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RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2023
Birds in the Garden As I sit here, writing at my computer, my feeders are once again attracting wild birds but, so far, not in the same numbers that I saw them last year, when they could be spotted waiting their turn in the bushes and trees in the garden. Right through the winter, so far, I have seen far fewer birds than last year and more singletons that don’t seem to be paired up yet. In fact, I have rarely needed to replenish the feeders. I am wondering if this is another symptom of the decline in our garden birds, or is it because, last summer, I stopped putting…
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New Edits for 2023
While the images in this post are edited to be used in 2023, I am still working on originals taken in 2022, with more shoots that I haven’t yet got around to fully appraising and working on. One of these day’s I’ll try to catch up! Continuing the Medieval, Tudor and Chinese themes of last year, some of the images may also look a little familiar, as they have previously been posted unfinished (without context) in a previous blog. Others are entirely new. Visits to two Tudor Halls in October and November provided some authentic looking backgrounds for some of them and hopefully those additions have helped the story-telling aspect…
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The Lake District by Car
For committed walkers in Cumbria, there are such wonderful sights to see – I know – been there and done that, but last week (mid September) a short break involved pottering around the area by car. Of course that means the views are from recognised tripod hole spots, but there’s always the chance of a new perspective or some exciting light. We were staying just three nights and the first day involved a gentle drive up, stopping off at Pooley Bridge for a fantastic Sunday lunch at the Sun Inn, followed by a short walk to the shore of Ullswater before dodging a pretty heavy downpour and driving on to…
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Counting the Birds
Last year, I first recorded my garden birds for the RSPB Big Bird Count in January. In 2022, I repeated the exercise. I found I actually had more birds this year, but the distribution of species was quite different. I had more than 20 species visiting in an hour, but the RSPB only display the first ten on the chart. Small Birds The small birds are here in some number and I’m very pleased to see the siskins again, along with bullfinches, which are visiting daily. The dunnocks are showing off to the females. Long tailed tits are in and out before I can get them focussed and an elusive…
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A Long Winter Take 2 -Tudor Style Portraits
An update to my Long Winter blog earlier this month. Occupying my thoughts, for some time, has been my hope to set up a photographic studio permanently in my garage. That won’t be possible just yet, so I am carrying all the lighting equipment up to my living room and setting up there. Before Christmas I decided to make some Tudor clothing for Mike. I would stretch my sewing ability as well as my photography and Photoshop skills. I made a Tudor doublet and a “bonnet” style hat and the look was completed with a lace ruff bought on-line. Amazingly they fit perfectly. The first session of photographs was meant…
