Littl’uns at the rescue and other bits and bobs

A member of staff hand-feeding a baby bunny.

And so it begins, little guys arriving at wildlife. Four baby rabbits were dug up by something or other, and now need hand-feeding. Initially, the staff were taking them home for evening feeds, now, thankfully, they just need feeding during the day. These guys will be released as they are wild rabbits.

Three batches of ducklings have also arrived, over thirty in all. They are adorable, but very high maintenance as they need mucking out frequently as they trash their quarters in seconds.

Chicks are also trickling in, this little robin is well on it’s way now. It’s the real onslaught that’s always dreaded.

In other news…

this dish is nothing more than a whole cauliflower, roasted, spiced and dressed.

My friend and I couldn’t believe it, as it was the most delicious thing either of us have ever eaten, it certainly didn’t taste like cauliflower! My friend, who enjoys meat, rated it as so much better. Plant based dishes are becoming something else! We ate in Maray, sadly they have no cookbook.

That’s the empty dish!

The garden has burst into life, I could post a hundred photo’s, but dare not. This is Freckles, it has huge leaves and tiny flowers, but I adore it. Chloris got me hooked on it last year!

Magnolias don’t do well in my sandy soil so I was delighted to see this flower, how stunning, no name though….those squirrels, I thought there was only one blossom, turns out there are about six more! Yay!

Yes, all gardeners count their flowers, it’s a thing! I have two more magnolias thriving…..RESULT! Pays to persevere!

Cherry trees, flowering along our road…we live on the corner, so get to see two roads of blossom….

some sport both white and pink blossom on the same tree.

The back garden, I’m so glad we paved it!

And Finally…..

Over Easter, the sun shone out. We spent four days walking the dogs, and clocked 52 miles!

Oh…the wildlife we saw and heard.

What fun those canines had!

As did we.

LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!

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30 Comments

  1. So many cute little animals, beautiful and delicious food, beautiful flowers and landscapes, and wonderful walking adventures you have had with your cute and funny dogs! Love all the pictures and stories!

    • Snow Bird

      Thanks Jade. We had a beautiful Easter so it was just lovely walking in all that sunshine.xxx

  2. Lucky you lot in the north – your spring has really sprung and down here it is damned cold in the mornings. Your little wildlife is really busy.

  3. Thanks Menhir. Wildlife is always busy, little guys will constantly stream in now, fingers crossed they don’t! Canines behave??? in my dreams!xxx

  4. Your garden is dong very well. Long may it do so with the best behaviour of the canines, of course.

    There is a lot work in rearing immature animals of all kinds. Your post shows it.

    xxx

  5. 52 miles! That’s very impressive! You must have been pooped. Your newly paved back garden looks fantastic. I wonder why there would be so many abandoned ducklings?

    • Walking is so easy when the weather is just perfect for it, there were a few aches and pains by the end of the Easter break though. Often mother ducks get hit by cars or killed by dogs, sometimes they fly off if they can’t defend their babies or are threatened. Wildlife are always inundated with ducklings each year, happily, they have a marvelous survival rate, we rarely lose healthy ones. Thanks Jason.xxx

  6. lowcarbdiabeticJan

    I’m tasting the cauliflower, roasted, spiced and dressed… Yum!

    It does look a busy time in the rescue centre, well done to all concerned.
    I think your garden looks nice and the blossom trees are just gorgeous.

    What lovely walks you had – so enjoyable.

    Enjoy these last days of April and Happy Wishes for May.

    All the best Jan

    • How I wish you could figure that picture out and provide me with the recipe! It was utterly, mouth-wateringly delicious! We are all having such a wonderful spring! Thanks Jan.xxx

  7. It looks as if you’ve been busy at the animal rescue and getting busier so some gardening and walking is just the thing to do instead and your dogs must have loved it too. Your garden looks wonderful. It’s a lovely time of year.

    • Snow Bird

      Thanks Linda, I’m way behind on my gardening, and the weeds are taking advantage of it! Walking was just lovely, the Easter weather was just gorgeous. It certainly is a lovely spring. xxx

  8. I guess spring & summer is a very big time for animal rescue… they all look very cute. 52 miles is impressive walking/riding … you deserve some tasty veggie dishes! I bet the dogs were in heaven! 😍

    • Snow Bird

      All seasons are busy in wildlife, but spring and summer are probably the worst for chicks, autumn and winter for hedgehogs. Oh, I enjoyed every one of those 52 miles, as did hubs and the dogs. Thanks Gerrie.xxx

  9. It is such a fabulous time of the year. I’ve been away out of the country and wow, how wonderful to come back to such a lush countryside and blossom everywhere. Wonderful for walking, you certainly clocked up some miles. I’m glad you are enjoying your Freckles. Your back garden looks very established now, it was certainly worth the trouble to do it.
    All those dear little babies, you have your work cut out.

