Just a few photo's I took .

I hope you like. I am not a person who spends all his time just working. I like looking around and enjoying life in retirement.

The pictures show The Twins who were there the other morning when I opened the kitchen door. My workshop ( needs a clean), Loppy Lugs the ewe in my field, and finally the lamb telling his mum he was just keeping the flies off his face!!

Another Joke

I read the following here, and then I laughed:

When Grandma Goes To Court

Humor; Posted on: 2008-01-17 20:06:02 [ Printer friendly / Instant flyer ]

Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer. In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know me?' She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.' The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?' She again replied, 'Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.' The defense attorney nearly died. The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, 'If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair.'

A Good Laugh

Speed limit Waiting in Doncaster , to catch speeding drivers, a police officer sees a car puttering along at 22 mph.. He says to himself, "This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!" So he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over. Approaching the car, he notices that there are five old ladies, two in the front seats and three in the back - wide eyed and white as ghosts. The driver, obviously confused, says to him, "Officer, I don't understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?" The officer replies,"Ma'am, You weren't speeding but you should know that driving slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers." "Slower than the speed limit? No sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly...twenty-two miles an hour!" ....the old woman says a bit proudly. The police officer, trying to contain a chuckle explains to her that A22 is the road number not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the woman grins and thanks the officer for pointing out her error. "Before I let you go, Ma'am, I have to ask....Is everyone in this car OK? These women seem awfully shaken and they haven't made a sound this whole time," the officer asks. "Oh, they'll be all right in a minute officer. We've just come off the A120."

Too Scary for me

I have had enough scare's to last a life time, so I will leave this to the youngsters.

Stratosphere Tower Las Vegas

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I love dogs

Very Funny.

Scary Stuff.

I hope they all got out safe. Terrible thing nature.

Very Clever

Unbelievable

After seeing these photo's I was happy that other people were successful in getting birds to feed from their hands. I also had a lady Chiffchaff doing the same.

It takes a lot of patience but worth it in the end'

Been away for a while, Just a few pictures for now.

I hope these will show a few things that make up my days. Some funny, some just what I see when out and about. The lake is 'Talyllyn', not far from me. Walking on water, the third man to do it, as they say. Th cat?, my nieces pet. She also took the photo ( She, not the cat!). The lady with the big coat has lost a lot of weight in the past few days. She was sheared by my nephew along with others. From a size 20 to a size 8, in ONE DAY?. Hows that for a diet!!! Enjoy.

What do you think the photo shows....a Fish??

So did I when I first found it on the kitchen window two days ago. I took the photo and thought about it for most of the morning. Later in the day I found another, but slightly larger. By now I was quite worried, thinking I was being invaded by fish.

I looked at it under a microscope and then found what it really was....a dried up leaf from the Jade plant on the window ledge. I still think of it as a fish.....

Just a Hobby

Rescued this chair from a refuse dump at a friends house. It was in a sorry state with all the joints loose or missing. I took it to pieces and reassembled it. Doing the seat with cord was the hardest as I had never done it before, but it's a nice feeling when it turns out OK. And it's just a hobby.

Return of the Redstart

I am retyping this as the original, although shown as being published, did not appear. It contained two photo's one which was very small, so I recorded the larger one shown below which did appear. Here goes at getting the thing on show.

Yesterday I saw a Redstart hovering around where one nested many years ago. I got the actual shot of the bird by covering myself with a white sheet and mingling with sheep which were in the field where I lay down with the camera pointing at the nest in the wall.

This was no more than two feet away from steps up into the house, as in the view of the wall. I often worried about cats but the bird seemed unconcerned. Lets hope this will be published.

Better Picture

Sorry for the small picture. I hope this one is better. I'm still learning some things.

What do you think!

As a long time sky watcher I have seen many unusual objects in the sky where I live. Too many to mention here but I keep an open mind on the subject.

They should have been left in peace

Peace and Tranquility

On my walks I often see scenes like this. I photograph them and sometimes give one to the owner of the farm. I am very lucky to live in such an area. Just thought you might like them.

Hungry Little Chap

Hungry Little Chap

Saw this and thought of my supper. Enjoy.

Woodpecker Feeding her young one.

Mother feeding her offspring. I have a lot of them in and around my garden. Lovely birds. I took the photo through double glazed window. Have to capture the shot when you can.

