R and I were discussing my photos from today, and though we both felt quite positively towards this image, we agreed that it’s a shame there’s no catchlight in the bird’s eye. R: “You could always…” J: “I could. And … Continued
I spent the morning fighting my web site and losing, and then suddenly realised that it was 2pm on a heavily overcast day, and if I didn’t get a wriggle on and find something to photograph, what light there was … Continued
It was still cold and windy today, and forecast to be stormy by the afternoon, but the light wasn’t too bad this morning, so as soon as I’d prepared a sausage casserole and got it seething in the slow cooker, … Continued
Both male and female great spotted woodpeckers put in an appearance in the woodland behind Hillers’ garden this afternoon. This is the female, identifiable by the lack of a red cap, though otherwise she’s pretty similar to the male. I … Continued
The English name ‘chaffinch’ is neatly descriptive, because this is a finch that is will search through chaff to find grain to eat. ‘Fringilla’ is the Latin word for a finch, and Linnaeus named this species ‘coelebs’, meaning single, because … Continued
The afternoon was getting murky by the time I got to Dunnington, after a bright morning which would have been great for photography, but which I’d had to waste on boring and irritating errands. The stress of the morning made … Continued
“Handsome is as handsome does,” the oldies used to say, gnomishly. I never knew what it meant – and in my childhood you weren’t exactly encouraged to challenge adult pronouncements (however glib, incomprehensible or just plain wrong they seemed to … Continued
After a dreary, dark morning, the light improved slightly at around 2pm, and I thought it might be worth nipping up to Dunnington to spend half an hour in Hillers’ hide. It turned out that I was right – the … Continued
I’ll just go to Hiller’s for an hour’s peace and quiet, before the madness of Christmas really kicks off, I thought. Well, you know that proverb about the best laid plans…? When I arrived in the garden and heard the … Continued
I didn’t have time to go gadding about after birds today, with the rest of the Christmas decorations still waiting to be put up. But I didn’t get where I am today by prioritising things that need doing quite urgently … Continued