Winter

The title of my friend (from primary school) Chris Nicholson's book about Thomas Hardy's later years, and the season that has now arrived. Wet and windy and cold. The pellet boiler is gobbling sacks of pellets, the pallet of 100 sacks bought a month ago has dwindled, I need to remember to order more this week. My office in work is nice and warm, perhaps the warmest room in the building, but on these dark evenings I'm not keen to go out to the car in the cold. Tonight the short walk across the playground left me very wet, rain has been unremitting today, pony fields half submerged.

You need know very little about Hardy to enjoy this book, the relationships in this biographical fiction are compelling. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/18/winter-by-christopher-nicholson-review

A few seawatches of late, the best included three Glaucous Gulls and a couple of Little Auks. Otherwise not much turning up, four Blackwits at Loch of Bosquoy were a surprise.

 This distinctive House Sparrow with a white tail feather has been with us for quite a while, I think about five years, I didn't record his presence for a few years (regretfully).

A lovely day on Sunday, relatively calm and the Sun, that absent friend, joined us for a day. So, the Rooks came prospecting as they do on any kind day from now on.

Taking the recycling out to the car last week I discovered that the council supplied, weighted bags were in a bit of a state, holey. Rodent damage. The traps in the kitchen have not caught anything for a few weeks now, the one House Mouse that I caught was a loner. A transfer of a trap to the garage and four nights in a row I've caught Wood Mice. The first one had been half-eaten by its cam-padres, a surprise, I wouldn't have expected Wood Mice to do that, there may of course be a larger rodent lurking. The poison and the cats have kept the rats under control outside, but there is evidence of their activity.

The Otter at the bottom of the track that we saw over a few days has not been seen for a while, then the other night the girls were driving back from the ponies in the early evening and came across a large (dog probably) Otter just by our front gate. They had great views in the headlights.

Listening -

 

 

Aimee Mann, Kamasai Washington and The National, take a look at the film made to go with Kamasi's album, here: https://vimeo.com/224866605

 I think the talk went ok, glad it's done.

Up and coming - a bit of a hop on Saturday night at the West Mainland Farmers' Ball.