Cat and Owl at play

Cat and Dolphin

Enjoy this.

Low Flying

These chaps are flying around here today. Several US Fighters doing their stuff. I love 'em.

I like reading books

Rivers

The photo is one I took from a spot a few yards from where I live. It shows the beautiful scenery and the mountains which surrounds the village. The mountain showing above the others is called Plynlimon and is the source of the rivers SEVERN and WYE, the latter well known for it's salmon fishing.

Update

Update on Super Squirrel

All my life I have been aware of how clever these creatures are but my Super Squirrel takes the biscuit. To be able to be such a gymnast and throw himself into prickly Hawthorne apparently ignoring the 25mm long spikes, was astounding. I tried moving the bird feeder away from outside the kitchen window but the driveway interferred.
I stood looking out the window two days ago when he (or she?) appeared with three of their young family. They were all climbing up and around the window, looking towards the nuts but not actually getting to them. I had greased the pole and the window ledge which they ( the young ones), disliked.
BUT, the Superman one climbed up the side of the window onto the stone wall of the house. He/she was some three feet above the window....it looked around and suddenly leapt from a standing position twisting around as it flew through the air and crashed into and above the Hawthorne 'hedge'. The gap was at least nine feet.
Instead of getting my gun I admit to admiring the animal. It had worked out everything I had tried to stop it doing. But not giving in, I decided to move the whole thing to another side of the house, which I did later. First though I cut all the grass with the tractor mower as I expected rain later ( I was right, it poured down) but got the grass cut OK.
Walking back to the house I saw the wired nut feeder lying on the driveway with both butterfly nuts unscrewed and the nuts all gone. Two days before I had filled the feeder ( and knowing how clever they were) made sure the wingnuts were as tight as I could make them...( previous knowledge pays dividens). Had the creature lifted the feeder off its hook? Never before in the seeven years it had been there.
Moving the feeder which was quite heavy with an oak post, I tripped on the way to the new location, wrenched my back and shoulder and dropped the whole lot. For the past day and a half I have been in agony and unable to do anything other that thinking............who wins??? The birds have no food until I repair the feeder, nor the animals, and I am making food as well as I can. Can't bend down, but everthing I handle falls to the floor so>>>>>>>>>>>
Should I have left the varmint to do as he liked?? What do you think????
Regarding my mentioning a gun, I love all animals. During my years in Africa I only shot for food when in the bush. I prefer the shots coming from my camera's. Take care all....oddjob

I want one outside my home.

This made me laugh.

Motor Racing

I have just been watching on television the Spanish Grand Prix and have come to the conclusion that the winning and losing is done in the pits with all the monitors and operators talking all the time to the drivers in the cars.

They are dealing in hundredths of a second, monitoring almost everything that is on the vehicle, the poor driver is just sitting there doing what they tell him. Yes, he does have to handle the car, and to do it at those speeds is very skilful I admit, but why can’t they try what I have thought of for quite a while which would bring more interest to the sport-----
Try just using Pit Boards as in the old days. Only use radios to tell the driver of any incidents on the actual circuit. When he feels the need for new tyres or for some other reason, he puts his hand up as he passes the Pit Board and they will expect him in at the following lap.
At the moment the Pit Lane are working to split seconds as to when he should come in for any reason.
This would make the whole race more exciting because the drivers would be competing against each other, rather that being automatons to their Masters on the Monitors.
Recently I was reading in the Daily Mail Newspaper that the subject of actions in the Pit Lanes were spoiling peoples interest in the sport. Maybe they could try my idea’s for a change. Do any others agree with me?
Years ago the drivers were actually driving their cars and I was an interested spectator, but not any longer.
Those of you who watch the present day s action will know what I mean when I mention “Foot Wagers”

Super Squirrel

Some years ago I was pestered with squirrels getting on the birds feeding table and demolishing the feed as well as chewing the wood surrounds. I cured the later by putting a metal strip, but the food was still taken.

As "Baldrick", the actor in that wonderful series on the TV, 'Blackadder' used to say " I have a CUNNING PLAN". I made a metal cowling, like those hats that Eastern people wear when planting rice and fitted it below the feeders. It was a success right from the start. The pest would climb up, but under the hood, they were unable to see the food and eventually left things alone. They still climbed, but were thwarted at each attempt.

