Unfocused

After completing preparations for a talk Pete and I were giving this evening, I escaped for a walk round Old Sulehay Forest. The paths were much muddier than on my last visit, and I managed to slip over, landing with a bump on my left hip, while managing to keep the camera safe! Fortunately I'm well-padded and no harm was done, except to my dignity and mud-covered jeans!

The Snowdrops were on the brink of opening, but otherwise the wood seemed surprisingly devoid of life. There was a flurry of Redwings on the southern boundary, but other birds were few, although I managed to spot three different Treecreepers (the first of the year) and a couple of Goldcrests. Both were too far away for any successful shots, so I captured an impression of the setting sun through the woodland - as unfocused as I felt.

For some reason I was surprisingly nervous before setting off for the talk - possibly because it was a group that I hadn't spoken to before, or maybe it was the prospect of a twenty-mile drive to get there. I was fine once we set off, and the whole evening went very well. Our double-act worked surprisingly smoothly and we scarcely over-ran, which is a miracle for us. There was plenty of positive feedback, and hopefully we managed to raise awareness of the biodiversity value of brownfield land,which is so often a target for development.