Author Archives: JDO

It seems strange to have driven all the way to the Cotswold Water Park today, and then to be posting a photo of a swan, but this was the nicest light I found all afternoon, and the only thing that … Continued

When I arrived at the owl field today the lane was strangely quiet – I think that some of the usual suspects have deserted Gloucestershire for Somerset, where short-eared owls are rumoured to be showing well at Steart – and … Continued

I hate Black Friday. I hate it with a vicious, anti-capitalist passion. I hate the emails I get from every company I’ve ever dealt with, offering me 10/15/20% off everything from garden statuary, through DVDs, to vitamins; and I especially … Continued

It was pure luck that I caught the exact moment when this tufted duck bobbed back up to the surface of the river – it’s almost impossible to judge where they’re going to surface, because they’re champion divers, and the … Continued

The weather forecast today said to expect a mixture of sun and cloud. It neglected to mention that the cloud would reach all the way down to the ground, and the sun would present only occasionally as a vague area … Continued

It being a fairly dour day, R and I finally got round to overcoming our usual inertia, and doing something we’ve talked about for a while: we took a trip over to Compton Verney and bought an annual membership. The … Continued

I had an errand to run in Stratford this morning, and decided to combine it with a quick trip to the Butterfly Farm in search of a macro shot for today’s challenge. Not that I need one, given that it’s … Continued

By the time I reached the high Cotswolds this afternoon I had a Bad Feeling: the light was vile, and the wind was howling across the soft top of the MX-5. So when I spotted a red kite hunting over … Continued

It was another long afternoon of nothing much happening up in the Cotswolds, suddenly but briefly enlivened by a confrontation between a short-eared owl and a kestrel. The owl had just gone up to hunt when the kestrel bombed over … Continued

I didn’t feel up to doing much today, but made a late decision to zoom up to the owl field – arriving just before 3.30pm to find the lane so packed with cars that I left mine round the corner, … Continued