Our little resident

After first spotting the little ones in the backyard, I kept an eye on them more out of curiosity than anything else. They ended up curled up asleep under the bamboo leaves for that night.





In the morning the smaller of the two was gone but the larger one was still sleeping. During the morning he/she moved out into the yard for a sunbathed nap. And proceeded to move about the grassy area for more naps.




Today I started to do some research (http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/) and it seems that the one that remains is possibly unwell. They are evidently nocturnal animals and any sighting of them during the day is not normal. This breaks my heart since both David and I have enjoyed watching out for the little guy. After my research I went down to check on him and found him exploring the garden looking for lunch. This was the most energy I'd seen him exert in days and his eyes were looking beady like they are supposed to so I am hopeful. However, I realize that he probably still needs care beyond what we can do for him and so I will most likely call the Hedgehog Preservation for a carer to come help him. I'll be sorry to see him go.

Once David got home we discussed it more and watched Herbie (because that was what David has decided to call him) explore for a while. When explorations went out of the garden and across our driveway and even out into the road of the cul-de-sac we started making those calls for his safety. The Hedgehog Preservation provided a number for a kind lady, Pauline, down the street who does Hedgehog rescue and she had us collect the little guy until she could get here. I went outside with a hand towel and gathered the little one up and put him in a box and we waited for our rescuer. Pauline was so kind and told us that we had a baby on our hands and then we went looking all over the garden for a nest. Pauline assured us that we didn't have anywhere that there could have been a nest and she wondered how they had wandered into our garden. Problem was that Pauline didn't have the experience or equipment to take care of Herbie since he was so young, so we needed to find someone who could give the little guy the care he so needed. This little one needed mom's milk or as close as we could get pronto.


So we climb in the truck and Pauline directed us to the veterinarian that she knew was good with hedgehogs. His Winterbourne office was closed, so we went to his other clinic in Yate. But he wasn't in there either so we called Pauline's husband who provided us with Hedgehog Rescue's phone number and off we went to find her home base in Yate.


Yvonne with Hedgehog rescue was so kind. She had several hedgehogs of various ages that she was caring for and that gave us the opportunity to see a full sized one . . . which was about the size of an American football. Hmm, our Herbie was tiny which means the other one was even smaller. Yvonne looked over Herbie and saw that he did have some fly eggs which she diligently removed with tweezers. Evidently if the fly eggs were left to hatch, the maggots would have eaten poor Herbie alive which would have been just awful. Upon further inspection it was noted that he had a shallow wound in his neck which had eggs and just hatched maggots which Yvonne cleaned out as well.


That being done, Yvonne put some medication on the owie and then used a syringe (no needle) to feed honey to Herbie to help with sugar levels and shock. He liked that!! She then mixed A/D pet food with water and at first he turned up his little nose. She took a syringe (again no needle) to feed him some of that as well. The goal was to get the little guy rehydrated. Last, but not least, before she put him to bed, she gave him some fluids intravenously . . that he didn't like. And then he was tucked into bed for the night, Safe and Warm.


We dropped poor Pauline off at her home so she could salvage what was left of her evening and hopefully her dinner with her family and we headed home having missed the opportunity of making it to practice for the evening but feeling ever so good about having rescued poor Herbie.

Hedgehogs in our Backyard . .oops, I mean Garden

I heard thunder, I was sure of it, but thunderstorms here are fairly rare and so I wandered to the kithen windows to look out and be sure. The skies were fairly gray to be sure and it was definately thunder. As I glanced across the backyard, er, I mean garden, what did my eyes see but a little prickly brown lump while I wondered what that was my eyes caught a smaller one moving further in the back.

I was amazed, they were hedgehogs. We actually had hedgehogs in our back garden. I stood just watching the one sleep while the other explored for the longest time before I remembered I had a camera in my phone (on my person) and so I snuck out to see how best to photograph them without disturbing them. I then sent a photo and text to David's phone to let him know of my discovery.

