Sunday 29 December 2013

SOMETHING DIFFERENT


Whilst out and about in the countryside I sometimes stumble across something that catches my eye for being out of place or just different. Or it could be something that just appeals to my (strange?) sense of humour and I can’t resist taking a snap (or two!).

Here’s a selection of images taken, from just these sorts of occasions, during the last year.


EOY 1
Sometimes I just didn’t know which way to go.

EOY 2
There’s always someone watching your every move!

EOY 3
Big cats roaming free in Bedfordshire?

EOY 4
A lost friend.

EOY 5
‘Squares’   From when my ‘arty’ mood takes control!

EOY 6
The Nightingale.  My type of pub…a nice relaxing pint and a ‘tick’ for the year list on the way out!!

EOY 7
If you go down into the woods today…..and you thought it was just a fairytale?

EOY 8
Not a place for grave robbers and ghouls then?

EOY 9
Remind you of anyone?

EOY 10
Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men…and don’t forget Little Weeeeed.  (I’m showing my age now!)

EOY 11
Triangles…another ‘arty’ one.

EOY 12
You’ve got to wear the right gear especially if you want to blend in in the car park!

EOY 13
If you’re this good of an artist why do you have to paint on an underpass wall?…..cheap canvas, I guess?

EOY 14
I like signs that get straight to the point!

I hope you enjoyed this ‘different’ set of images….see you next year!






Tuesday 3 December 2013

AN *EPIC STORY FROM….



…..THE MOTH TRAP

There was once a lowly moth trap and upon peering inside this mysterious story started to unfold!


There were two young ladies one named ELDER PEARL (because she was the oldest!)
MS1
and the other called DOT MOTH.
MS2
One day they decided to go for a walk with their two dogs, a GREY PUG
MS3
called LITTLE GREY
MS4
and a BRINDLED PUG
MS5
who went by the name of SNOUT… “because it’s got a cute nose”.
MS6
Standing in the doorway watching them leave was an OLD LADY,
MS7
the MOTHER OF PEARL.
MS8
She saw them off by waving long pieces of material, an old custom known as the RIBAND WAVE.
MS9

After walking for some time they eventually came upon a garden. On entering, through a set of BEAUTIFUL ARCHES
MS10
which were made entirely from BARRED MARBLE…
MS11
…they were a thing of MARBLED BEAUTY,
MS12
they noticed that the garden was covered in a type of matting…a GARDEN CARPET!
MS13
part of which sported a DOUBLE SQUARE SPOT design
MS14
with the rest being of the more COMMON MARBLED CARPET
MS14a
pattern.

After walking on for a short while they arrived at, what appeared to be, an outdoor pub called the SILVER Y.
MS15
It had a SHADED BROAD BAR
MS16
courtesy of some trees, which included a SCALLOPED OAK,
MS17
a BEADED CHESTNUT
MS18
and a WILLOW BEAUTY.
MS19

Propping up one end of the bar was an UNCERTAIN
MS20
looking CHINESE CHARACTER
MS21
who had a DUSKY SALLOW
MS22
type complexion. After a short while he was joined by a much younger lad who was adorned with a long flowing cape with FLAME SHOULDER
MS23
stripes. On the the back in large letters were the words LACKY
MS24
the CLOAKED MINOR
MS25
After striking up a conversation with Dot and Pearl Lacky and his friend suggested that it would be a good idea if they were to accompany the two girls on the rest of their journey and, not quite sure of where they were, the girls reluctantly agreed.
So off they set, all four together.  After what seemed like an age of walking, all the time being assured by the ‘boys’ that they were on the right path, they came to a large edifice fronted by a grand entrance made up of an imposing set of DARK ARCHES
MS26
and hanging precariously, on a thin rope, above the centre of the only open arch was a large DARK DAGGER.
MS27
Would they chance that the dagger was secure enough for them to walk under and safely go through the arch or………………To be continued.




Maybe!


*Well…….I said at the top it was an epic, so well done if you stuck with it and I hope you enjoyed this little bit of fun?
The idea for this post came to me while I was sorting through some of the photos of the moths that were caught in the moth trap I bought earlier in the year. Although starting late in the season I’ve had 77 different species of moth in the trap so far (most of which I had no idea even existed..and as they are mostly nocturnal would  probably have never seen!) and it’s been a very interesting experience IDing and photographing them all. I can’t explain the anticipation and excitement that builds when, first thing in the morning, it’s time to open the trap and see what’s been caught overnight.
Buying the moth trap has definitely been my best purchase of this year and I can’t wait for next year’s ‘mothing season’ (and some warmer weather) to come around!