This lasted for some seven years, yes, seven years, until a few weeks ago. I was at the kitchen window and saw one sitting on the top of the feeder looking at me. I think he waved to me.. on second thoughts it might have been a finger!!

I cut a load of prickly Hawthorne and draped it over the table. A little later he appeared and looked at it. You could see his brain working. He went down and then appeared in front of me on the window ledge. He bunched himself up and flew through the air onto the thorns, without any pause and he was on the nuts again.

I chased him off but later in the day he was back on the window ledge but instead of jumping off as before, he climbed up the post and reached out to a tiny piece of leaf jutting out beyond the disc. He jumped and held on with one paw, then pulled himself up to the top like a gymnast on the parallel bars. I gave up and left him to it...... BUT,.... I am now thinking of another "Cunning" plan, and will let you know as soon as possible with any result.

Clever little things

Amazing.

After so much recent bad news, I have seen since my last post I thought some joy could come by watching these young musicians performing at this level.

What can one say......

The efforts of the human race......Can I say more? Time will heal I hope...........

A Senior Joke, received today.

The little old lady phoned her neighbor and asked him to help her with a very complicated Jigsaw Puzzle."What's the Puzzle about", he asked. She said " Looks like a Rooster on the box". Of course he was watching a football match but he knew the lady relied upon him so he shut down the TV and walked over to her house. She opened the door. They sat at the table and studied the puzzle for a few minutes when the man said "This is impossible, go and put the kettle on and make a nice cup of tea; when you have done that............

"we can put the Cornflakes back into the box"

(Well. I thought it funny) boom boom..

Amazing Sand Talent

Wonderful how she does it.

Paintings,not Photographs

These are wonderful. I feel I must share them. As an amateur photographer I am simply amazed by them. The skill is unbelievable. Enjoy.

Anna Kostenko

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Book Review

I refer to my Blog regarding my reading of Stieg Larsson’s “ The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and the two others in the Trilogy. As requested by several persons who looked at my Blog, I give this as my impression of the books. I have finished the first, and look forward to the remaining two. As mention by others, if they are as good as the first they will be worth the read.

I am not a professional viewer, but, if I were, I would be hard pushed to give an opinion without giving the ’game’ away. There are Seventeen expert reviews inside the cover of the first book:; all positive that it was an eye opener from a Swedish Author. I agree with them all.

The book I read has Murder, Finance, Stock Exchange, Sex ( of course) a Dysfunctional Large Moneyed Family, Law, Government and Travel. I recommend them as being a good addition to any library.

Book I am reading at the moment.

This is one of the trilogy by Stieg Larsson. I am half way through the first and it appears to be very good. I have a very varied appetite when into books, so this is one I hope is as good as when it was recommended to me. I have spend most of the day with it so will give a review when I have finished it. Comments would be appreciated.

Difficult Landings

Having done a bit of flying in my young days I am pleased I was not asked to land at these.

'OUCH'

I took up golf years ago thank God.

15 Good Reasons to Take Up Golf

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Photographs with a Moral

This, I think, is wonderful. Many thanks to my friend Herbie.

Story of the two pebbles

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Very Good Pictures

Some thought provoking Photographs

Funny Images

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Lovely Pictures

Just a little browsing. Thought these were lovely.

Beautiful Nature

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Lyre Bird

Pity about the Chain Saw. Cutting its habitat down.

Going for a walk?

I thought a walk was just a way of getting some exercise. How wrong can you be. See the video.

Do you like Pizzas?

A friend sent this to me. Turn up your sound. I laughed a lot. Not being a Pizza Fan.

Red Kites

I have a Red Kite that sits in a tree opposite my kitchen. I have put out the odd chicken carcass which it enjoys. A pleasure to watch. The author in the Daily Mail has mentioned it as being a Scavenger, not a Hunter. He is quite right, road kills are it's main source of food.

People from afar come here to where I live just to see them. Looking at then soaring in the sky on motionless wings, calling to one another, and seeing the white patch under it's wings is a moment of joy for them. I have witnessed all that the writing is about and I am pleased that they have increased in numbers. This area was the home of the few who existed up to about 20 years ago when it was decided to introduce a breeding program which has obviously succeeded.