Hmm, they were so oblivious to my presence that I decided to go and fetch my camera and hope they were still there when I returned. By gosh, they were!!

The bigger of the two still hadn't moved and appeared to be sleeping soundly.

The smaller of the two had wandered all the way across the garden and was now exploring the new treeline along the fence.

They were both so cute. I can't believe that they were both still oblivious to my presence as I photographed them. The phone rang and it was David checking in on our newfound inhabitants about the time that the rain started. The heavy raindrops woke the bigger one and he started waddling toward the cover of the back trees. The smaller was still exploring while I talked to David indoors. Once the rain remained somewhat constant, the smaller one also decied to take cover and I lost track of him in the mulch and tree branches.

What a wonderful experience!

Warwick Castle

Having dropped David off at work and reset the GPS Navigator toward Warwick Castle we were off. The main goal for today's trip was to see the Archer and the Falconer and we noted we should have plenty of time to catch at least 1 of each act.

We parked and wandered the long path up to the front gates


Warwick is also known as the "Kingmaker" for any who have played that board game and so we had to go through that special exhibit. It provided for some nice atmostphere. Unfortunately we went through a portion of the display that was 1 way through some narrow dimly lit hallways and they had provided some hands-on stuff for people which was causing a bit of a delay. Something to remember for future trips.

We exited the exhibit into a gift shop and browsed a bit. We noted a couple of big books off to the side which allowed you to research your name to get a family history and coat of arms done. They surprisingly, had Lisa's last name and so she got one done while I checked for my maiden name . .which they also had. Our new printed family histories and coat of arms in hand we rushed to meet the archer's demonstration.

The poor guy asked for a target from the audience and got a small water bottle which he diligently put up and then missed with every arrow he had. But he provided a good show and several laughs. Thanks to Lisa for videoing him.





Next we opted for the 1890's house party exhibit, partly because it can still apply to our American Civil War time period and partly because I knew there was some Civil War era prints framed within.

Not to mention some great furniture.


And then we saw a framed painting of Queen Victoria with the small crown that we had seen in the Crown Jewels exhibit at the Tower of London


That being mostly enjoyed we were off to make the 2:30 showing of the falconer. We were somewhat early and so we took the opportunity to go through the Peacock Gardens.

Where there was quite a big of plumage on display


The falconer didn't disappoint. He started with Ernie who is a young (6 month old) owl and watch poor Ernie get dive-bombed by a sparrow hawk.



The sparrow hawk was NOT part of the scheduled show but would make relatively frequent appearances.

After Ernie was Sidney. Sidney is always impressive as she is a Bald Eagle.


Watch the sparrow hawk think about taking a swipe at Sidney before changing it's mind.




After Sidney came the vulture. He didn't feel like doing too much of anything for the day, but then again, we were assured that vultures are relatively lazy birds by nature. But we were also encouraged to "look lively" so the vulture didn't make an mistakes as to it's food source.


After the vulture came the new addition to the show, the Stellar Sea Eagle, Nikita. She was impressive to watch for not only her beauty but her sheer size. We were informed that she has an 8' wingspan and weighs 17lbs. Needless to say, the Falconer did not allow Nikita to perch on his arm at any time during the performance.



After having seen the falconer, it was time to go and so we made our way toward the main gate. Of course we couldn't leave without visiting the Victorian Gardens briefly.


With that, we were back on our way to pick up David from work and stop by the local fish and chips place for dinner.

Yummy!!

For all the pictures we took at Warwick, please view the following slideshow:

Ashton Court

After visiting Berkeley Castle and the Bristol Zoo we found it to be 6 PM on a weekend and everything was closed. So we (okay David, since he was driving) decided to drive around a bit and see some things around Bristol. Since neither Lisa nor I had been across the Clifton Suspension bridge David decided that would be a good thing to do. Of course traffic actually trying to cross for good reason doesn't understand if you want to stop for a picture so we had to make do with driving as slow as we could without holding up traffic.