Friday 15 November 2013

A DAY OUT WITH THE BOYS


Wednesday 13th. November 2013

Another early start on what was going to be a very enjoyable day of idle banter and relaxed bird watching in the company of two like minded friends.
It was dark and cold, with a clear sky and a touch of  frost, when I arrived at Keiths at just past 5am.  We soon packed all the gear into his car and set off on our two hour journey to meet up with Adrian at the RSPB’s Freiston Shore reserve near Boston in Lincolnshire, where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail from…so the sign said!! Adrian was already there to meet us when we arrived at just past 7am. After a cup of tea and a chinwag while watching the sun rise, over the bird filled lagoon, into a cloudless blue sky we were ready to go and explore the reserve.

Boys 1

A Mute Swan, bathed in the early morning sunshine, takes it’s first flight of the day.

Boys 2

Unfortunately as we walked around the side of the lagoon to the hide the majority of the birds decided that the best place to be was over on the side that was furthest away from us! There were large flocks of Dark-Bellied Brent Geese noisily flying overhead on their way to feed out in the meadows and on the salt marsh. There was also very large flocks of Golden Plover that frequently took to the air and gave a golden shimmering display as they whirled around in the sunshine, sometimes completely obscuring the view.

Boys 3

We were soon up onto the sea bank and the start of our 3 mile circular walk around the ‘wetland trail’ with an excursion (a good mile round trip!) to the Cut End bird hide.

Adrian was all trussed up and loaded down with Bertha while Keith was contemplating a visit to the local supermarket to do his weekly shop!!

Boys 4

This was the first outing for Keith’s (shopping)trolley but he took all the ribbing and less than flattering remarks in good faith and we were more than grateful for it in the end, well up to a point!…more later.

Not many mountains around here!

Boys 5

Greylag Geese practicing their formation flying.

Boys 6

They tried to drag us in, but we managed to keep our freedom…just!

Boys 7

Eventually our destination is in sight…Cut End Hide.

Boys 8

Adrian decided to use the ungainly method of entry…we just used the gate!

Boys 9

Now this is where Keith’s trolley came into it’s own as he started to unpack coffee, soup and cheese rolls. It was a good idea after all….well maybe?…more later!

As we sat for a well earned rest and refreshment we took in the (flat!) view over The Wash.

Boys 10

Whilst sitting and taking in the pleasant sunshine I suddenly heard a melancholy sort of wailing sound, my first thought when I looked up and saw the long flowing locks was…mermaid!…but no! it was only Keith, who had been exploring and was just cursing the fact that he had stepped into some rather deep and smelly mud!

Mermaid?

Boys 10A

Alf kept a keen eye out for any rarities that might have put in an appearance.

Boys 11

With well over half the distance of our walk completed it was now that Keith’s trolley, or it could just have been Keith, had a bit of a poor showing!
“Would anyone like an apple?” was the question, as we sat on a bench for another short rest…after much rummaging, muttering and a partial unloading of the said trolley the next refrain to greet our ears was  “o f*** it, I’ve left them in the car”….It was a good job that both me and Adrian had turned down the offer of an apple….we weren’t too disappointed!

There were a lot of ‘watchers’ along the route.

Boys 12

I wonder if I could get a fringe like that?

As I mentioned earlier there were a lot of Dark-Bellied Brent Geese around but uncannily they seemed always to be on the furthest side of the reserve to us…apart from this one, who we called Billy no mates!

Boys 13

Our trek was now coming to and end and we were soon back at the car park where Adrian again did the honours with the tea and coffee. As luck would have it amongst the Mallard the Wigeon and the sheep that were feeding on the grass in front of the lagoon there was a good number of Redshank and Black-Tailed Godwits, with possibly a few Bar-Tailed Godwits mixed in!

Black-Tailed Godwit

Boys 14

Boys 15

Boys 16

Grey Plover.

Boys 17

Is this a Barwit or a Blackwit?

Boys 18


It was soon time to make tracks for home and after a brief reflection on how good the day had been we said farewell to Adrian and wished him all the best until the next we meet up, most probably, in the new year.

It was a great day with good company…we put the world to rights, had a few laughs, a nice walk in pleasant weather and plenty of birds to see. What better way to spend a day?

Before we left we gave this fella instructions to keep an eye on things until our next visit!

Boys 19