Fallow Deer (again!!)

This shot was taken on 27th December last when six fallow deer wandered passed or dining room window late in the afternoon obviously searching for food and they seemed to enjoy the haws and sloes lying on the ground under the bushes.    It was a mad scramble to find my camera and get into a position without spooking them and I only managed three (possibly four) in this only remotely possible shot.  

Yesterday five wandered passed again and as usual I was totally unprepared but managed three individual shots.    In my defence it is obvious that I have not yet mastered the art of  shooting at an angle through double glazing and at a distance from the window, to say nothing of avoiding sudden movement and preventing 'the boss' trying to get in the act - it certainly adds interest to the exercise!!!

What is it?

On Monday my wife was driving into town and spotted this object which we believe is from the fungi world.    Later the same day I went to take two shots.   It is about eighteen feet from the ground and appears to be growing from a long established hole in the trunk of an ash tree.    My fungi knowledge is zero so much so that I would be reluctant to pick field mushrooms with any certainty!!

Happy New Year

to one and all - better late than never!!!

For as long as I can remember, with the advent of a new year I always look for signs of Spring - not for early or late seasons but simply to convince myself that Spring is on the way and Mother Nature has not forgotten us.    It may be some weeks away but these signs do help to lighten the spirits and lift the gloom.    The signs so far to name but a few - catkins on alder and hazel, buds on cherry trees and horse chestnut trees, birds starting to display in particular dunnocks and robins and blackbirds pairing.    In the past I have found nests with eggs of blackbirds mid January but I dont think that will happen this year.

I have not seen any hares on my patch since last October but yesterday I saw two racing round a winter wheat field.    However the highlight of the day was the sighting of eight buzzards circling overhead at a height almost beyond the vision of the naked eye.

All good signs for me but I readily appreciate that it will be a different story north and south of my patch.   No pics on this occasion I'm afraid.