A long tale

And a long week started on Monday as they do when you switch on the computer to send the weekends work to your clients and publish a new blog post. Could not start windows and after attempting every method under the sun of crashing in and going into a panic resulting in getting advice from colleagues who knew less than me. I resigned myself to the inevitable. If you see that flash of blue screen as it tries to boot.....just stop. It's the screen of death. After finally finding out how to read the blue screen got the message unmountable boot drive which I had seen before.....the hard drives gone Argggggggggggh. Anyway rang round a load of charlatans before finding someone who gave good advice and delivered computer to Bedlington Station with trepidation. To cut a long three days short, they recovered everything, got rid of the culprit (Norton Security which I had just renewed) cleaned it up and now it's running like Usain Bolt. All honour, credit and a boat load of thanks to AB Computer Services, Park Avenue, Bedlington Station.

Of course being at Bedlington Station and very depressed, I headed up to Cresswell Pond for the Little Stint that morphed into Semi Palmated Sandpiper on Wednesday. Got some decent shots but you'll have seen plenty by know. Barely any work for three days meant the end of the week was chaos plus I've taken so many shots it's a bugger to sort them all. Not much sleep therefore compounded by a Little Owl that has taken to calling from the telegraph pole outside my bedroom windowat 4.30am or so. In better times I would have appreciated the visits!

Out yesterday on Prestwick Carr where the count was 42 species helped by the re-appearance of Long tailed Tit, Bullfinch plus Willow Tit which I've found every time I've been out recently. Last weekend was the nadir in counting where I only found 34 species so better times ahead in bird watching terms rather than weather. Blackberries are ready to pick matching the reports in the press of conkers being months early. Mainly large Whites, tatty Green veined and lovely Peacocks flying plus this Tortoishell of which I don't seem to have seen many this year. Common Hawker graced my garden on Thursday and Greenfinches are in abudance indicating better breeding after last years disease possibly. Oh well, I wonder what this week can throw at me.