This is one from the family archives taken by my mum at one of the Tranquil Otter lodges in Cumbria of my dad and friend. I hope the duck isn't after a roll-up.
The birdfeeders in the front trees sometimes attract a bustling community of small birds, feeding, squabbling, socialising and generally getting on with life. Not that unlike us, albeit on a Lilliputian scale. And then there are the party poopers like this Starling, washing in like Gulliver with the munchies.
This collared dove is keeping an eye out behind him. And well he might. There is a sparrowhawk pair who haunt this neighbourhood that have taken down magpies in the past, so they would have little trouble with this guy. He's terribly conspicuous. Barring the magpies this bird is the most visible avian target for miles. He just doesn't blend in anywhere, and he's big, and he's noisy. And yet they are doing so well. Before the 1950s there were no resident collared doves at all in the United Kingdom and now they are widespread, even ubiquitous. A trio of these birds are often seen together over the last couple of months around our house; two adults and a juvenile. The adults sometimes still feed the smaller bird. Debbie commented that they start courting by Valentines Day but these two couldn't wait. Really though this juvenile was probably one of the last chicks born last year as their breeding season extends right into October.
This isn't the first time A study in Scarlet has been adapted into a graphic novel but it is still a welcome addition. Ian Edginton is very faithful to Doyle's story. The book is quite pleasing all round. Ian Culbard delivers a style of art that doesn't ape the Strand illustrations, rather he chooses to caricature the characters using Doyle's descriptions. Everyone is instantly recognizable throughout. A narrow palette of colours is used, mainly all shades of brown and blue, with red (or scarlet) usually reserved for depicting blood. Much atmosphere is gained by the colour choices and by the way that available light is used realistically. The tricky hurdle of the lengthy back story sequence is nicely vaulted by constantly bringing the visuals back to the storyteller with Sherlock Holmes and co listening. All in all very good. I'm always most loyal to the original text but this stands up well.
Blackburn is a town of hills. It's a large valley. At its lowest point winds the burn that gave the town its name and once in the dim past its banks would have been lined with cotton mills fed by the dark waters. Now the mills are gone but the town lives on. The outer skirt of farms that fed and clothed the town's workers are now converted homes and new housing has washed past them. Still further up the slopes of the valley are hills and moors. There are other towns here. Most hours of the day you wouldn't even know they were there. If you wait long enough or are privy to the inhabitants' hours of business you'll surely see them though. They'll feed and play and watch for danger.
This was actually taken in the autumn during the flood but the snow melt takes the same course. The snow was beautiful while it lasted and caused danger for travelers, made hermits of some and fun for others. Then the thaw. All that water has to go somewhere. It's in a mighty dash to get somewhere lower. It doesn't care who it sweeps along with it, like a White Rabbit torrent rushing to meet it's Duchess. It doesn't care what animals it disturbs, turns out of their homes. Its waters are colder than Alice's tears. And somewhere still lower lies my garden.
Sandmason Mouse
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Earlier this year I did an inked commission of a Mouse from Sandmason on a
desert mount.
The plan is that this piece will be included in the next Mouse Gu...
Frosty Leaves
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It was -5 this morning! That's cold! Slightly later in the day, when it had
warmed up to -1, I took these frosty photos in a local park on the way to
tea...
Guided Walk is a Treat for the Senses
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Banner image:
[image: Mind, Body, Connection Walk]
Descripton:
Soak up the sights, sounds and smells of an autumn woodland with us on
Saturday 9th Novembe...
Goldfinch in Belgium and Seagull Contraceptives
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Goldfinches give us a decent number of recoveries, a fact confirmed
recently by ACV6977 one of last year’s young that set off last autumn in
search of eter...
Apologies….
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I’ve been more than remiss in communication. As you may know I had round #2
with cancer–breast cancer—which I got out of with a lumpectomy and no
complicat...
Little, Big
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posted by Dan Guy
Web Goblin here.
Two years and five blog posts ago, we were introduced to the 25th
Anniversary edition of *Little, Big or, The Fairies' ...
Judith’s Brooch?
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One of the joys of writing a long-lived series is the community that grows
up around it. Which means I get letters like this one—a particularly
appropriate...
40 Years On and more on Substack
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Join me on Substack for my first post and many more. Parted are those who
are with us today When you look back and forgetfully wonder What you were
like ...
[Newsletter] Hollywood Ending
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I’m currently working on the ending (which with me can mean I still have
hundreds of pages to write) of The Navigator’s Children, book three of the
current...
Doctor Who Wedding Invitation Template
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I've been meaning to post this for a couple years now. Hey, I've been
busy. Anyway. here's a template for the Doctor Who Wedding Invitation I
designed fo...
2018 My Year with Cancer
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First of all, apologies to anyone who commented on the last post I did and
didn't get a reply. For some reason all the comments got lost.
This is the firs...
If you love me, why am I dying?
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Hey there, people-friends. I've been on the road, on the go, since early
September. Before that, since February, I was out in the boonies running
after s...
SKYWATCH FRIDAY
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These are also from my archives from our trip to South Devon in England
last summer.
My thanks to the SkyWatch Team for hosting this wonderful meme.
...
Thunderbird 4
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Thunderbird 4
https://youtu.be/SE0DFHim2-o
Here I am circling thunderbird 4 at Capernwray, still very much feeling my
way but loving the journey.
Both Ph...
LONDON! FOOL’S ASSASSIN!
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*Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.*
Well, I am safely arrived in my London hotel and I’ve even paid back a bit
of my sle...
SIGNING OFF
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After seven years of Mike Watson's Diary and more than 230,000 page views I
have decided it is time for a change. You can find my new website at
www.mikewa...
THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NAO (TROISIÉME ACTE)
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JANUARY 31
I remember waking to total darkness. The kind of darkness where you can't
even see your hands infront of your face. I couldn't even find my pho...
Gone but never forgotten
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This is Rachys mum, my beautiful daughter passed away at 20.45 on wednesday
26th october 2011, she was so brave as she knew time was running out, she
had e...
Dance of the Adders
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This spring, some of Devon’s snakes will engage in spectacular behaviour
known as the ‘dance of the adders’, when two vipers rise up and sway back
and for...
Walk Around Wortley
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I've still not had chance to have a proper go with my new lens, a 3 hour
walk around Wortley and a big heavy lens don't mix too well. I took the
70-300mm l...