The start of a new begining !

The last two years has seen some major changes in my personal circumstances, e.g. moving from Islay to South Yorkshire,  challenging family incidents which, thankfully, have all resolved themselves satisfactorily and  now a series of utterly frustrating events at the beginning of this year that have moved beyond the simple description of "unfortunate"!




Setting aside a bad fall on ice, a less than comfortable journey back home from Scotland and surviving, along with everyone else, a less than clement period of weather thereafter, the main problem was yet to occur. Can you conceive of a set of circumstances where you have two absolutely serviceable laptops that then abruptly cease to function within the same ten days.!!  Desolation followed and a growing realisation of how completely dependent we are on technology nowadays!  Leaving the boring details to one side , a new machine has been bought and I'm gradually becoming acquainted with Window 10 ( tell me it does happen, eventually ! ).




In between times I've managed a period down in Norfolk and trips off here and there but, of course, have not been able to put out Blogs about the visits or indulge in any ranting about conservation issues!  No comments please !  After 2017 this year was meant to be the absolute perfect launch into what might now be considered "retirement". The first six weeks have been a bit mixed but things are now hopefully under control!  I've set up Patchwork Challenge, BirdTrack , Bubo, Bird Journal and got this facility under way again, so it's wall to wall birding from now on......an utterly apt lifestyle for a 76 year old, don't you think? I'm away to the Solway shortly and have a continuous flow of similar "expeditions" in hand. Can't wait!


Finally, this is a shot I got of a male American Wigeon at Clachnaharry Loch, Inverness in early January which has returned for a second winter.