Deer back in woodlands, after weeks away.

Up and out early today in the hopeful search of the deer that had lived all last year in the woodland fields, over the last week i had been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of two new stragglers that had been wondering around the field, these two were very nervous as soon as you caught sight of them from a distance and were gone as quick as lightening, giving me the proof i needed that they were not linked to the family that had lived throughout the previous year quite happily with myself and tilly-miss.

The morning started well as can be expected, in to the woods and i am looking for tell tale signs of where the deer had been laying, hoof marks, and any sign of poo !

On walking through the path my first sighting was the dad Thomas as i have named him, a wonderful creature that has been friendly for a couple of years, remember i saw Thomas born in the woods and left in the undergrowth while mother rested, and so my friendship began.

Sadly the pictures are not that great as i was caught out and couldn’t focus properly, as time was against me should they decide to bolt, but i managed the best i could.

I was delighted to see them all back safe and started calling them, mum started walking towards me followed by the other three, i knew then it was time to head back home to get apples and pears, as they adore either and they wolf them down very quickly.

It is evident that they remember me and tilly and when we returned later with dinner for them they had there eyes firmly fixed on us and they were watching as the bag was shaken, they knew feeding time was close.

Open the picture for better view !

Tomorrow will be more apples and hopefully a few dozen golf balls, just like today !

Under the leaves brings nearly 600 golf balls.

Well just by chance i kicked up a few leaves and scattered them which in turn showed a couple of pearly white balls buried in some mud, i walked further and noticed the green keepers cutting back tree branches which made it easy for me to get near the fence line, i couldn’t believe what started to appear right in front of my eyes, golf balls of all colours many that had probably laid there for a very long time, but quite warm and not as cold as i expected they would be considering the weather.

This is just a few of what we had, it certainly kept us warm, in the first day 127 recovered, 249 on the second day and today over 2 visits just short of 296 not bad going from a 12 metred area of leaves, i have to sort them as i have people waiting for ProV and Nike along with Srixon.

Couldn’t believe my luck to see this huge fella sneaking around the fields, and what a bonus on Wednesday to look out my window and watch 3 deer eating veg on the allotments.

As i sit here typing i can hear  the young foxes calling, it wont be long before Scraggy arrives for her daily feast, she arrives every night and her arrival time now is usually around 22:00 i am seeing them more in the woodland now than ever before in morning time, they must be quite hungry to be scouting at that time, so i must go and fix scraggy some porridge….it will fill him up for the night hopefully

Back soon bye bye !

Wild Deer Stampede The Woodlands.

I was shocked to see so much ground reduced to divots on the walk i take each day, it looks as thou there has been a mammoth orgy staged during the hour’s of darkness on just one stretch of our long walk

As i walked i took the time to count the droppings or poo and was surprised to end my count at 27 heaps, what has been going on in the hour’s of darkness? is it time for me to get the thick winter thermals on and my night lamp that would light the ground area far better than Wembley stadium? I am going to take my chances one of these nights in the hope of just catching a glimpse of who is responsible and would i be lucky enough to spot the young one’s that seem to have vanished out of sight.

Would this little lot make good manure for the tomatoes i wonder? would you believe that much is possible from a couple roaming, each pile was varying in size and hoof marks had churned the normally flat ground in to a rugby pitch, i have never witnessed this before and i am convinced this was a orgy on a mass scale with a very tired stag or stags at the end of it all.

We walked around late this afternoon to keep a check on things and the area is quiet and no sign of a deer, but another pile of poo was laying in wait very close to where my 2 young rest often, but sadly on further inspection there hiding place was empty without any sign of a recent visitor, so i have to keep walking until i can find them, they are very close and laying low and it is i hope only a matter of time before i see them again.

I keep busy picking up the golf balls as tilly heads away to try and climb a tree hoping to get her paws on the squirrel, these golf balls just keep dropping and we keep finding them and taking them back to the yard to be washed and cleaned before we send them to destination anywhere, we have been sending them to Albania….Dublin..Latvia and Scotland and all over the country, here are a few

Every make of ball you can think of in them sacks.

Make your choice and buy with confidence, we do not sell any rubbish or damaged golf ball, we have walked golf courses and woodlands far to long and we know a good ball when we see one, we take care and wash the old fashioned way by hand, yes every ball passes through my hands and is inspected far better than Morse would ever do, but my hands and fingers do take a beating.

