Sunday 7th February 2021, 12.50pm (day 3,454)
More waterfowl. Then again, more snow. Recurring themes, but everything is recurring. Overhead cables of whatever kind are usually an irritant, but I don’t mind them here.
Geese and snow
Being 42
Life, one day at a time
Tag Archives: nature
Duck shake
Saturday 6th February 2021, 11.10am (day 3,453)
I wouldn’t usually put up a shot that was so out of focus but it certainly sums up the weather, and it made me smile that I had captured this duck shaking off the rain that fell constantly today. A smile was needed — life is run, at the moment, according to the whim of the weather and this was the most depressing of ‘weekend’ days thanks to the rain. A shame I couldn’t call this page ‘drake shake’ though.
Maris again, unflatteringly
Thursday 21st January 2021, 12.25pm (day 3,437)
Today, it seems, was the 21st day in the 21st year of the 21st century; and that’s about as exciting as it got. Maris Crane (and it is her: the knees are a dead giveaway) was perched on a roof instead of stood in the river at lunchtime, as the water is still flowing pretty fast, though had fortunately retreated from yesterday’s peak. This is far from a flattering shot I know, but I like the shape she makes. (Actually I have no idea whether this bird is male or female, but the identity is fixed for me now.)
Cheap squirrel shot (campus)
Thursday 14th January 2021, 11.05am (day 3,430)
Cheap this may be, but ths squirrel was virtually posing for the camera, if a little nervously. It was one of the few signs of life on campus today, or even in the whole of Manchester.
Spring Wood, in waiting
Wednesday 6th January 2021, 11.15am (day 3,422)
Spring Wood is its name…. but it is going to feel like a very long time until spring. With weeks of stagnancy and economic devastation to come, let us at least hope there are more days with as good weather as today. If Bojo thinks I’m staying at home on such a day, he is mistaken.
Dead wood
Thursday 31st December 2020, 1.40pm (day 3,416)
With parties forbidden — by law — there was little to do except go for another walk as a way of trying to see the world. All in all, a fungus-ridden slab of dead wood seems to be a suitable metaphor for the last day of 2020. So be it.
My favourite photo of the year? Well, there have been fewer opportunities, all told, for creativity but I do like the one of the fox I took above Kentmere, Cumbria, on 4th March. I couldn’t believe that when I first saw it, it did not flee from me, but sat down to keep an eye on me (almost certainly because there were cubs nearby). It was certainly a poser, as foxes go.
Seals on Horsey beach
Sunday 27th December 2020, 1.25pm (day 3,412)
“Oh, hello, Ms Grey. Lovely day for the time of year.”
“Indeed, Ms. Brown. The good weather’s brought the humans out, too.”
“Yes, I hear this is one of the best spots in Norfolk to see humans. Ah well, time for a swim.”
Lunchtime spectator
Tuesday 22nd December 2020, 1.20pm (day 3,407)
This little chap becomes the latest robin to prove that members of his species really don’t see the humans as things to be worried about. He kept a close eye on us as we (Clare, Joe and I) had our sandwiches, while undertaking another County Top walk. This took place nowhere near Hebden Bridge, nor do we intend to be there for a while. Draw your own conclusions.
This is also the latest in a notable run of pictures taken at 1:nn pm: six of the last seven. Times of pictures are never chosen, they just happen; it’s a kind of random number generator, though admittedly some times (daylight, namely) are more likely to appear than others. But a run of this consistency is unusual.
Hey good lookin’
Thursday 10th December 2020, 9.20am (day 3,395)
Surely swans know how good looking they are? This is the Charlize Theron of the bird world. Look at the twinkle in its eye as it poses for the camera.
Gull portrait
Friday 27th November 2020, 11.05am (day 3,382)
The grey gloom of life is matched by the weather and none of these conditions make for optimal photography. This day last year I was having a very fine day out in Indonesia (and photographing butterflies 5,000 feet up); two years ago I’d just come back from Germany. No similar excursions look feasible for quite some time. The local birdlife will have to sustain me today. I do quite like the correspondence between its little red legs and the chimney pots in the background.
Being 42 