Yesterday we went for a walk just after lunch. Knowing that area well, and the time of day, I wasn’t expecting to see any large animals about as they usually prefer dawn and dusk to break the cover of the treeline. However, as we’ve had three days of constant hard rain, and this was the […]

Probably, out of all my hobbies and interests, cataloguing the creatures which live around my house ranks the highest. As a kid I used to keep a daily diary of what birds and animals I’d seen and often draw one of them. Now I have cameras and trailcams but the principle is still the same. […]

After yesterday’s multiple hard-going walks, this morning’s was at a much slower pace. The sun was out but the temperature fluctuated between too warm and too cold, meaning having to don and remove outer garments often. The meadows are filled with bird song and presented the opportunity for a few photographs (there should also be […]

I can’t explain how much I love being able to wander freely out here – through meadows and forests. From my atelier’s French doors I look across a huge field leading up the side of a hill to a forest I love to spend time in. All I have to do is get dressed, grab […]

Today we (my wife, eldest son and myself) went for a very pleasant walk through the forest at the top of the hill behind the house. The journey took several hours and was quite hard going due to the steep climb on an unused forester’s trail, but the forest looked stunning with flowers growing everywhere. […]

This is the weekly round up for the beginning of May. This morning the sun was shining so I hopped on my motorbike, Feisty, and set off for my village house. Once there, I donned my bush garb and traipsed across the now overgrown meadow to go check on my trailcam – I had a […]

Today has been a very, very long day. I’ve been looking forward to today ever since I heard that the infamous Russian motorbike club, the Night Wolves, would be coming to Svidnik to lay flowers and wreaths at the Soviet WW2 Memorial – and that local bikers could ride with them into town. The best […]

I was stunned to see this harrier flying around while out walking behind the house. I’ve never seen one here before. I’m unsure whether it’s a Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) or a Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) as it has identifying marks which associate (and refute) it with both. The black above-wing line makes me lean […]

Terrible photo as she’s about 1 kilometre away, at dusk and taken with my damaged-lens Canon SX700HS on full zoom (hopefully a new camera will come this week). Initially we spotted her as a large black lump crossing a field while going on our usual daily walk. It’s the first boar I’ve seen this year, […]

I’m really starting to get disappointed with what I’m capturing on trailcam and it looks like I’m going to have to set it up in a different area. Like I said in an earlier post, I might as well have it running in a Lincolnshire garden. Where are all the big beasties? I see enough […]