Monday 24th April 2017, 2.10pm (day 2,069)
Wild garlic — the spring version of free food. (Blackberries are the autumn bounty.)
Being 42
Life, one day at a time
Category Archives: Flora/Fauna
Cemetery chicken
Tuesday 18th April 2017, 1.50pm (day 2,063)
Visited Haworth today, mainly to get out of the house on this week off work. Haworth gives good cemetery; it also appears to have a flock of (apparently) feral chickens which occupy the same evolutionary niche as pigeons do in other similar places. So, a chicken in a cemetery then. Why not? It pleases the tourists.
Definitely on its second life
Tuesday 11th April 2017, 4.45pm (day 2,056)
I can see no explanation for the burst of feathers on the neck of this pigeon than it has recently had an extremely close encounter with some kind of ballistic missile — a piece of shot, an air rifle pellet — not unlike (in pigeon terms) one of those stories where a WW1 trenches veteran got his cigarette case taken neatly out but he survived. Or Steve Buscemi’s character in Fargo (if you’ve seen it, you know). I apologise to the paid-up members of the Society Avoiding Cruelty to Pigeons on behalf of the perpetrator, but I didn’t do it, honestly, I’m just documenting.
Sunbathing
Saturday 8th April 2017, 2.40pm (day 2,053)
Everyone was enjoying the good weather today. This robin in the garden had a look around, decided I was no threat at all, fluffed its feathers up, spread its wings and settled in for a few minutes’ quiet drying out time. This seemed a perfectly good response to the sunshine as far as I was concerned.
Thirteen crows gather
Wednesday 5th April 2017, 7.30am (day 2,050)
I’ve given up trying to reliably identify whether the birds in any given shot are crows, jackdaws, rooks, whatever. Either way, they were swooping over the roof of my house in a rather sinister manner this morning. The superstitious might like to note there are 13 of them in shot…
Sunny afternoon
Saturday 1st April 2017, 5.10pm (day 2,046)
An inactive day, even indolent, but this was much needed. Sunny later, with the promise of spring in the air and look, Japan — we have blossoms too!
Lost goose
Thursday 30th March 2017, 8.00am (day 2,044)
I would like to say this is a shot that highlights the biodiversity and ecological health of Manchester city centre. But actually I think this goose was rather lost and confused. Not that I was going to be the one to help it find its way back to the canal (or wherever); Canada geese are vicious buggers.
Nice weather for (Muscovy) ducks
Sunday 19th March 2017, 5.05pm (day 2,033)
It’s been raining since about Friday morning, though did stop in the afternoon — a good thing seeing as the river was rising. Drove one representative of the local Muscovy duck colony off the water anyway; not that things were much less damp in town for it.
Off to Japan tomorrow. Forgive me if updates don’t arrive daily, at least for the next few days. There will be plenty to see I’m sure.
Lying down tree
Saturday 18th March 2017, 11.05am (day 2,032)
A day out in the Lake District but as you can see, the weather was not good so I stuck to the low-altitude scenery. This is the Derwentwater, and on its west shore stands, or rather lies, this tree — perfectly healthy and seemingly not fazed at all by the fact that it has grown horizontally and now lies permanently half-in and half-out of the water. Look at the root structure, how it’s still clinging on to solid ground.
Bumblebee
Saturday 4th March 2017, 1.30pm (day 2,018)
With due respect to Joe, whose 14th birthday it is today, this had to be today’s shot. Most of all I like the capture of the exquisitely delicate grip it has on the petal. There was just this one, half-hour burst of sunlight today, but it augured well for the rest of spring.
Being 42 