Happy Birthday to me !

68 years old, where have all those years gone to. I am sure my time is on fast forward these days, the years whip by so quickly. A birthday is never complete without some decent fish and chips so we had our annual pilgrimage to Steels in Cleethorpes for haddock and chips, bread and butter and a pot of tea, £30 for us both. It was some of the freshest fish we have ever had....simply delicious !

Just look at that....... it is my favourite meal in the whole world !

 and then home and Tom had bought me a planter of beautiful roses and a bottle of Moet !

A lovely, lovely day xx

Birds, fungus and a camera catch up

 

Stonechat

The very first snowdrop in the garden this year

A very, very distant ringtail harrier

Lots of goldfinches with a single redpoll

The time of year I really look forward to....when the propagators come out !  It's the sign of a new season, time to grow and plant. We have loads of peppers all pricked out and trays of spring onions growing away. The onions are now in the greenhouse. Tomato seeds went in the propagator today !

Our first orchid of the year, just the one rosette

Kestrel looking for lunch

Lots of Jelly Ears

Another trip for the shrike. It showed the whole time we were there but never close. We beat a retreat when the heavens opened yet again !

Lots of Collared Earthstars in an area new to us

The country was treated to a decent display of the northern lights last week. Everywhere else seemed to have a sky full of bright yellows and reds but afraid this dingy pink was all I could manage through the thick grey cloud that covered Lincolnshire.

Winter Aconites, a lovely display this year

Great Grey Shrike, Fillingham

 

Distant was an understatement !

We had been to Fillingham the previous day with the weather cloudy but fine as we left home. Fillingham is only half an hour away but as we pulled up the heavens opened and the rain was biblical ! A very quick walk up the hedgerow and we were soaked so beat a retreat to return the following day. So we stood for a couple of hours with 20 other folk and all we saw was a fieldfare ! The never ending din of a large pack of dogs that didn't stop barking for 2 hours was enough to drive me mad.....we were told it was the hunt which I am pleased to say that not one birder there supported. A never ending stream of gun dogs passed us on the path, non on leads. So, enough was enough. Got back to the car and saw a birder peering through the hedge further up the road and there sat the shrike. Pity the crowd on the roadside didn't put it on the pager......would have saved us two hours. So, a few heated comments were said from the birders that had travelled and quite rightly so !

and a few beautiful redwings

 

Beautiful winter thrushes

Goosanders on the ice

 

Standing on the ice on one of our local rivers. The legs are fantastic, just look at the glowing colour !

A few lovely fieldfares