Right have to go as it is time to sort out dinner for Scraggy Fox, not sure what i will put out tonight but something warm will do him good on this cold night, i will do him chicken and potatoes and cabbage and this will be warmed through about 01:30 as he has started arriving at this time in the last week and i will wait up until he has arrived then i will go to bed, but not before i feed him, he is a huge beast of a dog fox and you could saddle him and he has been coming for a couple of years at various times, but he is arriving in the early hour’s more now so he is obviously doing his rounds….Until next time take care and thanks for your visit…!

Early morning walk in woodlands.

Got up early this morning despite the weather conditions in search of the wild deer, the fog had formed across the woodland and golf course making viewing quite hard from my eyes, obviously a much different case for tilly who as always finds a new lease of life as soon as she gets in the woods.

I was expecting the morning to be very cold and made sure i was well wrapped for my visit with a couple of good layers of clothing, but strange as it seems the morning was walk was lovely and i soon had regret for adding the extra layers of clothes.

I was as happy as could be walking and watching the red kite sitting in the tree hoping that from somewhere a mighty feast would arrive, but this time i had to watch as i had taken no food for them this time around.

If you look carefully at the third picture you will see the 2 red kite sitting perched high in the tree, they will not let you get to close, the other pictures are of the visibility that was on offer and tilly scanning the field in the hopeful event a rabbit or squirrel will provide a little entertainment before we head home.

Where else can you enjoy the peace and quiet away from it all, i can hear the traffic in the distance of people chasing fast and furious to get to work, putting up with the daily ritual and routine and then arriving late and having to do it all again when it is time to go home.

Tilly loves her freedom and i wouldn’t change it for the world…!

Where are the Deer hiding.

I continue my search for the young deer and have been busy trying my best to find them without any success, they are leaving me lots of clues to where they have been as there foot prints and huge piles of deer poo are all around the place in the private grounds, which helps ease the worry that something has happened to them.

Yesterday whilst walking close to the barn i come across 3 heaps of deer poo a sign that they have probably been resting up in the barn area that i cleared a few months ago, i notice the hay has been tossed around and it is clear that they are taking shelter.

The long walk has been turned in to what seems like a rugby pitch with so many divots and feet marks from the deer that i think there has been an orgy during darkness, i have never ever seen so much poo on that stretch before and speaking to people about this it might be the theory that the climate has changed the breeding habits of some wildlife, i have been today watching red kites, and parakeets trying there best to mate and wonder if there is truth in the theory?

Golf Ball News

Had a gentleman call today and purchase 134 of my best selling ball the Pro V 1

I also have a few colour balls to clear along with lots more brand names

So far this week i have probably retrieved around 400 balls from the most unlikely places and would you believe whilst in the woods i actually found a dead fish? obviously been dropped from the jaws of a bird at a great height (imagine that landing on your head) but the fish was stinking and tilly wouldn’t go near it at all but was happy to start rolling in the leaves near to the fish, so most likely the hungry fox has been close.

Well i have just ordered my tea for the night and let me tell you i had some chilli chips along with curry and noodles, chilli chips are delicious !

Anyway thank you for taking the time to visit and i hope to add more in a few days time, have a lovely week and enjoy each day.

Another day in the woodlands.

Despite the miserable weather I always make time for Tilly to go to the woods and this morning was no exception.

The rain lashed down and the wind was blowing like crazy which is always a worry as the woodland is dense with very old rotting trees that have lost there strength in the last few years and are ready to topple at any given time, so keeping my pooch close at hand is very important to me, to be there in case anything was to happen.

Tilly has never been on a lead and wouldn’t know how to walk with one she has always had the run of the woods and fields and people we meet whilst walking are always grateful with polite comments on her behaviour, here she is in the woods collecting golf balls.

Trained from her first ever walk nearly 9 years now and can she find a golf ball in some unusual places….bless her !

Yesterday was a beautiful day and with the sun shining over and around us i took some pictures deep in the woodland.

Can you imagine trying to find a ball in this overgrown fern

Back to today and a couple of tilly on the golf course

And  another visitor who made me very happy…!

The walk in the woods is a lonely one.

Apologies for the lack of recent postings, i spent a lot of time away touring and lots of time walking the woodlands with tilly-miss hunting out golf balls and trying my best to keep an eye on my Deer.

Whilst i was away it become apparent that the beautiful mum had been killed in a savage attack by poachers it seems, it was either shot and savaged by dogs and left over night before the carcass was removed for food for some horrible family and i just hope they choke and suffer a very painful end to life as the poor mum.

