Another gloomy morning of thick cloud cover and subsequent low light levels did nothing to suggest that anything exciting was going to happen. I'd made the first coffee and topped up the garden bird feeders prior to getting a load of washing into the tumble drier. A quick look outside revealed a male Blackcap on the fat ball feeder and I quickly grabbed the camera kit to get some record images. This individual has been hanging around the neighbouring gardens for a couple of weeks, yet this was my first chance at pointing the long lens at it.
As the tumble drier is situated in my study, the back door was kept wide open to avoid the condensation build up on the windows. I'd just downloaded the Blackcap efforts when I was drawn to some movement above the same feeder and was totally "gob smacked" to see a Song Thrush perched in the Buddleia. This species is proper "rocking horse manure" around Dumpton, I see more Greenfinches which is a very sad summary of the population crashes experienced by both. I did manage to grab a quick shot, as it perched, but was absolutely delighted when it flew down onto the lawn in search of some food. It probably stayed no longer than a couple of minutes, yet I was made up by this unexpected encounter.
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| Garden gold dust |
The rest of my day has been spent sorting through several hundred slide images that I have just transferred into digital format via a very old device. Obviously, the quality of the copy is directly linked to that of the original slide, so let's just say that they're not all perfect and leave it there. I have just over a month before I make the presentation, so time is on my side. One thing that I had overlooked was the number of images, from this crazy period, which are in printed format and stored within a couple of photo albums (remember them?) and I will actually have to make copies using my digital camera if they are to be used in the final offering. Whilst searching through these images I found myself revisiting so many crazy times, spent in the company of some wonderful characters. Many a wry smile as I gazed upon pictures from a time when selfish obsession ruled my world and that of the others involved!
The above images are not required for the presentation, therefore I am happy to upload them on the blog, just to accompany the written stuff. I chose Wels Catfish as they were catalyst to me, and the gang, crossing swords with a certain Kevin Maddocks - happy days indeed (for us!)
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