IdleRich

IdleRich
I was thinking... I dunno, Moonfleet, The Moondial, Tom's Midnight Garden etc other books I read from when I was a child.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
I love it when the moon is strong enough to cast shadows.

Me too.

I know I keep going on and on about this, but have you ever looked at the moon through binoculars? When you do, it's almost like you could take a long step onto the surface.
 
Last edited:

IdleRich

IdleRich
Walking through the valley on a sunny Jan morning. Crisp, fresh but warm...

20200108_153951.jpg

20200108_154328.jpg

20200108_154016.jpg

20200108_153956.jpg

Cliched but it's so nice today... makes you glad to be alive.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
In Spain at Xmas, I saw a few times a mass roost of birds (who knows what kind, I'm not an ornithologist) in a single tree, and the most bloodcurdling noise of hundreds/thousands of them talking at once. It really was like The Birds - I don't think I've ever seen anything like it in the UK, but I live in the wrong kind of region.

Anything like that in Portugal, Rich?
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Er, not sure. Some trees have loads of birds but dunno if in the numbers you described. You see quite a lot of cormorants in tress around here, apparently their shit is very toxic and in the large volumes it's deposited it kills the trees. Also there are bits where there are quite a few storks' nests in a few trees and pylons, obviously not in the same volumes but they are so massive it's quite impressive to see them all together.
 

yyaldrin

in je ogen waait de wind
it was a weird weekend. the first crocuses are blooming already. parts of the parks are purple. sat outside reading a book for the first time this year. the sun warming my face. all this peace and tranquility suddenly swept away by a loud storm. it was full moon at the same time.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yeah, fucking hot here already and my girlfriend's family are telling her that the river in her home town never froze this year which is unheard of.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Well I was beginning to think 2020 was a bit of a wash-out so far, but 'my' local horse mushroom patch has begun fruiting, so things are looking up.

And I saw a magnificent and entirely nonchalant fox while I went out to pick them. Just wandering around in the middle of town in broad daylight, which is unusual. I got pretty used to seeing urban foxes in London but I'd normally see them at night or at least while it was half-light.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Got some elderflower cordial on the go now. Anyone else ever made any? It's quite unbelievably nice.
 

catalog

Well-known member
I've not made any, but the thought passed my mind the other day cos we went on a walk where there were loads of elderflower bushes (or are they trees?). Does the recipe involve an obscene amount of sugar?
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Yeah course it does, but you dilute it to make a drink so it's probably a lot less sugary than Coke (or fruit juice, for that matter).
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
That was awesome! We were just sitting in the garden enjoying the sunshine while the baby takes a post-lunch nap when suddenly all hell breaks loose above us. We looked up just in time to see a mob of seagulls and crows working together to see off a sparrowhawk.
 

WashYourHands

Cat Malogen
The bird population across the gardens that descend below is a lot more vocal since lockdown. Not to dwell on augury too much.

Up early with kids too, Jnr II is a bastard for opening my eyelids while we're asleep, so we're seeing a lot of sunrises & the bird songs are optimal calm from rude awakenings (why can't he do this to my wife?). I sit out on a bench in a fleece & shorts while it warms up, cup of tea. Lot of old oaks. Hedge sparrows are cool little creatures, flitting around ivy & mosses overhanging our wall, quite randy too

Dunnocks are known for their active breeding habits that differ very much from other birds. Female Dunnocks sometimes have multiple partners in hope that they’ll both help to take care of her chicks. However, males have become wise to this and are known to peck at the female’s cloaca to encourage her to reject the sperm.
 
Top