Why is it that some people seem to think that they have to destroy these wonderful creatures, along with other wild animals, usually brought about on half truths regarding their natural behavior. Of recent years it was decided that any animals who died in the fields should be placed in a storage area, awaiting collection by authorized people. In the old days they were quietly towed away to a quiet place on the farm and withing a couple of days nature and the scavengers would clear the lot, keeping the place clean and tidy.

Some say it's a good thing, others???..........

Health and Safety????

I bet they would have quite a bit to do........

Funny Signs

Confused? You will be after looking at this.

Funny Signs

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Placido Domingo

I like Classic Cross Overs.

Crazy Cyclist?

Don't believe it. Just saw this in today's Daily Mail - I laughed which reminded me of this.

Who Needs A Truck In Vietnam

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Organized Chaos

I found this film some time ago when a friend told me about it.

Pilot Cuts, Economy??

Having read that some Trainee Pilots are to be made redundant, gives me great anger, as it does with many others. I know what it's like to be kicked out from something you love such as flying, all because of 'Circumstances'

The pictures in the Daily Mail says it all.

Just Thinking

Tranquility
Contented Cows and their Calves
My niece took this photo of her cat

Have been sitting here wondering what to do. Started to think of Spring and Summer. My Snowdrops are out and the Daffs are starting to bud...so I thought a few warmer looking photos from last year, might cheer us up.

Maternal Instinct

I have a lady visitor this evening. She is the most intelligent lady I have ever met......Apart from being an excellent sheep dog on my neighbours farm, she also acts as a mother to orphan lambs, such as in the photo. At the moment she is stretched out on the floor fast asleep.

She had a busy day moving sheep. She also had to stand being in a shower to clean her up before her mistress brought her to see me.

The Kindle eBook Reader

Have heard a lot about these readers but never bothered with them. Just thought they were another flash in the pan. However, having viewed them and seen what they can do, I might change my mind and buy one........

Snows on Kilimanjaro

Just came onto this website by accident. Having spent some years in Tanzania ( before the name change) , I flew over Kilimanjaro several times. Then it was covered in snow permanently.

Bird Count

How many did you count yesterday. I was surprised by the lack of varieties on my feeders. The weather might have been to blame. Sunny but literally freezing. 28f (in the sun).

If I needed a new computer...

I saw this on today's Independent website. Lots of potential gadgets to play with, although I'm quite happy with my little laptop.

Thoughts Only

If, today, ONE Penny on a Litre of Fuel brings in £600 Million a Year for the Treasury, what will the actual price of the Gallon of this new fuel be, once the Government get their sticky little fingers on it????

Birds in the garden

As an avid bird feeder and watcher this caught my eye today on the BBC web site.

The Goldfinch is one of many that I have seen on my Bird Feeder together with Greater Spotted Woodpeckers.

Broadband

I was thinking the other day, when I looked at the Telegraph on Line whether the office of OFCOM and BT were serious regarding the 15% reduction in the Line Rental as charged by BT/ISP.s would come into fruition. It was something they were in discussions about.

It was just for Rural Areas where BB could not be received as ( mainly) BT could not see any profit in the expense incurred. Having had previous dealings with BT regarding getting BB into our area I won't hold my breath. I 'have, in fact, just paid out to get Satellite BB, after many years at 28kbps dial-up.

Can anyone tell me how the 'Connection' fee came into being, except just to increase profits? I was told by my ISP at the time of dial-up that they didn't charge as it was just "an ordinary phone call" to use 0845-0800 numbers as far as they were concerned.

Cameras

I forgot to enter Wendy the Wool in a recent Blog. Hope she comes up in the right place

Looking at the new cameras for 2011 I notice the Fujifilm HS 10. Price quite handy. I have three FinePix cameras, two SLRs and a small one for the pocket. The SLRs are rather heavy but ideal when I want to do some serious photography.

I was able, some years ago, to get various lenses for them, which fits the two SLRs. I took up photography many years ago whilst working in Africa. Old films then, not digital. Then I used to develop my own, but now 5 minutes on the computers and I have a nice library. Such is life.

Computeractive

I never started to use a computer until I was rather aged. My son made me come into the world of the 'living'. He lives abroad so I never had any help so I bought Computeractive magazine. I made my way through it and felt comfortable after a few days in using the machine. Of course W98 was the first and I waited in trepidation for the heavy mob to knock on my door when the machine told me that I had committed a 'terrible mistake'

You know what I mean if you had W98.

