Jan 13th

The snow started to fall yesterday evening. It is sticking everywhere, and while it's not a blizzard, it does keep on coming. Everything looks very pretty, but I won't take photos - it reminds me too much of the snow we had three years ago when Big Dog was still alive, and when I took so many pictures of him and Madame.

We left the house around 7.50 a.m. It was still dark, the sky covered in thick grey clouds which were shedding their snowflakes, slowly but persistently. 

Madame enjoyed it very much - her ecstatic rolls in the snow are a picture to behold. Unfortunately she, like all other dogs we met this morning, loves to eat the snow as well, with a predictable unfortunate 'out'-come!

It was still cold, below freezing, but there was none of the wind which had been predicted.

We did hear raven calls coming from Pontcanna Fields, quite a bit away, both before we left and when we were in Llandaff Fields. 

No calls in Llandaff Fields - and no ravens until we got to the ravens field. There, two ravens waited in the trees at the spinney, but did not come down to greet us.

They only came to the ground when Madame had strolled off and I had thrown a few scraps. They could have been the quarry pair. They were very skittish indeed, ready to jump and flap off every time Madame looked at them, as well as every time I moved to throw another scrap. They did not follow us back into the big field either.

Further along the footpath on our way home, another couple of ravens appeared, sitting in the trees at the toddlers' playground, just next to the top of the first field. I did throw them some scraps as well. They waited to pick them up until we'd gone into the first field.

I don't know what to make of this. It seems that my usual ravens have found a great source of food somewhere else, and these 'new' ones are not sure what is going on, but will take the food anyway. It may well be that the deep snow keeps my usual ravens away, especially if they find easier food somewhere else.

We'll see who turns up tomorrow, when the forecast is for slightly warmer temperatures, perhaps some rain, perhaps some thawing.

Jan 12th

Another very cold and damp day, clouds thickly covering the whole sky. No sun to be seen. And to make it really comfortable (not!!!), the harsh wind from the East picked up while we were out.

We left the house at 7.45 a.m., on the stroke of the bell. Again, the first raven calls came as soon as we entered the first field.

We kept hearing raven calls in the distance, coming from Pontcanna Fields while walking further on. I believe they do find food there.

Not one raven appeared as we came to the top of the big field! 

Then one flew in, and sat on one of the trees at the entrance to the ravens field. He was very skittish, and only came down when we'd got quite some little way into this field. 

Then a second raven appeared, from the quarry side. Their general behaviour made me think that these were the second young pair, who come to the big field after my (first) young pair have picked up some food and made some calls.

Their behaviour showed that they were indeed not my other young pair. 

For example, they did not anticipate us going to the enclosure. They finally flew to sit on the fence posts, but were not sure what to expect. They did not wait for me to throw scraps into the enclosure., but flew from one side to the other, to sit on those fence posts.

They did get a bit more confident and followed us when we turned to walk back, along the 'more-food' way, getting more food while still on the ground in the ravens field.

They made no calls - and they did not follow us into the big field, something which both my young pair and of course the bold raven and his companion know very well by now.

I noticed that there were raven tracks in the enclosure, in the iced-over snow. It looked to me as if the young pair, who has made food-hiding holes inside the enclosure, went there to retrieve what they had hid.

All the time we were in the ravens field we could hear raven calls coming from way over Pontcanna fields. No other raven turned up.

With the wind picking up all the time, we were glad to get home - well, I was, not having a furry outside!

No snow so far, today - it may come overnight, if its not rain, which then ices over. 

Jan 11th

It was another cold morning. The sky was still so dark when we left the house at 7.45 a.m., visibility was very bad. 

This was due to the thick cover of cloud, which hasn't moved all day. 

Some wet stuff came down from those clouds - snow, rain, sleet? Who knows - it was far too intermittent to make out. But the damp cold was awful!

We had heard the ravens call much earlier, and as soon as we go to the first field, we heard them again, as if they were announcing our arrival. More calls, from the Pontcanna Fields side as we walked up the big field - Madame ecstatically rolling in the snow ever so often.

At the top of the big field, one, then the second raven came to the ground, from the spinney - and as yesterday, the second young pair soon arrived from the quarry side. I had lots of scraps for them, but even so, there was one almighty scuffle between them, one from each pair really laying into each other. It was plain competition for one little scrap - the other two ravens didn't get involved. 

My young pair is less skittish when Madame is off the lead, and one of them didn't even budge when she walked past him to get the scrap he'd overlooked. 

Then, the single raven turned up as well, waiting in the distance until I went towards him and threw him a scrap - he then hopped closer, but it was too dark to see if this was my bold raven.

While I was doing this, the other four squawked loudly behind my back. They had hopped quite close, to about a couple of yards, so they got more food.

Then Bas turned up and the quarry ravens took off immediately, as did the single raven. My young pair didn't seem to mind, one of them calmly swallowed the last scrap, standing on the ground, while Bas walked past him - just a yard away.

We went back home after all the food had gone - too cold for a longer outing! 

The scraps I had put out in the back garden had all been eaten by nightfall yesterday - but looking at the footprints, it probably went into some blackbirds or robins, not into a raven.

Heavy snow forecast for the night and tomorrow - if not snow, then rain and ice. Never mind, the socks-over-boots trick works fine, so we'll go out: the ravens will get their food!

Sunday, Jan 10th

We did it! The trick with the socks-over-the-boots worked!*)

I went out much later than usual, after 8 a.m., and found it so mild, compared to the last days, that I went back and got Madame to come as well.

She's been getting so much better, and was so happy out in the park. The snow there was still snow-like rather than ice, so she enjoyed it much more than at Christmas. 

Unfortunately, she got bowled over by an excited Bart - I'm now watching her like a hawk to see if she's still fine by tonight.

It was grey, no sun, snowflakes slowly and intermittently coming down - and the wind from the NE had not yet got up to the predicted strength.

As for the ravens ...

We have heard their calls in the morning during the four days when we not in the park. So they were all right. We heard them again, as soon as we were in the park - and their calls were coming from Pontcanna Fields, so I was reassured - they had enough to eat.

Once we got to the top of the big field, not having seen one raven until then - there they came, from the spinney, to the ground.

My young pair! 

And within the time I had thrown a few scraps, the other young pair came from the quarry side. They all got a large amount of scraps - Madame participating to the extent that she noticed where one piece had not been picked up - and getting it for herself.

There were a few scuffles, between each one of the pairs, and then between the two pairs. But it was mostly sound and fury, no damage done. 

Once every piece of scrap had gone, we went back home. I was so glad that my ravens had not forgotten me!

Tomorrow, we'll get out again now that we have seen we can do it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*) The 'trick' is to pull terry cloth socks over one's boots, with the terry side out. I had done that once before, ruining a few pairs of socks which I missed when the cold grip started. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten why those socks had gone ... 

I'd heard this trick mentioned again a few days ago - so when I had the chance to get to a supermarket yesterday, I got a few cheap pairs in a suitable size, and here we are!

Jan 9th

No change to yesterday: the same icy conditions, Madame getting a bit better, ravens not yet come to the back garden, and the need of doing some foraging on my own behalf (fridge was empty ...) meant I've not been able to try out my 'trick' in regard to getting out to the park.

Sorry about that - and more than sorry for the ravens!

Hopefully, with the fresh snow predicted overnight, going out, even just on my own, might be possible.

If so, I shall bring loads of raven food ...