As we exited the bridge and were going to turn around to go back, we noted some big gates and found that they were the entrance to Ashton Court. Since we didn't have the 50p to recross the bridge, we were looking for another way back to our side of the river when we ran across another entrance to Ashton Court. The gates were still open and so we drove on in.


We parked among the other cars already in the lot and figured with this many people they can't possibly close the gates and trap everyone. We had seen a herd of deer as we drove in and saw there was a walk path so that you could look into the deer park. Lisa read over the information and noted the beautiful view of Bristol.



David and I proceeded along the path to see what we could see of the deer herd.


There were a couple of nice bucks among the herd


and there was one REALLY nice buck off by himself.


The only thing to quell the tranquility of the scene was one small child who was attempting to get the attention of the deer to look at her by yelling. I guess that would be the difference between protected deer and wild deer . . these deer didn't pay her any attention whatsoever. Having seen all we wanted to of the deer and wondering what else of this place might be open we wandered back toward the parking lot and the main building. As we wandered, we heard one mother exclaim to her young child, "hurry up or we'll miss the balloons." We were meandering with others now and as we rounded the bend we saw, to our surprise, a balloon launch in full swing. We were excited and stayed to watch the process.




We got giggles from the one balloon who had tied a pirate skeleton to its ropes.


David, having flown before with his family, was explaining about the parachutes in the top of the balloons to release air when needing to decend. As one of the larger balloons was being inflated, we noted that it had side chutes instead.


Then before we knew it, the balloons were starting to be off and away


And as some launched, even more were being filled. We had started watching 4 balloons but were now noticing we were watching close to 10


About this time, David felt a stick hit his foot and looking down saw Redge. Redge was looking for someone to play fetch with and figured David looked like a good candidate. David threw the stick and threw the stick and threw the stick. Every time Redge got it and brought it right back to lay at David's feet. We laughed and giggled at Redge's enthusiasm, all the time wondering where he had come from. About that time, Redge's owner approached and said that if he had his way he would play fetch until he dropped. She also commented that most people would have given up on the slimy stick by now, leaving Redge to find another playmate. After some more throws and then David refusing no matter how many time Redge dropped the stick ON him because Redge still needed the energy for the walk home, Redge decided to give it a rest.

Before they wandered on, Redge's owner thanked us for excercising her dog for her. She also let us know that if we enjoyed the deer park on the entrance side than we would probably enjoy the spotted deer on the other side of the park. We got some quick walking directions from her before they went.

We stayed and watched almost all the rest of the balloons launch and watched quite a few of them fly over the building and on toward the Bristol cityscape.


Then we decided to trek over for the other deer. These deer ended up not only being smaller and cuter, but much further away. Since none of us had thought to bring our binoculars for our trip to Berkeley and the Zoo, we didn't have them with us for this outing and therefore couldn't get the best look.


With the balloons all being launched, the deer all having been seen, some good playtime with a four-legged friend been had and it getting on towards 9 PM we decided it was time to consider heading out for something to eat. We stopped that night at The Fox in Yate and had a FABULOUS dinner.

Tomorrow would see Lisa and I on our own again for her last full day in Bristol.

To see all the pictures we took during our visit at Ashton Court, please review the following slideshow.


If you would like to see the videos we took of the balloon launch, please visit http://members.aol.com/cimberann/vance/ashton.htm.

Bristol Zoo

We arrived for what was going to be a brief but interesting tour of the Bristol Zoo. David had been to this zoo before but at the time, the new "Monkey Jungle" was under construction and he was ready to have a look to see how things had changed.

As we entered the zoo, we realized we had only 1 hour 45 minutes to see everything we wanted to see before they closed and so we made some quick plans as to what we wanted to see and what we could do without.

The Asiatic Lions were just inside and so we couldn't help but take a quick look at the big cats as we wandered further into the zoo. This was actually the parting shot of the great Lion but it was the best one we could get through the barrier between him and us . . he almost looked sad that we had to leave.


