Cobden Farm Bed and Breakfast

A sunny week in late June means HAYTIME

2011-07-10T22:59:00.000-07:00

Tractors were buzzing round the fields at the end of June / first three days of July as farmers made hay (and silage) while the sun shone for longer than usual.

Both ends of Sabden Valley look like patchwork quilts.

Cobden Farm B and B website

Nuts about nuts

2011-07-02T00:27:00.001-07:00

The tree acrobats - grey squirrels - are out in force. They're bringing their young on training sessions: How to eat the nuts from bird feeders. Then, as soon as they dash off, the little birds fly in for their turn.

Cobden Farm B and B website

Cuckoo returns at last

2011-06-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

The cuckoo is back in our bit of Sabden Valley for the first time in around five years. It was cuckoo-ing like mad the other evening. A lovely sound that's good to hear again.

Cobden Farm B and B website

Roe deer and fawn

2011-06-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

John spotted a roe deer with its fawn among the trees below the farmhouse this morning. It's the first time we've had a mother-and-baby visit.

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Lambs races

2011-05-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

Would you like to see an O-lamb-ic Games race

Lapwings return

2011-05-02T01:09:00.000-07:00

We spotted a pair of lapwings playing in the sky above the farm yesterday. It's the first time in many, many years that they've appeared in our bit of Sabden Valley. Let's hope their chicks hatch out OK.

Cobden Farm B and B website

Gooseander family 2011

2011-04-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Ten days earlier than last year, that gooseander hatched out a brood of 11 on our farmhouse roof. They jumped 3oft off the roof onto the field, then set off with their mother for Sabden Brook. You can just about see them in these photos...

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Orange tip butterfly

2011-04-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

An orange tip butterfly arrived in our garden this week. According to our book, they aren't usually seen in Lancashire - especially hillside country. Any further information welcome!

Cobden Farm B and B website

Breakfast time viewing

2011-02-23T23:37:00.000-08:00

A cock pheasant (now where did that come from?) and rabbit were having their 'breakfasts' at the same time as our bed and breakfast guests this morning...

Cobden Farm B and B website

They're back...

2011-02-18T01:46:00.000-08:00

Uh - o. They're back. That pair of goosanders. They've just done a fly-past over the farmhouse roof. Which probably means they're planning to nest up there again this year. At least we'll know what to expect this time.

Cobden Farm B and B website

2011-02-02T01:34:00.000-08:00

November 6 2010

December 6 2010

Same tree - a month between photographs!

Cobden Farm B and B website

Autumn's here

2010-10-24T03:53:00.000-07:00

St Luke's Little Summer, October 16, was glorious. The trees in Sabden Valley are cloaked in rich autumn colours. Our holly trees are laden with berries.
A sign of a good summer...or a hard winter to come?

Cobden Farm B and B website

Apples galore

2010-10-24T03:44:00.001-07:00

There's been a bumper crop of apples this year, too. These apples must have weighed at least three-times as much as this little tree in our garden.

Cobden Farm B and B website

Gathering for the big trip

2010-10-24T03:36:00.000-07:00

By Sept 12, all our swallows had set off for Africa. There were more baby swallows than ever this year and the sky round the farm was full of their chatter. Roll on early April 2011 when they return.

Cobden Farm B and B website

Poppies

2010-06-23T01:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Chris and Terry for the roots, we've got a glorious display of fat red poppies.
Spot the real buzzy bee and the non-buzzy one...

Cobden Farm B and B website

Summer solstice sunrise over Pendle Hill

2010-06-23T01:14:00.001-07:00

June 21, 3.30am: After an hour's walk from the Nick o' Pendle, Sabden, to the trig point on Pendle Hill's 'Big End' above Barley, we were treated to the first sunrise of Summer 2010!

Cobden Farm B and B website

Freefall gooseander-lings

2010-05-01T08:35:00.002-07:00

This gooseander (left hand middle of the photo) hatched out her brood in the gutter of the farmhouse roof...30ft up.
First we knew of it was a loud quacking.
She was in the field, calling her brood together.
We'd no idea where they'd all come from until we talked to a friend. He said gooseanders make their nests above ground. Further investigation - and we spotted the nest high up. Definitely above ground.
These tiny gooseander-lings had freefallen the 30ft to the ground, bounced, got up on their webbed feet and scuttled to their mother. Amazing.
PS - the sheep and lambs wanted their photo taking too...
Cobden Farm B and B website

Nest building

2010-04-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Guess what are building a nest high up in the barn wall?
The pile of twigs dropped on the yard must be too big for the gap...

which is just the right size for a pair of jackdaws.

Cobden Farm B and B website

2010-04-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

Our swallows have returned today. Hurray. And only 1 day later than last year. This year, 3 have appeared at the same time (only 2 paused long enough for this photo). Usually there's a lone arrival, with the rest landing later over a few days. We usually end up with 3 or 4 pairs nesting in the farm buildings.
Cobden Farm B and B website

2010-03-28T05:46:00.001-07:00

First daffodil of 2010 bloomed on March 22. Two years ago, the first blooms were out on January 31...

Cobden Farm B and B website

New born lamb hunts for milk

2010-03-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

My mum's giving me a real good licking...

It's about time I stood up for the first time...

Finally, I'm on my feet. I can smell
milk. Now where is it?

Cobden Farm B and B website

Mums-to-be

2010-03-04T02:24:00.000-08:00

Ladies-in-waiting...they're due to start lambing this week.

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2010-03-03T11:22:00.000-08:00

March 2nd and a pair of marauding gooseanders landed on the pond. They're after the trout that the heron hasn't taken. Our Goose-y is trying to ignore them. And the moorhen (a tiny black blob at the pond's right) is waiting to attack them if they dare get near her nest.

Cobden Farm B and B website

Valentine's Day for the birds

2010-02-07T06:50:00.000-08:00

The birds are flirting, ready for pairing up around Feb 14.

The bulbs and buds are appearing after the hardest winter they've ever known

And Monty, our Jack Russell, wishes he could catch Goose-y

Cobden Farm B and B website