Odds & Sods 2023

A good selection Angus. Funny I had a similar problem with the EV. I have taken to shutting the screen while I am photographing, just using the view finder to check settings. This solved the problem for me....

Near end of our morning walk, 100m from home, this was in middle of side road slowwwwwwwwly making its way towards undergrowth and trees on side of road. I rescued it and dropped it into undergrowth. Amazed it survived being squashed, as a fair number of cars use the road.

Looks like a very young one, Glad you got it to safety, I remember coming across one when mowing the lawn many years ago, At first I thought it was a large worm until I saw its eyes,

Saw this little fella flitting about in thegarden where I'm staying. Dark gloomy day and shot through glass so not the best photo. 

Pretty sure it's a Chiffchaff: full eyering, short primary projection, dark legs (as far as I can make out). Nice fresh colours so probably born this year.

Strange wasp behaviour., and a damp walk along Kennett and Avon canal. I thought this wasp was stuck in the water of a small pond we pass on our morning walk. Then I realised it was flying, very slowly, across the pond.

Cropping to show rear end of wasp appears to be in water. Is it caught by surface tension?

It just kept buzzing along....

...heading towards a large leaf.

It ignored leaves that were closer.

It 'dragged' its rear end in the water, until it reached the large leaf, whereupon it climbed onto the leaf and flew off.

In a monumental cock-up, Ford somehow transferred by booking for a car service from Wokingham to Newbury last Thursday!!! With MOT expiring in three days, and no slots available in Wokingham for two weeks, the Memsahib and I had no alternative but to drive to Newbury. We took the opportunity to walk along the Kennett and Avon canal between Midgham station and Newbury. Here's the old girl, walking towards a rather interesting swing bridge.

Wildlife was thin on the ground, air and water as this was a British summer: cool, dank, overcast, with an almost continuous fine drizzle. At least the swing bridge looked good.

I have no idea what breed of cow this is, but I first mistook it for a bull. It sort of glared at us, bull like.

The cows were one of the few creatures about, seemingly unbothered about the fine, persistent rain.

Lovely and flat, great to walk along, but canals can get a little boring, scenery wise.

I did drag my 80D with medium lens along in the hope of photographing more wildlife - the weather report did say sunny intervals would develop. Hah, they 'lied', my camera and lens spent most of their time in my rucksack.

Is this a white Mallard duck or one that is transitioning.

Cropping out.

On our way back to my old girls' car (my car was ready for pick up), I spotted all these Starlings on an electricity pylon opposite Midgham station.

There was a large sub-station below the pylon, with several very large transformers. I wonder if a little heat comes off the transformers, so making the starlings unusual roost a little bit warmer. Zooming in...

About 50 yards west of Midgham station we saw a Kingfisher. Not the usual flash of blue. It flew into a bush, but then a minute later emerged and shot off westward along the canal, giving us brilliant views of its undersides. I could still hear another Kingfisher in the bush. I didn't think Kingfishers would be so tolerant of humans, as the main road (with stationary traffic due to a level crossing) was only about 50 yards away.

Hope the car passed in the end! I do hope Mrs Angus is not upset by you calling her, the old girl! I think your cow may be a simmental. Hopefully next time out the camera will come out the bag more, thanks for sharing.

A really well camouflaged 

Oedipoda caerulescens. Blue- Winged Grasshopper 

It was way too fast for me and the camera to get an open wing shot - but this one was electric/kingfisher blue - I think I need to video it and then try to extract a still.  

Wow... Well spotted Cin... properly good camouflage!

Thanks, Catlady. Car passed MOT. I complained (very nicely) via their website, and got compensation. They admitted fault, but couldn't work out what went wrong. Never, ever, happened before. I reckon a combination of computer and human error - though Ford Wokingham decided human.

Dark looks and mutterings for calling Mrs Angus, old girl.

But worse crimes in photo.

Bread and water for a week for posting photos of her, but where she can't be recognised. If you don't tell her, I won't either, and regular diet will follow.

As for posting photos of her where she can be recognised: That's a capital crime, befitting a capital punishment. All camera gear will be confiscated and sold on ebay. Sagittarius A will have evaporated via Hawking radiation and Armageddon scores totted up before I am ever allowed any form of photographic equipment again.

I'm glad the car passed and that you were compensated. As for poor Mrs A, oh dear, me thinks you have a lot of grovelling to do!! Selling all the gear on ebay, I have an old Olympus that you can have, to start you off again!