Schonbrunn  Zoo  Vienna  Austria.
 

I visit Schornbrunn every year in the summer and some times in the winter.

               Indian Rhinoceros

                                                              Red Panda

                                                                  Cheetah

                          Jaguar

           The Mill Pond in late evening

                                                                                            Mallards by the lake side.

                                                                                           Water Lilies growing well this year.

       

                                    A young male swan quite alone turfed out by his father

                               My loving Cavalier King Charles Spanial Holly no longer with me.
                                               She was 14 years old when she died.
                                            Pawprints on my heart.  
                                             The first time l laid eyes on you,
                                              l new right from the start,
                                             That you were meant for me alone:
                                              You put pawprints on my heart!

                                      Birds on the Lake.

                             Butterflies

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The meadows are full of Butterflies through the year from March to October.l took these photo
 early in the morning in May.

                                                                GATEKEEPER
                                            There are many of these in the south of England
                                             and they love Thisles and Brambles.They always
                                            have a round black spot on the top of each front
                                            wing.They will also fly on overcast as well as
                                            sunny days.

                                                                     A Comma

                                                              A Meadow Brown

                                          A Adonis Blue (on sock at the bottom of the picture)

                                                                A Cabbage White

Wild Flowers.

                                          WILD FLOWERS IN THE MEADOWS

              Common Spotted-Orchid.

                                                               Foxglove

                                                       

                                      Thistles seeding

                                                                  Blackberrys.

                               
                                                                   Common Knapweed.

My Managerie when l was growing up.

                                                             ABOUT MYSELF.
l have been retired for four years and befor that semi retired for ten years,working part time. When l was a young boy l lived with my Gran and Grandfather who brought me up.My early years
 were spent in East Sussex at Heathfield,where l went to school and lived untill l was sixteen. l have always had animals and l had a small managerie from a early age. l had Light Sussex Chicken and a Cockrell that crowed,l had twenty Pigeons and ten white Doves. l had lots off white Rabbits and golden Hampsters. l also had cage birds Budgerigars,Canarys and Red Eared Waxbills.l had a dog called Bob, he was a black Labrador and a cat called Tiddles. My Grandfather also bought me a pony Trixie, she was a New Forrest and was brown also l  had a Jersey Heffer and a ferret that used to bite back in those days the 1950 after the second world war we still had food rashoning so my ferret came in very usefull and l could for give him for bitting.
           l remember the long hot summers and the Swallows nest under the gutters of my Grandfathers old house and the Batts that would fly up the lane when it was just getting dark and Grandad and l would walk down the lane with Bob to check the Pony and Heffer.l would take a sack and collect  food for the rabbits and bring back straw for thier comfort.l had a wooden trolley made out of old planks of wood and old pram wheels and axels and l could steer it a bail of straw just fitted onto it.
l also remember the wild birds the Sparrows that fed every morning with my chicken and the swarms of Starlings flying at dusk and sitting along the telephone cables. The Swallows and the House Martins used to do the same when autumn came and they would fly back to Africa and then fly back to us the following spring.
Grandad had a large vegtable garden and when he was working in it there would always be a Robin sitting on a old spade handle that was dug in the ground.He would be looking to see if Grandad
dug any worms up and he would soon gather them up, he was quite tame.We had Blackbirds that nested every year in our hedges.There was two sand stone out houses Blue and Great Tits nested in these and l think the Robin did also.There was also Song Thrushes and Dunnocks but in those days they called them Hedge Sparrows and there was theWagtail and Wrens and Nuthatch. Lots of Crows and Rooks and in the trees was quite a large Rookery and l must not forget the Magpies,Jackdaws and Wood Pigeons that also took the chicken food.

mill pond in winter

This winter seems to have been very cold and long, with periods of the pond being completely frozen, and all signs of wildlife seem to have disappeared. We had a little snow, but not very much rain. Most of these pictures were taken early in the morning, when I was walking my dogs:

                                          my dogs Billy and Ruby enjoying the snow.

                                    
                                         
                                           The gate on the way through the small meadow
                                            on the way to the mill pond.The bushes and trees
                                           to the left hide a small pond.

                                          The lake from the side path that runs from the
                                           large flower meadow past the water falls to the
                                           path through the woods on the way home.

                                          The view from the west of the lake up to the east
                                           end. Reeds grow up to the road and railway viaduct
                                          along the side of the river and into a large pond the
                                          the other side of the road.The river feeds the lake and
                                          Moorhens and Coots,Swans and Mallards, Canada Geese
                                          all nest here.Herons and Kingfishers are also seen.

                                          The two water falls that are behind the path behind
                                           me when l took the photo above.Two man made
                                          outlets take the water down these.The cavern is
                                           quite deed and the river runs west and becomes a
                                           lot larger.

The walk home just up from the falls.