Hen Harrier extravaganza !!

 

He caught a mouse !!

That's him flying off to eat his lunch !

WOWSERS !!

We have been watching this hen harrier all winter and he never fails to show. He is simply stunning and has been joined by two, perhaps 3, ringtail harriers. Aren't we lucky !!  

We haven't been to see him for a week so we popped yesterday and there he was along with 2 ringtails. Absolutely over the moon with these harriers this winter. This has to be one of the best birds in the world xx

Happy Birthday to me !

Another year for me and my treat to myself every single year is fish and chips at Steels in Cleethorpes. This year did not disappoint and we both thoroughly enjoyed our fish dinner although my peas were slightly too solid for my liking and Simon had his usual curry sauce which he tells me was delicious ! Then onto Brigg Garden Centre for an orchid purchase along with a few more packets of seed onions. A fantastic 67th birthday.......Sixty flipping seven !!

Bloody delicious !

Frost, snowdrops and signs of spring

 

Jack Frost has left a sprinkle

Snowdrops are poking up and looking beautiful in the sun

Hazelnuts with their tiny flowers x 

The catkins are the male and the flowers are the female flowers.

The colour of this moss was spectacular, green on another level !

Simon is now getting the garden ready for another year with our potato buckets in place. There are now over 30 buckets out now, all ready for potatoes which are chitting in the kitchen. Can't wait to have a bowl of new spuds, fresh from the garden, with a knob of butter and salt.....one of the best meals in the whole world !

Tombstone, Arizona, USA

We have just watched the film 'Tombstone' on TV and I kept saying 'been there, seen that' as you do but realised that I had never posted my pics onto this blog which I took on a birding trip to Arizona last year.  It was a surreal moment walking up that street with gunfighters standing on every corner ! A right tourist trap and I loved every minute of it. Would have loved to stay longer but to go in any bars cost around $20 so we bought a fridge magnet from the OK Corral and beat a retreat. A fantastic day !

Original bullet holes !

Some of the original decor still remains

Ready for a gun fight !

What a fantastic couple of hours !

Hen Harriers - what an afternoon !

 

WOWSERS !!!!!

As you have seen from our pics, we have been watching a pair of hen harriers so at lunch time we drove to our field for a few hours to see if we had any luck. A hot flask, biscuits and a warm blanket were needed ! Within a couple of minutes we saw the ringtail, then the male showed and he was relatively close so we were more than happy with that and was just about to beat a retreat when Simon shouted 'ringtail' and a third bird arrived. Oh my dear Lord above, what an afternoon !! We are so lucky to see these locally and we are making the most of them before they depart.