David Hill4/4/04 10:50

Sacha wrote "...Ugh. Sparrowhawks. We have those here, too and in fact
had to give up keeping white doves because they were turning into a buffet
for sparrowhawks ...."

Any chance of sending the sparrowhawks up to me?
My neighbour started with 3 pairs of Fantails about 10 yrs ago,(thought he
would breed them and make money), but they were quickly caught by stray
pigeons who moved in .result loads of offspring of no value to
anyone.....our local peregrine does a little to keep them down but there are
anything up to 50 flying around every day.......result ....I don't have a
hope in hell of growing anything even resembling a cabbage.
The only thing to survive them has been Koal rabi.

Which all goes to show that one man's meat.........is another chap's greens
;-))
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds to email me)

"David Hill" wrote in message
news:c4olpo$u44

Any chance of sending the sparrowhawks up to me?
My neighbour started with 3 pairs of Fantails about 10 yrs ago,(thought he
would breed them and make money), but they were quickly caught by stray
pigeons who moved in .result loads of offspring of no value to
anyone.....our local peregrine does a little to keep them down but there
are
anything up to 50 flying around every day.......result ....I don't have a
hope in hell of growing anything even resembling a cabbage.
The only thing to survive them has been Koal rabi.

Sparrowhawks are very beautiful, we rarely see one in our inner city garden
but they excite us and give us pleasure when we do catch sight of one. I'll
never forget my first experience, I rushed for the Collins and couldn't
believe what was on that stump. But I took a picture to confirm it. Oh joy!

Pigeons are a nuisance but they - or rather the coloured descendants of rock
doves - are very beautiful too, as are wood pigeons, And they all eat well
:-) We get a surprising number of wood pigeons. Collar doves are the second
most common visitors to our garden, they nest in one of our big trees along
with lots of smaller birds. We protect our brassica from our hens'
attention with steel framed chicken wire hurdles round the outside of the
plots and have been pleased that they prevent pigeon ingress too. It's not a
practical method for you, though ...

Mary

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

"David Hill" wrote in message
news:c4olpo$u44

Any chance of sending the sparrowhawks up to me?
My neighbour started with 3 pairs of Fantails about 10 yrs ago,(thought he
would breed them and make money), but they were quickly caught by stray
pigeons who moved in .result loads of offspring of no value to
anyone.....our local peregrine does a little to keep them down but there
are
anything up to 50 flying around every day.......result ....I don't have a
hope in hell of growing anything even resembling a cabbage.
The only thing to survive them has been Koal rabi.

Sparrowhawks are very beautiful, we rarely see one in our inner city garden
but they excite us and give us pleasure when we do catch sight of one. I'll
never forget my first experience, I rushed for the Collins and couldn't
believe what was on that stump. But I took a picture to confirm it. Oh joy!

Pigeons are a nuisance but they - or rather the coloured descendants of rock
doves - are very beautiful too, as are wood pigeons, And they all eat well
:-) We get a surprising number of wood pigeons. Collar doves are the second
most common visitors to our garden, they nest in one of our big trees along
with lots of smaller birds. We protect our brassica from our hens'
attention with steel framed chicken wire hurdles round the outside of the
plots and have been pleased that they prevent pigeon ingress too. It's not a
practical method for you, though ...

Mary

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

wrote:

Well there's the power used in running the things (unless they are
solar powered), then there's the energy used in manufacturing and
delivering what could be termed as luxury items, its how far you want
to go down the environmentally unfriendly route... should we be doing
anything that isn't just to ensure survival


most of the gardening that is disscusssed here is, by that definition,
environmenatlly unfriendly. Cerainly all paving and all greenhouses other
than for intensive food crop use.......

pk

wrote:

Well there's the power used in running the things (unless they are
solar powered), then there's the energy used in manufacturing and
delivering what could be termed as luxury items, its how far you want
to go down the environmentally unfriendly route... should we be doing
anything that isn't just to ensure survival


most of the gardening that is disscusssed here is, by that definition,
environmenatlly unfriendly. Cerainly all paving and all greenhouses other
than for intensive food crop use.......

pk

".......Pigeons are a nuisance but they - or rather the coloured descendants
of rock doves - are very beautiful too, as are wood pigeons, And they all
eat well ......."

I think my neighbour would associate the sound of a shotgun about 100 yds
away with the dwindling numbers of his birds.
I have thought of it many times as I love Pigeon pie.