    • Snow Bird

      It is a fabulous time of the year, and such a beautiful spring this year, one of the best in many a year. How lovely that you came back to such glorious blossom, and lush countryside. I do hope you went somewhere wonderful, hopefully you’ll write a little about it. Freckles is charming, thanks for match-making! I am loving the back garden, so much more space for the dogs and more areas for planting, although the borders are still being wrecked by the dogs. Thanks Chloris.xxx

  10. I’ve never been a great fan of cauliflower, but I’d be willing to tuck into that one. I need to see what the veggie people have been doing with it. I’m sure there are some new tricks I’m not aware of that produce something far superior to my mother’s steamed dish!

    I saw baby ducklings twice last week. One sounded to be lost, and it probably perished if it had gotten away from the group. But, as if to balance things out, I saw a mother with a group that looked to be over a week old — fourteen of them! The largest group I ever knew to survive in the wild was seventeen. That mother did a fabulous job of keeping them together and safe, but I’ll bet she was glad to see them finally grow up.

    I’m loving these longer days — it allows for a little hiking and photography after work, at least when I’m organized enough to fit it in. I keep getting distracted, and my kitchen shows it. Today I’m fitting in a little housework, I think.

    • Snow Bird

      Re that cauliflower, the menu didn’t elaborate, just listed it as cauliflower. I was resigned to being seriously disappointed, goodness though, it was utterly stunning. It is a hard time of the year for all chicks and always so sad to see dwindling groups of ducklings, goodness, seventeen ducklings raised to term? That does sound like a magnificent mother. The lighter nights make such a difference, like you I am permanently distracted by something or other and my whole house reflects that! Onwards!!! Thanks Linda.xxx

  11. You must have your hands full at the Rescue Centre at the moment, looking after little ones is a full time job!
    Love the sound of your cauliflower, it looks gorgeous too.
    Easter weekend was such lovely weather for dogs and humans, not so good since then, but we managed to escape some of the rain that I thought we were going to have this weekend.

    • Snow Bird

      Spring hasn’t really hit with a vengeance at wildlife yet, soon it will be flooded by young critters. Oh…seriously, THAT cauliflower!!! Easter was glorious, perfect walking weather. Thanks Pauline.xxx

  12. Oh, Dina, those precious lives you help to save: bless you and bless you again!

    That cauliflower looks amazing. I roast veggies every week and mix them to add to my salads and etc. I’m on such a restricted diet that they are my joy, that’s for sure! What a fun meal that must have been!

    Your gardens look so gorgeous…I love the pavers; what a joy for eliminating lawn-tending and weeding and just concentrating on blooms and greens.

    The pups look so carefree on the path with J. Glad they could enjoy such sunny warm days! We’ve had quite a few, but–startlingly–snow is coming again today. Won’t last; we have a week of rain ahead.

    Love you and am sooooo grateful you in the world. xoxo

    • Snow Bird

      Ahhh, thanks Kitty. I’m always amazed at how far the staff go to keep these babies alive, they sure go beyond the job description! How I wish I had the recipe for that cauliflower, honestly, it is the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten, tasted nothing like cauliflower. Oh….sorry to hear your diet is so restricted, hoping things improve…..soon!!!
      Having no lawn has been a blessing in the back, I don’t miss the mudbath and now have more space to run the pups and more planters and borders, wish I’d paved that area years ago. Good grief…..snow??? Again??? Yikes. Hope your plants cope!!! Love you too gal, love and hugs always.xxx

  13. A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. Well done to all concerned for looking after the rescue animals as you do. Cherry blossom is such a wonderful sight at this time of year.
    Good to see that you enjoyed Easter, you certainly clocked up a fair few miles. xx

    • Snow Bird

      Thanks Flighty, the dedicated staff do such a fantastic job, hats off to them! I haven’t seen such lovely blossom in years, it has been a delightful spring, Easter was heavenly, just perfect, not too hot for walking dogs.xxx

  14. It must be a very busy time at the rescue with all the babies being born just now, what a wonderful job they do raising them and getting them back into the wild. There’s so much blossom around this year, signs of a bumper fruit harvest to come, fingers crossed. Awww, the dogs look like they’ve had a wonderful time, it’s so lovely to see them enjoying themselves in the sunshine.

    • Snow Bird

      This is the beginning of the busiest time for the wildlife unit. Oh, the staff are so dedicated, often their job become 24/7. I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a wonderful year for fruit if my fruitlets are anything to go by. Let’s hope the winds don’t arrive. Easter was fabulous wasn’t it, the dogs sure had a ball.xxx

  15. So amazing to see the work you’re doing with the little bunnies and ducklings.
    Amalia
    xo

  16. Those baby rabbits are adorable – Hamish would definitely approve! We’ve had a mother duck and her ducklings coming into the garden over the past few days – she started off with 13 and is now down to 2. It’s heartbreaking. R saw next door’s cat charge out of the bushes at them and chased it away, but somethings obviously getting them. That roasted cauli looks fab. xx

    • Snow Bird

      Hamish sure would approve, those baby buns are just gorgeous. It’s so sad seeing the ducklings being picked off one by one, the same is happening here. Even rats take them out. Oh…seriously, that roasted cauli is the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten! Thanks Veggiemummy.xxx

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