Queens Park, Longton

The potteries towns each have municipal parks. Longton has a large park with lakes and forested areas, including tennis courts, a children's play area and several crown bowling greens, not to mention a bandstand and open spaces areas. It also has a population of resident grey squirrels who are not shy of the public.
They will often forage within yards of people, on one occasion I saw a squirrel feeding in the middle of a tennis game, between the players. They will run up to you and hope to be fed. If you fail to feed them, they lose interest and move on to the next potential meal provider.
There is always someone with a handful of peanuts or a piece of bread. These little beasties will feed from a steady hand without reservation. The only thing that seems to put them off is the presence of rock doves.
There are Canada geese on the lakes at this time of year. They can be seen grazing in the lawns. However, they do seem to respect the greens and stop grazing where the grass is so closely cropped. The problem with wild geese is that they tend to foul some areas of the park near the waters edge, so at times you need to take care of where you step.

More Gliders

One of the first hand launch gliders I made in the 1970's was a biplane. This design was made out of 1/32 inch balsa sheet and was an appropriate model for flying indoors as well as outside. Its tiny size made it a quick and easy glider to construct. The original design was one by Don McGovern and it is a gem.
It is an easy to fly model and it is also quite a slow flyer so it is easy to photograph in flight. With the correct balance, this little model can fly a good distance. Also, a little balsa cement on streaked on one side of the tail fin will make the little beauty turn in circles, so it is not such a trek to recover it when it lands.
My next model was a flying wing. This glider, by Eric Gammie, was called Cutlass. It was inspired by the American fighter plane of the 1960's.
The design is a twin boomed flying wing with washout on the outboard planes. It is a fast flyer and my model flew straight and true. Good exercise on the recovery.

The Preserving Season

As we live on clay soil, I have a series of raised beds for cultivation of food plants. For years, one of the back beds has been planted with blackcurrants. I failed to prune them last year and now there is a bumper crop.
Having taken out the largest berries, there is still a lot of fruit left on the bushes, so my first crop is going to be used for blackcurrant jelly. This is a prize preserve which is relatively quick and easy to produce and never fails to give results.
Take 1 kilo of blackcurrants, check them over to remove stalks and creepy-crawleys but avoid washing them. Add the fruit and 900ml of water to a jam pan and boil, simmer for 25 minutes to allow the pectin to diffuse into the water. I use this time to wash and sterilise the jars and lids.
Add 1.5 kilos of granulated sugar and allow the pan to come to a rolling boil. It takes about 15-25 minutes to reach setting point. Scoop off any scum and add to jars.
I use a jam funnel and a sieve, pushing the jelly through with a spoon. I cannot be bothered with a jelly bag for this type of jam, it is not necessary. The photo above shows my small jam funnel and small sieve which I use for very small pots. I also use a large jam funnel and large sieve for larger pots.
A few hours late, when the jam is cool, I add labels. Every sentient being should try my blackcurrant jelly. It is probably the best jelly in the world.

My favourite use for this preserve is on freshly made scones. It also sits well in Jam Tarts and is exceptionally good between a Victoria sponge cake. Warmed through and watered down it makes an excellent syrup for drizzling cold on ice cream.

We have a glut of gooseberries this year, again, a result of lack of pruning. My next task is going to be gooseberry jam. I cannot wait for the Victoria plums to ripen now that my mind is in preserving mode.

Bushed

Today, Max took it upon himself to have an adventure. He climbed into the centre of one of our big Laurel bushes and sat there. Below the bush is a cat run which all of the local cats use when moving between gardens. Max was in a good position to worry any passing cat, and he did.
How would you feel with this sight looming over you......

Rediscovering Merlin

Having cleared the bulk of my exam marking for this year, I decided to have another go at making some hand launch gliders from the past plans. I recalled a successful design of mine called Merlin, so that was to be the next attempt.
Glider number 8 - Merlin was an acrobat with a forward sloping wing and an inverted tail fin. The idea was that the weight of the wing and the laminated nose would trim the glider for normal flight and it would fly straight and level. However, if you threw this glider very hard, the lift generated from the ends of the wing would upset the balance and the glider would climb and loop-the-loop. If the glider was thrown hard in a bank, it would turn sharply as well.
The model did all of the things that it was supposed to do. It did not disappoint, and I managed to keep it intact after several flights.