--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

".......Pigeons are a nuisance but they - or rather the coloured descendants
of rock doves - are very beautiful too, as are wood pigeons, And they all
eat well ......."

I think my neighbour would associate the sound of a shotgun about 100 yds
away with the dwindling numbers of his birds.
I have thought of it many times as I love Pigeon pie.


--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
".......Pigeons are a nuisance but they - or rather the coloured
descendants
of rock doves - are very beautiful too, as are wood pigeons, And they all
eat well ......."

I think my neighbour would associate the sound of a shotgun about 100 yds
away with the dwindling numbers of his birds.
I have thought of it many times as I love Pigeon pie.

We're having braised pigeon for dinner this evening. I've saved a good Haut
Medoc to accompany it.

Mary


--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
".......Pigeons are a nuisance but they - or rather the coloured
descendants
of rock doves - are very beautiful too, as are wood pigeons, And they all
eat well ......."

I think my neighbour would associate the sound of a shotgun about 100 yds
away with the dwindling numbers of his birds.
I have thought of it many times as I love Pigeon pie.

We're having braised pigeon for dinner this evening. I've saved a good Haut
Medoc to accompany it.

Mary


--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
Sacha wrote "...Ugh. Sparrowhawks. We have those here, too and in fact
had to give up keeping white doves because they were turning into a buffet
for sparrowhawks ...."

The only thing to survive them has been Koal rabi.

Is that the well known marsupial religious dignitary Koala Rabbi?

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
Sacha wrote "...Ugh. Sparrowhawks. We have those here, too and in fact
had to give up keeping white doves because they were turning into a buffet
for sparrowhawks ...."

The only thing to survive them has been Koal rabi.

Is that the well known marsupial religious dignitary Koala Rabbi?

The message
from "David Hill" contains these
words:

".......Pigeons are a nuisance but they - or rather the coloured descendants
of rock doves - are very beautiful too, as are wood pigeons, And they all
eat well ......."

I think my neighbour would associate the sound of a shotgun about 100 yds
away with the dwindling numbers of his birds.
I have thought of it many times as I love Pigeon pie.

Wanna know how to do it quietly and humanely? When I was an anklebiter,
one of my favourite friends was a Romany my own age. He taught me quite
a lot about food-gathering.

I am having mackerel (bought) tonight, with spuds, and lightly-cooked
young shoots of hogweed as a main vegetable. While he didn't have any
input into the fishy bit, he taught me how to gather a lot of edible
wild things, including pigeons, rabbits, &c.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from "David Hill" contains these
words:

".......Pigeons are a nuisance but they - or rather the coloured descendants
of rock doves - are very beautiful too, as are wood pigeons, And they all
eat well ......."

I think my neighbour would associate the sound of a shotgun about 100 yds
away with the dwindling numbers of his birds.
I have thought of it many times as I love Pigeon pie.

Wanna know how to do it quietly and humanely? When I was an anklebiter,
one of my favourite friends was a Romany my own age. He taught me quite
a lot about food-gathering.

I am having mackerel (bought) tonight, with spuds, and lightly-cooked
young shoots of hogweed as a main vegetable. While he didn't have any
input into the fishy bit, he taught me how to gather a lot of edible
wild things, including pigeons, rabbits, &c.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
...
The message
from "David Hill" contains these
words:

I think my neighbour would associate the sound of a shotgun about 100
yds
away with the dwindling numbers of his birds.
I have thought of it many times as I love Pigeon pie.

Wanna know how to do it quietly and humanely? When I was an anklebiter,
one of my favourite friends was a Romany my own age. He taught me quite
a lot about food-gathering.

Romany chal?

Just think, he'd now be hounded out of town as, at best, a thief and a fly
tipper or, at worst, a probable illegal immigrant (too).

:-/

Funny old world.

--
Brian
"Happy St George's Day. It either is, just was, or soon will be."

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
...
The message
from "David Hill" contains these
words:

I think my neighbour would associate the sound of a shotgun about 100
yds
away with the dwindling numbers of his birds.
I have thought of it many times as I love Pigeon pie.

Wanna know how to do it quietly and humanely? When I was an anklebiter,
one of my favourite friends was a Romany my own age. He taught me quite
a lot about food-gathering.

Romany chal?

Just think, he'd now be hounded out of town as, at best, a thief and a fly
tipper or, at worst, a probable illegal immigrant (too).

:-/

Funny old world.

--
Brian
"Happy St George's Day. It either is, just was, or soon will be."