I use the Forum and have been very happy with the people who give me their advice. Highly recommended.

Books, Reading.

1. Talking with a friend last night it turned to the books we preferred. She likes Biographies of famous people, I like Travel and Adventure. We both have other interests as well with the Authors of other books.
2. This led me into thinking how varied we are in almost every way. The way we live, think, hope, laugh and cry. What we have lived through, likes and dislikes........I could go on for ever...
3. I have a house full of books. Almost too many. I had a few from a Charity Shop some time ago and just put them on a shelf and forgot them. I found one a few days ago and started to read. It is about the Saddam Hussain of Iraq era whilst getting together an Atomic Bomb and all the scientists involved , many from other countries.
4. It is called 'Condition Black' by Gerald Seymour..... Compromise of experts, intrigue, so they could be forced to join the Country and help with the Atomic effort. Family life all comes into it. Too much to put here. 348 pages. JUst put it down to do this blog...........

Weather

Well, The rain has come at last. Hope it stays for a while.

Wool v Fur

I forgot to put Wendy into the picture of my recent blog.

Have been reading the controversy of the Royal wearing a fur coat. I thought of Wendy the Wool. I took the picture some years ago. I wonder what she thinks of it all.

My Favourite walk

This walk has I am afraid, been somewhat cut back by the new owners. Hope it grows again.

Still Learning

I have been trying to replace pictures which I deleted in error. I have been successful to a degree, but not yet perfect. We all have to learn sometimes. I still have a few marbles left so will keep trying. Please follow the trail and you will understand what relates to which picture.

The photo is a proper one of Grace, the Labrador, who has been shown as swimming in the pool in recent shots. (I hope)

What's the water like??

I forgot

'Yesterday I forgot to name the five dogs in the pictures I published. In order from the top they are Milford, the eldest and first of the pack, then Hudson, followed by Bevyn who is stone deaf from birth, then Grace, the Labrador, and lastly Murphy.

The new picture "What's the water like" says it all .

K9 Friends

Just been reading about dogs that help the people who are hard of hearing. Wonderful what they can do. Well trained, they even warn people re traffic and help with the post.

This reminded me of my first dog. He was a mongrel and I called him 'Rex'. He was a medium sized sheep dog. They say that a mongrel is hardier that a straight thoroughbred, but I won't labour that point as others think opposite. From a very young age he showed a great ability in learning commands and was treated accordingly. My mother loved that dog. He lived for 15 years. He caught distemper at just a few months old. Mother nursed him, looked after him as she had done so with me and my two elder sisters.

My son who lives in Texas with his lovely American wife, have FIVE, all from animal shelters. Let me show them to you. Take care all.

They are called Murphy, Gracie, Hudson, Milford and Bevyn.

Made a mistake somewhere

Hello again friends, Yesterday I published a blog after doing it all alone for the first time. Somehow I missed out on the message ( as in this box), so I will repeat and see if the original can be repeated.

I was just wondering about all that I have done with my life ( and that which I haven't). Thinking about all the years ( quite a few of them now and another date coming up in a few weeks) as how they all varied. Quite different to what I have been seeing over the past 36 years I have lived in this farming community in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales, my late wife's homeland.

The seasons change on a regular pattern, different to my early life. The Rabbits in my garden,

The sheep enjoying a siesta during last summer, and the recent snow as seen in my village.

All different to my earlier years. I wouldn't change them for a million pounds.

Hope this time I do it right

Just thinking about the year ahead

I have been sitting here just wondering about life in general, of all the things I have done, and hope to continue doing, for many more years, but all in the lap of God I suppose.

The seasons come and go with regularity. I know that we have had a pretty vile winter so far, but I thought a couple of photos would cheer us up.

The rabbits are wild ones who inhabited my garden, and still do, over the past three years. They were young ones who, in turn became adults with the usual outcome. The sheep with their lambs I took during the summer and named it "Afternoon Siesta under the Hawthorn Trees" And the wintry one was my village a couple of weeks ago. I think this links us all to the seasons. In farming they never vary. Each month brings in a different event. Have I made myself clear? I am not a Word Smith like a good friend of mine but I try my best. I wish you all a Healthy New Year. Bye for now..