Head Shot

Standing on the bridge he became momentarily distracted and looked up making this head shot stand out against the bokeh of the trees.

Trotting off to Croome Court after ploughing though some much needed office work I was relieved to see my blip sitting on the railings of the wooden bridge spanning the lake there. My mission was really the dragons which were  zipping around dementedly in the heat, chasing, patrolling and then resting for a few seconds on the edges usually on a stick or log. My extras include a female Emperor and a  Brown Hawker ovipositing on logs whilst the female Black-tailed skimmer was dropping the eggs into the water at speed all the while with a wingman guarding her from other marauding males. 

Nearly back at the car I suddenly realised my National Trust card must have slipped out of my pocket somewhere in the grounds; there was no option but to go back and look for it. Scouring the areas I'd been kneeling in, half way round a naked man suddenly appeared from the bushes on the path right in front of me. No I didn't get a shot ......! Startled, with quite a few thoughts chasing through and absolutely no-one else around at all as it was now quite late, I was relieved he just turned round and walked away. So did I and on the plus side if I hadn't retraced my steps I wouldn't have found my card which was lying on the grass near the water.

There is a swan family on the lake and I spent quite a bit of time getting cute shots of the cygnets but on the way back there was this almighty ruckus. Hearing awful squeaks and squeals from a cygnet, I couldn't see what actually was happening in the commotion as it was too far away. The male swan in defence of the cygnet went for a Canada Goose which is quite a large bird and at one point I thought it was going to drown it. The battle was huge! There was only ever going to be one winner with the goose being totally submerged time after time. It managed to drag itself out onto the bank being held onto by a wing and run, leaving Dad in the water with wings and feathers up victorious. All cygnets counted I went on my way back. 

My days at Croome aren't usually quite as eventful.