Just past the lions was an enclosure for the Red Panda. While we couldn't see him on the way through, we did see him on the way back.

We were also able to find a poster as to what he is supposed to look like which is what helped us actually locate him.


We wanted to see Monkey Jungle the most, but we were going to pass by Reptile House and Bug World. At first we opted out of Reptile House and then we recalled it would hold such things as Tree Frogs and so we had to double back for a quick tour. While there wasn't "tree frogs" perse, we did see the most brightly colored, but very deadly, dart frogs.


That idea being met, we were on to Monkey Jungle. Monkey Jungle didn't disappoint. They've done a nice job of providing both interior and exterior enclosures that provide environments similar to their natural habitats. And special bonus, we can walk through an enclosure for the ring-tailed lemurs.

For any of you who've seen the movie Madagascar the ring-tailed lemurs are the ones that were doing the dancing and singing. We didn't see any of that kind of excitement but they were still really cool to watch.


Now we really had to skate through the rest of the zoo. So, on to Seal & Penguin Coasts. The Penguins weren't doing much today but then again it was quite warm and they were into their nesting season as we understand it. The seals on the other hand were having a great time swimming with one another which didn't provide us much to look at up top, until this nice seal took pity on the spectators and decided to pose for his photo op.

And then we had the opportunity to view the seals as they swam and we realized that these were the ones putting on the show because they had the same repeated swim pattern to maximize being viewed by the underwater public. Showoffs!


From there we really needed to fly, so off to the Wallace Aviary where we saw several birds that I was previously unfamiliar with including the Victoria Crowned Pigeon (which is about 4x the size of a standard pigeon) . And for some reason I move out of the way when this bird comes strutting toward me.


As we were forced to fly the coop from the aviary we were left with 30 minutes to see some of the outdoor enclosures before they closed the zoo completely and shooed us out. As we wandered back we ran across the Squirrel Monkeys. This fascinated us for some time as they were small, agile, cute and adorable . . and there were babies too.



Recognizing that time was escaping us quickly, we crossed the zoo another way and found a running time-trial for the kids. Knowing that David used to run, we couldn't help but encourage him to take the trials. I'm happy to record that he made 25 KmH and that is with his slightly still bummed ankle.


We found our way to the Meerkats. Kindly, their "on watch" meerkat posed for photos. Of course he had to make himself look fierce and cunning.


After we cut through the gardens to try to avoid any of the staff who had started corralling public and herding them towards the doors, we found the Prairie Dogs. They were so cute. The ones that weren't taking a nap, were playing and the ones that weren't playing which was about 1/2 were standing up on their hind legs at our approach, almost as a welcome.

The lovely wire you see crossing the above shot is to keep predatorial birds from snatching the cuties from their outdoor habitat.


With that, we'd been found and were being herded toward the front. All in all, it was a great time. For all the photos taken at the Bristol Zoo, please view the following slideshow.

Berkley Castle

Berkeley Castle is believed to be the oldest castle in Britain to be lived in by the same family for nearly 900 years. Not that they didn't have their share of heartache in maintaining the castle. Berkeley is the Castle where King Edward II was imprisoned briefly and then murdered. Berkeley is where the barons of the west gathered before Magna Carta. And where Queen Elizabeth I enjoyed visiting for hunting and played bowles.

With all that history, how could we resist viewing this castle. Visiting times are limited for this castle as it is still occupied by the family today, but we coordinated a viewing onto our schedules and off we went.

When we first entered the gate, it wasn't the castle itself that caught our attention but instead the view over the countryside and gardens.


David found a place to rest and read through the visitor's guide while Lisa and I took photos


And then we decided to get on with our tour of this historic castle.


As we entered the courtyard the blend of old and new intrigued us. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside.


Once inside we caught up with a tour that was already started and got to hear interesting stories about the Castle itself.

