Finally accepted into the country by being gifted this in the pub.
My personal favourite,
Getting harvest ready.
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Is this because you mowed someone’s lawn?
Anything on how to kill weeds coming through your astroturf?
Nobbing about at The Eden project. The lemon tree sadly has no sense of scale, there was one on there the size of a cantaloupe. I was enthusiastically impressed. The rest of the family groaned in boredom… I’m turning into exactly what I promised would not happen to me. What’s worse, I’m perfectly OK about that.
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Driving a big fucking Milkfloat. I enjoy it actually; almost enjoying myself ! 
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Can you get hot cross buns over there?
Pretty sure that’s at the front of your mind.
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We have been owling it the fuck up this evening and it was awesome!
Sam treated me to a visit to our local Owl rescue and conservation centre for their ‘Evening Owl Experience’. My photos are CRAP! Not helped by the understandable choice of Sodium-flare lighting (not so hard on the owls’ eyes).
The experience was bloody wonderful - watching these beautiful creatures actually flying so close that some of the big-girls wing tips were brushing our faces was superb.
It was also very much not a ‘petting-zoo’ empty-headed experience, our host REALLY knows his stuff, and there’s no gratuitous handling of the birds, for their own sake, no exploitation. Loved every minute, and learned quite a few things too! Thanks to Baytree Owl and Wildlife Centre for an excellent evening!
^ Barn-owl: still The Best Owl! This old lad is about 12 and retiring - his last show tonight!
^ Nellie might just be the cutest damn thing I’ve ever seen - tiny, busy, talkative, HUGE feet for her tiny size, and the most beautiful and intensely orange eyes I’ve ever seen!
^ Minerva’s roughly the size of Boeing 737 and eats dinosaurs, elephants and blue whales. Glorious creature
^ Not at-all sure about the ID on this tiddler!
^ Seen these dudes quite a lot in Iceland, decent-sized owl, and very calm!
^ Vantablack eyes in this little’un that look through you and examine your soul.
^ Gracie is 30, a rescue from a life of exploitation, roughly the size of a barn-door in flight, gentle, calm, dignified, fed on a diet of whole horses and bears.
I now want ALL The Owls!
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Snowy!
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Great Grey…
Spectacled…
You know the drill…
Of course. And the ultimate… Hawk Owl - the Holy Grail for British birders!!!
it’s just that Snowy is the only one in that list that you’re likely to see in the UK 
Fetlar, October 2018
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There was a northern hawk owl there, but I think I managed to not photograph him and confuse another with him.
Of all the birds there it was the most interactive with the keeper - constant eye-contact, while all the rest were just watching for food gestures, but the hawk owl just wanted to stay with his keeper; reminded me of the way a dog looks for signs from an owner’s facial gestures. Don’t think it was fearful - it had plenty of experience of doing this kind of flying, and did also go and land between two people on the bench and then on another chaps knee for a bit! Really interesting bird to watch.
Was really amazed by how relaxed all the birds were around humans - funny watching how some of them would perch and then check each human individually to see if food was on offer, even though none was.
Most surprising fact (to me, a bird ignoramus) was that only 30% of owl species are nocturnal; I thought the proportions were the exact other way around.
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So jealous - I love owls.
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Got to be somewhere not too far from you surely Al? Well worth it, even it’s a bit of a hike 
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I’ve been to a bird of prey centre up near Gleneagles which was amazing (you might remember my Bald Eagle photo from the WAM photobook).
They had an Eagle Owl which was a fucking massive bastard and had an attitude to match. 
I only managed to get a couple of shitty photographs of it sadly. The best bit was they got it to fly over your head for some scran and it was totally silent - skid marks ahoy as it’s wing span I think was about six feet.
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Oh well, you’d better get yourself down here sometime - East Coast mainline and it’s 16 miles from Peterborough (easy ride, or I’ll collect); plenty of room here for you and the mrs to crash for a few days, and Sam & I would be glad of an excuse to go back!
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Driving down a single lane country road the other night and the headlights lit upon a barn own eating come kind of road kill. As my car passed by (1M?) the owl continued to eat unperturbed. I thought they were timid but this one wasn’t leaving his dinner for anything.
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