Got it!

Yes, I have managed to capture the Barn Owl on film! I saw him gliding around at 7.45 this evening and I rushed in to get my camera. He wasn't at all bothered by my presence, or that of Thomas and Tara. I have some less fuzzy shots from a distance, but I thought I'd post this one that's a little blurred at the edges but really shows him up well.....

 .....isn't he beautiful! What a wonderful sight to be able to see just by looking from the back of the house. He is living in the barn that belongs to the house you can see in the background.....I've concluded that "she" is probably a "he" after all as I've been checking a few facts and, even if a pair have nested by now, it will be the male who is mostly out hunting, taking food back to his mate...partly to persuade her to let him have his way with her! If there are eggs, or even owlets, then it will be the male who is out and about, leaving his mate to look after the family. 

He's doing a grand job anyway, diving down frequently to catch mice, voles and shrews which all live in the field at the back of the house. I have seen him in the morning, in the evening and even in the middle of the day. 

I've uploaded the video that I managed to film of him to my You Tube site (click the link in my left sidebar) if you'd like to see him in action! 

a surprise gift & a good moment

I had a really lovely surprise today when the postman delivered a belated birthday gift from a very good friend. It's a new camera and is absolutely brilliant! No more making people stand with fixed smiles while I wait for the picture to be finally taken and this one has a proper video function which means that I'll be able to upload some tips and techniques as opposed to step by step pictures.
I did try to do that this afternoon, but blogger didn't want to know, so I decided to join You Tube and upload something there - just me trying out the camera really but you may find them amusing! I got myself into a real mess though...I ended up being sent a new email address, couldn't get onto my blog and who knows what other confusion! However, I managed, obviously, to get signed back into the blog so will see if I can still get onto You Tube now!
I'm not sure how you find me on You Tube yet (help!) but my name on there is LindsayMason1000...there wasn't much choice left using my name and this was the best of the bunch! So, I hope that it will all become easier as I go along and that I'll be able to give you a bit more info on how to find the clips. I think I'll be able to add some links, so will insert these here,
here and here later....yes, it worked!
A huge thank you to my friend for such a thoughtful and truly appreciated gift - it will be getting a lot of use I promise!
I had another good moment today as I've been suffering from very high blood pressure since David died (and probably before that I expect) and it's been refusing to go any lower, despite various pills I've been taking. However, I saw the nurse this morning and it is finally coming down - hoorah! It seems that the latest combination of tablets is doing the trick so that's a big relief. The nurse took my BP five times so I was convinced that it was not moving downwards. After the second time I just visualised David standing there, looking concerned and telling me to keep calm. Oddly, the nurse told me that the first two readings were quite high but that it started going down on the third one and just kept going lower. I knew David was looking after me.

Thanks Andy!

My very talented friend, Andy Skinner made this You Tube video for me as a lovely surprise! Thank you Andy, it's great!