Still buzzing and blogging

Out early this morning, attempting to get as much from this period as possible. Migration on this scale is a magnificent spectacle and something to be cherished, especially as it's taking place on and above the place I call home. It will only take the weather to change, or the stubble to be ploughed in, and that'll be my lot until next Spring.

So, this morning, I headed straight across to the fallow field where Linnets and Goldfinches dominated, huge numbers of birds present, yet no Chaffinch or Brambling? Still a few Meadow Pipits and also a small number of Chiffchaffs (half a dozen - ish) plus several Song Thrush and Redwings flushed from the deck as I wandered around. Best sighting was of a pair of Stonechat, the first here this year! Never approachable, I did my best with my aging camera kit and am happy enough with the results considering they're only used to support my blogging.

Never in the running for POTW - my images are perfectly adequate to support this rambling nonsense.

Nicely done Dyl - seamless! On to blogging and the recent upsurge in posts (by other blogsters) about why it is a diminishing format within social media. I can only offer my thoughts, from a very individual perspective, and will attempt to explain why I feel blogging is still relevant, how it enhances my experiences, keeps me looking, thinking about the life I lead and the people, places and wildlife encountered along the way.
Before I started "Of Esox" there'd been two previous blogging attempts which came to shuddering halts when I discovered that my posts had caused "ripples". It hadn't been deliberate, well OK it might have been, but to encounter such venom as a result of an opinion was too much. With the start of this third incarnation, I already had an idea of what I wanted and how I was going to do it. My expectations weren't high and the realization that it is not mandatory to read my posts was key to me getting on with my critics opinions, however different they were from my own.  The blog title was chosen to allow me as wider scope of subject matter as I felt fit. Observations can fit a whole gambit of definitions, in many differing fields of experience, thus I am well within the remit of this blog to post my opinions on any subject I like - they are my observations, be it about Jihadist terrorism, Brexit, birding, the flagrant abuse of wildlife legislation or my angling exploits; jobs a good'n!
I accept that there are times when my posts are little more than a few words and pictures of fish, there is no defining template to which I must adhere, therefore some of my more obscure ramblings have taken several days to complete, thus a result of very time consuming effort. Why do I do it? For me it's my attempt to share my world with others, it is my diary, my thoughts and my wishes as time passes. One of the benefits is that it keeps me thinking and using the gift of writing, which was so generously given me during my period at school. A gift that I didn't recognize at that time in my life, but am now extremely grateful for. The bottom line is that I write this blog for myself, if others see fit to look in, then it's a bonus. I'm not about changing opinions or challenging the world, I simply enjoy writing about the experiences I have as my life moves forwards, although I'm not adverse to looking back should the whim take me. How others perceive the role of a blog is entirely up to them - I'm happy with my choices and will continue until I come to the end of my enjoyment of life!