriggan Court. The sun is shining through the kitchen window and the grasses and Cornish Palms are blowing in a balmy breeze. A few clouds but generally a beautiful blue sky. I can just hear the surf pounding the beach over the hill in Perranporth.
There are some new sounds in the dawn chorus at the moment. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker can be heard tapping away at the telegraph post down in the field. They usually inhabit woodlands and parks and old trees but I imagine that to a Greater Spotted Woodpecker a telegraph pole will suffice. I do hope it misses the wires! The GSW is quite distinctive by a large white shoulder patch that catches the eye. There are 180 species of Woodpeckers, of which only three are British and gained their English name because of the habit of some species tapping and pecking noisely on tree trunks with their beaks.
The other noisy morning visitors at the moment are the Canadian Geese flying overhead in their V-shape formation signaling that Spring has arrived.
Wandering into our newly planted walnut orchard have been the Red Deer -eyeing up the new shoots. This has meant extra work for us to put fences around the saplings to protect them or we would lose the whole orchard to the deer.The Red Deer is one of the largest deer species and the European Red Deer tend to have reddish/brown summer coats. Only the stags have antlers which start growing in the Spring and are shed each year , usually at the end of Winter. Stunning animals to look at but unfortunately could create total devastation in our orchard.
This morning there was a moorhen on the top lake who soon moved her newly-hatched brood to the lower lake away from one of the male swans. Moorhens are from the coot family and are only about 13 inches in length. Both parents incubate their eggs and then feed their young on insects which they find by picking through water reeds. The eggs usually hatch over a period of 2-3 days and then the young will swim off with one of the adults. As they mature their diet expands to include vegetation, insects and worms. They have multiple broods each year as they lose many young to foxes and other predators (including swans!).
Elsewhere at Lambriggan Court the hedges are budding, the gunnera (like giant rhubarb) have sprouted after hibernating for the Winter, the cherry trees are in full bloom and there is a carpet of primroses and wild violets. The Mallard ducks are splashing around in the fountain in the courtyard , four pairs of owls are now nesting and four baby wallabies are entertaining our guests. We have established that at least one of the grey wallabies is carrying a white baby or 'joey'.
However the most exciting 'happening' this week is discovering that one of the rare goose eggs we put in the incubator is definitely alive and kicking and if all goes well a hatching is due on Tuesday or Wednesday this week. Nene geese (pronounced nay-nay) - a native of Hawaii and a couple of the other nearby islands were brought to the brink of extinction in the early 1940's. Sir Peter Scott - the renowned naturalist was given special permission to take 6 pairs from the wild and initiate a captive breeding programme. This continues today as the nene geese are still very much on the endangered species list. We are keeping our fingers crossed that all goes well in the next few days . I shall keep you informed.
Meanwhile the chickens are on the move up to their new home in the orchard minus the cockerel
that was lost to a fox a few weeks ago!
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