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The weather this morning looked very promising for owling – right up until I reached the top of the Cotswold escarpment, when the sky blackened and the wind picked up. As you probably know, short-eared owls hunt largely by hearing, … Continued

Down the close, darkening lanes they sang their way To the siding-shed, And lined the train with faces grimly gay. Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray As men’s are, dead. Dull porters watched them, and a … Continued

We woke up this morning to discover that there had been a power cut; initially the energy company said that they expected to restore supply within the hour, but the hour came and went, and when R checked with them … Continued

R has chosen today’s photo. Perhaps I bigged up the amount of effort it cost me to get this shot, dodging around the tree trying to keep the squirrel in view and get focus, as as it tried to get … Continued

When people say to me that some bird or other is most easily tracked down or identified by its call, I shuffle my feet in embarrassment and try not to admit how hopeless I am generally at recognising bird calls. … Continued

I had several potential plans for today, all dependent on how the weather was looking in various places; but when I got up this morning it was pouring down, and the Met Office forecast told me that there was between … Continued

Oh, do stop – you used the same weak joke this time last year. Soz – I fear I’ve reached the age at which repetition has once more become the soul of wit. Or not. Unlike R, who is doing … Continued

I was zooming up Saintbury Hill this afternoon when this view appeared as I rounded a bend, and I just couldn’t resist it. It’s a fairly horrid piece of road, but for once there was no other vehicle in view, … Continued

This is what happens on a day when I can’t go out looking for wild things to stalk: I get bored, and then I start with the fartnarkling. To be fair, these lilies are in a pretty tired state now, … Continued

I took precisely eight photos today, and six of them were of this great spotted woodpecker on one of the peanut feeders. We have two of these feeders, equidistant from the house in different directions, and the other day I … Continued