Parental duties

June 14th, 2009

Mr & Mrs Blackie, as we’ve christened them, have been busy and have produced a second nestful of squeaking chicks in the clematis outside our kitchen window, a gang who obviously need constant feeding.

Having a strange man land in the garden in a deck chair this afternoon didn’t stop them, but they kept a close eye on me as they went about their duties.

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Parental transport responsibilities

May 30th, 2009

You know how people say (when their kids reach a certain age) that they’re just taxi drivers now?

It could be worse. They could actually be the taxi!

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I had great fun with my friends Martin, Hilary and Eddie today in my… ahem… two-man canoe…

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Regular readers will no doubt be amused that four days after writing proudly about my iPod-waterproofing system, I bent a little too far forward while standing on a pier and my phone, which of course wasn’t in such an enclosure, slipped out of my shirt pocket.

So I ended up doing a little swimming in the Great Ouse that I hadn’t really planned, and it was actually most refreshing. For me. I haven’t yet dared ask the phone how it feels…

Feathered friends

May 26th, 2009

Blackbirdlets

These three have grown fast since they fluttered down out of their nest a couple of weeks ago. Still definitely not adults, though!

Ancient and modern

May 10th, 2009

Some pics from this afternoon’s walk around Isleham.

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The cat is a few years old. The priory behind, about a millennium.

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Flutter by.

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Wall-eyed.

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This used to be a railway cutting, but no longer. Cars can’t go there either. But pedestrians can find a way…

(These are on Flickr - you can click them for different sizes and for others in the set. As with most of my photos recently, they’re geotagged, so Flickr can show you where they are on a map if you should happen to be curious!)

Reflections

April 26th, 2009

From our trip last weekend.

These are on the canal between Bruges and Damme.

Bruges

April 19th, 2009

I love it here. Good to be back, even if only for a day.

If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs…

April 18th, 2009

A tiny part of the amazing frontage of Amiens cathedral.

Spring

April 6th, 2009

From yesterday’s walk…

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Most of the paths I walked on obviously had more quadrapedal than bipedal traffic:

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Do you think this notice shows concern about the mortal well-being of the animals, or is it a subtle threat?

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Simply messing about…

March 22nd, 2009

I had a delightful paddle down the River Nene this afternoon.

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Miles away

March 1st, 2009

Bright lights, big city

February 10th, 2009

Fleet St and St Paul’s Cathedral tonight.

Curvy

February 5th, 2009

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Part of a ceiling at Newton Hall, near Cambridge.