Following on from this, I took another one of Keith Harris's designs (they were good) and made Dualett. This is an odd-bod. You add a drawing pin to the nose and it flies forwards. Take the drawing pin off and add it to the tail and it flies backwards. It really does work, and though it is not quite as stable, it will do the same upside down.

The only issue with Dualett is the landings. With the outer wing being a glued wingtip, an arkward landing tends to knock off a wingtip. Still, it can be glued back on again.
This is Merlin in flight. I will not admit how many camera shots it took to get a good one - good job I have a digital camera.

Back to Balsa

Way Back in 1974, a group of Air Cadets took part in a "chuck glider" competition to see who could fly their model hand launch glider the furthest and longest. The competition was run by Flying Officer Keith Harris, using one of his designs called Icarus and it took place on The Carrs at Warsop, Nottinghamshire. The officers and cadets were on a mission to test out a range of designs to evaluate the flight characteristics as part of the Principles of Flight classes. It was great fun.
The spin off from this is that I kept a copy of all of the plans and designs. Having recently found them I thought it would be a terrific nostalgia trip to make a few and fly them, so when Rosie asked me what I wanted for my birthday - I said Balsa Wood.
On the morning of my birthday, we went to get the wood and cement. This was followed by a grand day out at the Dorothy Clive Gardens, where we had a splendid walk and a good lunch and cuppa. That evening I sat in the garden and made a couple of gliders.
It was a warm and sunny evening and I started with the competition glider number 7 - Icarus.
I trimmed the model with the obligatory 4 drawing pins in the nose, as we had done in 1974 and it flew a treat. I then had a go at another of Keith's designs - glider number 10 - a flying wing called Manxman. This has a shaped fuselage and Lancaster Bomber shaped fins (Bomber Harris!).
When I cut the wings I was left with two Lancaster Bomber fin shaped offcuts. Now I understand the logic of the design! This glider flies well, but it is fast and needs some space in which to fly.
There are about 80 designs to go at. Perhaps I will try one of mine next - Merlin, or maybe I will make Eric Gammie's Cutlass. What a choice.

Baytree Owl Centre

This week we went over to Spalding in Lincolnshire to see our friend Marcia. She wanted us to see the Baytree Owl Centre whilst we were over there and I must admit that it was an excellent idea. It has a reputation for being one of the most extensive collections of Owls in the UK.

Mexican Striped Owl

The birds are mainly housed in pens, often in pairs. They have nesting boxes and appear to be well balanced and calm in the presence of the general public.

Rufous Legged Owl (Argentina)

The thing that struck me was the variety of different owl species represented within the collection. They came from all over the world.

Brown Wood Owl (Southern Asia)

If you are at the centre at 2pm, a selection of Owls will be demonstrated by the handlers in the indoor flight enclosure. You can sit on a comfortable padded seat and watch a small selection of owls flying.

Of course, there are occasions when the display is limited. It often depends upon the mood of the owls and the weather. The birds are not pushed to do anything they do not want to do, so it may be a 15 minute display or it may take a couple of hours. You take your luck! The staff seem to have a lot of time to talk and answer questions.
The pens are arranged in rows, a few at a time, with greenery and trees to break the view. I noticed that almost non of the pens were faced by other pens, most looking out onto vegetation of occasionally nearby walls. The exception being the pens in the warm room.
These owls are a pair who are kept within their own pen, but you can identify the owls that are used in the arena as they have leg straps fitted.
Some of the birds are quite curious and inquisitive, but beware, they can give a very nasty nip if you get too close. Their talons and beaks are well developed for tearing flesh.
This little devil is a Great Grey Eagle Owl chick hatched by a breeding pair called Mystery and Jergen. These Owls are found across Asia and the North Americas and the Owl Centre are quite excited about the chicks. They Snap their beaks as a warning to stay away.

http://www.the-owl-barn.com/bbop/page4/page34/page34.html