Beetham

On the advice of the lovely Jerra of this parish we headed down to Beetham Nurseries today to catch the last day of their orchid weekend.
So, obviously, here's an owl!

After another cough ruined night of no sleep I just wanted to be out, and Mrs IttH loves orchids, so off we went. A stunning Spider Orchid and a couple of small 'mystery' ones were purchased. Future blips I'm sure.

Then I met Bob and his owls. They were just spectacular. This snowy owl was so alert and almost playful. I got to hold and pet her for ages (see extra). She weights 5lbs, but if you gently push your little finger into her ruff there's nothing there - I think half of her weight is in those talons and claws!
Bob told us that she will actually monitor her weight as she knows she needs to be able to fly. So even if food is abundant she'll just eat what she needs. She's mostly vulnerable in the wild when she's on the ground with her prey, so a quick take off is a must.
If you look close in the extra you can see that her left wing sits lower. Bob has hand reared her since she was 7hours old. He told us the birth defect in no way affects her flying, in fact she's the best of Bob's 6 owls. But in the wild her parents would have killed her to stop the defect being passed on. Nature. Beautiful and cruel.