For example, at one point the owner of the castle failed to produce any male heirs and that would mean that upon his death the castle would go to his brother. However the gentleman did not like his sister-in-law so he bequeathed the castle to the care of the Crown and it became a Royal castle for a time. Eventually the Crown let the family have it back but not during the lifetime of the brother.

Berkeley has on display a bedspread that once belonged to Queen Elizabeth. The story goes that the Berkeleys had already hosted Her Majesty on one occasion and found, as most households had, that it was very difficult to host for her as she had expensive tastes and expected to be entertained at every moment of her visit. The Berkeleys, hearing that she was travelling the countryside and might stop by their humble abode for a time, opted to hide in the nearby village hoping that when Her Majesty stopped and found no one home that she would proceed on and they would be spared. That however was not to be. As Her Majesty came upon their lands, she saw their herd of deer and decided to do some hunting while she waited for their return. So she settled herself in as if she owned the place (of course at one time the Crown did own the place) and set about her hunt. When word reached the Berkeleys that she had killed 27 deer in just the first day, they decided to "return" to their home in the hopes that she might leave them some deer for the rest of the year. She was outraged that they had hidden from them and left in haste (either in her outrage, or because she had been called quickly back to court - the story differs here) and in her haste she left behind the bedspread. The Berkeleys kept it as a form of "payment" for all their deer. No sooner had she left then they moved the deer to another portion of the land further from the view of road and castle so as to avoid the incident happening again. You can still view the Berkeley herd of deer in their new deer park today.

The Berkeley kitchen had one of the innovative designs for spit turning in that it used the heat of the fire as it went up the flue to turn the spit to lighten the load on the kitchen staff.

In a sitting room upstairs there are beautifully upholstered chairs and couch. These were embroidered by the Lady of the House a few hundred years ago. The embroidery bears her coat of arms in combination with the Berkeley coat of arms and it is rumored that it took her 15 years to complete the task.

These and many more stories were to be found in Berkeley Castle. We enjoyed our stay VERY much.

For a full viewing of pictures taken at this castle, review the slideshow below:

Winchester Pilgrimage

Looking out the window as we prepare to depart for Winchester, we note the gray clouds and wonder if we will experience some of the rain that we had yesterday. As we drive to the event, we note that there are patches of sunlight and perhaps we may hold off the rain long enough to fully enjoy the event and the site.

Winchester is a beautiful location in the care of the Brothers. It has a peaceful tranquility while bringing joy and light to your life. There is a beautiful garden that contains flowers and trees as well as practical things as herbs.


And the Brothers have even provided for you to rest a bit and reflect with a bench on which is inscribed "THE KISS OF THE SUN FOR PARDON, THE SONG OF THE BIRDS FOR MIRTH, ONE IS NEARER GOD'S HEART IN A GARDEN, THAN ANYWHERE ELSE ON EARTH."

The site also holds a beautiful church / chapel

which has some interesting architectural features and some true history, such as this 1500's Graffetti which is carved in the choir area where the Preist wouldn't observe it being done.


There is also a great hall, which was to be the setting for the SCA feast that night. That would be Master Paul in the corner of the picture doing some research while he takes a break from the kitchen were he is serving as Feastacrat for this event.



In the same building as the great hall, there is the medieval kitchen


The purpose of the SCA's presence at this location was for a demonstration to the public and so us ladies sat down under the gray skies to do our various crafts while some of the gentlemen taught martial skills to the younger generation.


Later in the afternoon, the guys demonstrated the Heavy Fighting in which David participated and then David and I demonstrated Rapier fighting. Doing both required a quick change of armor requirements for David and he didn't disappoint in being able to accomplish both. Here is the portion of our bought doing sword and buckler.


For a viewing of all the pictures taken at Winchester, please browse the following slideshow:


It should be noted that the rain held off until the fighting was all done and the public had mostly gone. It made for a good day!

To view all the pictures and video taken, please visit our website at http://members.aol.com/cimberann/vance/winchester.htm