Tuesday 5 July 2011

Invasions

We've got bats, had wasps, mice and rats and are now currently dealing with ants again.  They are living in the wall of the house. 

We think The Booth was built around 1730, (Her & Him Next Door and Gran live in a very modern self contained extension).  Our part of the house was originally two separate dwellings.  At some point the two buildings were knocked into one and the 'lower' part you see in the picture below is now our bedroom and sitting room.  It was originally we believe just a single room with a mezzanine, access to upstairs was by a ladder.  This may have been ‘The Shop’.  It is this one up, one down part that seems to attract most of the wildlife.

Last night the flying ants were inside trying to get out. I didn't take a photo, I was rather keen on just trying to evacuate them.  We are in the process of trying to seal up all the holes, not an easy job.  There are a lot of holes to contend with.

c1901
We've had birds too, often in the conservatory.  Last week it was a Magpie.  Huge thing.  Made a bit of a mess of the soft furnishings and the dog always thinks it's a great game of tag.  Last week for the first time we had a rather close encounter from a visiting juvenile robin who ventured inside the spare bedroom.

Temporary house guest
One of the differences I've found being in the country is that you get much more up front and personal with the nature around you.  Living in an old property in the 21st century also brings its own compromises and adaptations.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

2 comments:

Maggie Christie said...

Oh the joys of living in the country! We've had slugs in the kitchen, voles and bats in the living room and jackdaws down the chimney (landing inside the wood burner).

I love the old picture of the house, what a lovely thing to have.

And is that a wren or a juvenile robin? Whichever, it was definitely lost!

Lins' lleisio said...

Glad we're not alone.

Do you know Maggie, I think you are right about the bird (I should have asked you in the first place). I actually wasn’t very sure. I will amend the post. Thank you.

We are lucky enough to have a few pictures of the house, but this is the oldest to surface so far.

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