Hello reader(s)…today I have news and pictures.
So first up, my news. I can haz a driving license!!! Yes indeed. After about 100 hours of lessons over a period of 13 years with two driving tests, I finally passed and am legally allowed to drive. Makes you feel confident as another driver huh?! Cue obligatory happy picture:
Once the missus got home I took the car out on my own. I didn’t believe people when they said this but it was actually quite liberating. I feel freeeeee!
So, this weekend, I drove us to Coton/Madingley. We parked at the garden centre, walked to the American Military Cemetary and then back through Coton village. It was really nice.
So now for the pictures:
Hello! Happy New Year! My first blog of the year and in ages too. I have many other projects coming along, one which shall be announced shortly. I’ve also been eating a lot of food. Six roast dinners over Christmas! Needless to say I am back on the exercise regime.
While buying Christmas presents I ended up on the Lakeland website. A very dangerous place for a kitchen gadget loving freak like me! I was looking for things to buy to top up my order so I could get free delivery. It’s a false economy, I know!! Anyway, I came across something quite fun. Shaped ice cube bags. I bought hearts and stars. I figured it would be a great experiment to shoot a mix of these, maybe with the heart frozen using red food colouring.
Today I finally got around to it. It was late in the afternoon so the light is a bit glum. I’m definitely going to retry this in better light, but for now, enjoy. I hope to be doing more fun projects this year and filling up these pages.
I went to the Botanical Gardens. I love it there. Making the most of my yearly membership. Will definitely renew it next year!
Autumn has fully taken hold in the space of a fortnight and the colours are just amazing. In a previous life when I was emo, sad and pretentious I used to proclaim that Autumn was my favourite month because everything was dying and there was “so much beauty in death”. Lame!
That said, it is still an incredible season and I hope you enjoy these pictures. And hey, in case you weren’t aware, this is happening all around you. Just look up from the glowing box in your palm once in a while 
No, this isn’t about dinosaurs!
This is my last catch up post from the last couple of months. I have finally caught up! After this I will be doing a digital sort. Re-structuring all my folders, backing up externally, setting up a Flickr account for all the really good stuff. Once that’s done I think it’ll be time to take things up a notch. I’ve not been out taking pictures anywhere near as much as I would’ve liked so this needs to improve. We get our car delivered in a couple of weeks and I should pass my driving test in October *fingers crossed* so actually being mobile should give me more scope to get out to more remote locations at odd times of day.
A couple of weeks ago, the missus’ folks took us out to The Raptor Foundation out in Woodhurst. It was a fantastic day out. They have over 200 different species of raptors. The definition of a raptor over other birds is that they catch their food with their feet rather than their beaks.
We walked around the complex, which is impressively large, and when we got to the end we saw that they were doing a flying display and we were bang on time. Camera at the ready!
I’ve been posting some of these on Facebook and Twitter but without further ado, here is the full collection. If you want prints of these in any format (postcard, greetings card, poster, canvas etc) let me know and I’ll arrange it. All proceeds will go directly to The Raptor Foundation as they rely solely on donations.
My two favourite shots are the little owl who looks like he is singing (he’s actually nomming on a grub) and the falcon catching the bait. The falcons are lightning fast and it was incredibly difficult to track them in flight. However, thanks to the amazing lens I got for my birthday (the Nikon 55-200mm) I got those two cracking shots.
As people venture into photography, they pretty quickly realise what subject they enjoy the most and for me it’s definitely wild life and probably mainly birds. I enjoy watching them, filming them and capturing them in still frame. They really are an absolute wonder. This probably means my future is likely to involve the purchase of a ridiculously expensive zoom lens and many hours spent huddled up in a hide! Oh joy!
Until next time…
Another catchup post today!
The summer is great for getting out and about. Especially in this country where you’re guaranteed a good spot of rain to really ruin your day!
Cambridge is particularly crap. I was promised lowest rainfall in the UK. Nobody bothered to tell me how it’s usually always overcast, grey, muggy and well, just a bit crap really. Sunny days are rare here! Fo sho!
However, I came from West Yorkshire so I know how to make the best of a bad situation. Ho ho! Next to the gym is a little paddock which has some “lovely” horses. The missus reckons they’re lovely but personally I’m terrified of them. Remember that scene in the Ring (2?) where the horse charges at the woman on the boat and leaps over the edge? How about The Godfather (1? 2? 3?) with the horse head in the bed? Yeah, not good with horses!
Anyway, here are some pictures of the evil beasts followed by a rare shot of the missus and then a couple more of Fleur taken in Epping Forest right before it rained! She is mental!