I arrived back home 2 days after the incident and you can imagine how upset i was to be told the news, the mum has left 2 young in the fields and they go missing now for days on end, i have covered the entire land and woodlands just to catch a glimpse and to make sure they are ok, my last sighting was 4 days ago and although nervous they knew who i was but kept a good distance.

Going back to mum who i have watched over the years and had gained her trust in many ways, watched her new-born and seen them grow and leave the woodlands on there new venture in life when they have found there own mate, it really saddens me and i keep thinking how things might have been different had i been there that fateful night?

Here are some pictures of mum, i hope you like them

Such a beauty and sadly missed…….

 

Tilly still bringing in golf balls, and we were there on xmas day collecting as we always do 130 Pro V Balls are waiting for a good home once the weather turns in the new year.

I have been busy out on the road and had a nasty fall in Paris last month and here is a picture of my injured foot

As you can see my foot is black and blue and i have an infection under the skin and despite 4000 mgs of tablets per day the bruising is still there and painful, but have had x ray today at last after nearly a month wait…..so wait and see if i will loose my foot ???? hahaha

Anyway i want to wish you all happiness in 2014 and hope it is better than this last horrible year, take care and stay safe.

What was in the woods today.

So nice to get back home after doing a lot of travelling in Europe for the last couple of weeks, after a goodnights sleep i was up and out with tilly-miss to the woodland in search of not only golf balls but hoping to catch a glimpse of the new arrival, sadly i found a stash of golf balls got so close to the mum in the field i could have actually stroked her, which was very odd as the last time she had just had the new arrival and she was acting very protective and had made her feelings known by chasing me and tilly up and down the field, today she was a different animal one that seemed to be very sad and dazed it was as if something had happened to the young one.

I spent the day looking out for the arrival but to no avail i called the mum this afternoon in the field as i always do and within minutes she was up and watching me she then made her way slowly towards me still looking very upset, so before dark i am going to go back and look i am hoping it will be good news and the new arrival has been dropped somewhere safe in the growth out of harms way.

Golf balls today we have managed 82 from the nettles, not bad considering and some good ProV  and Calloway.

If you go in the woods today !

You might be in for a surprise, totally unexpected but proud and privileged to see the deer enjoying the freedom and tranquillity that the place gives them.

These beauties are roaming and finding there way through the vast field area

One day they are there the next they are gone, obviously not to far but away far enough to feel safe, the ferns are great protection for them and sometimes myself or tilly will disturb them without even knowing they were there.

We have been very lucky and only once we encountered a jealous stag that was not happy with tilly getting to close, a gentle reminder from his antlers directly in to tilly was enough to get the message and it cost me £100 or near dam it for a trip to the vet to get my dog treated.

Fancy getting in the thorns to collect some golf balls ???

We put up with these obstacles daily to provide golfers with affordable clean golf balls that come fresh from our fields direct to your door.

This is what we collected on Easter Monday, nearly 200 with the help of my little helper Vinnie who along with his brother and sister walked a very long walk in the woodlands,searching everywhere they could, so the winner with most golf balls got the prize of a sweet tube.

It was a great outing for all the family to join in the fun of golf ball hunting, and as you guessed the children all went home tired and with a nice bag of sweets for there efforts.

Young Deer back in the field / Red Kite Feast !

What a total surprise to see 3 young deer in the field this morning, have not seen these young beauties before and guess they have left the herd that are quite happy in the woodland about 1 mile from here, i just hope that they will stay around for the summer.

There is a young male amongst them who is just growing antlers and looks very much like Thomas from last year, but i am pleased to say Thomas is doing very well roaming the fields of the national trust very close to me, hopefully if they stay then i will get closer to them and give them all name’s so let us see what happens, i am just delighted that we have them here where they are safe.

Tilly was up to her tricks of catching bugs bunny the last couple of days, not 1 but 2 were laid to rest due to them both having the dreadful mixi disease which leaves them hopelessly blind and not capable of doing anything other than suffer.

After leaving the bunnies to rest in the field i was amazed to look in the sky and to see us surrounded by red kite’s hovering above, in total 7 of these lovely birds were ready to feast on our furry friend.

And what a meal they had, they were like scavengers at a feeding frenzy diving down at speed and pecking what they could get, not a lot was left they had skinned poor bunny down to the bones more or less

Tilly has been in good form and despite everything that has been a distraction she is still pulling golf balls from the thorn bushes and our collection is underway again after clearing 2200 balls to an online golfing shop.

Going back to the woods now….