Day 21 - Golden Glow

Not a Nuthatch

The weather is still wet and windy, the roof is still leaking, and the unsightly stain on our bedroom ceiling is growing by the day!

So I've been up in the loft trying to put down some plastic covering and a large tray to catch the leaks.  Of course, it's stopped raining now I've done that... 

I also spent quite a bit of time trying to get a decent photo of the birds on the feeders outside my window.  Failed completely...the digital zoom isn't all that, and the birds are so skittish that just standing near a window is liable to make them flit off.   

This afternoon we went and did the shopping at Sainsbury's.  As I was unloading the car back at home, I spied a gorgeous little nuthatch.   As I fumbled my phone out of my pocket, and tried to fire up the camera, it flew above me and over to the hedgerow in the garden.  Following through the gate, I picked my way across the soggy, muddy lawn.    I tried to spot him, but he'd faded into the undergrowth, even as the weak daylight was beginning to fade away.

I thought that was it, all chances missed and opportunities passed, and started to ponder whether there was anything else in the house I could get an interesting snap of. 

As I pondered, I noticed that a lovely sunset was developing off to the west, so nipped upstairs to try to get a decent shot over the top of the hawthorn.  I tried a variety of settings on my camera, still trying to get a feel for what works when...but when I got downstairs and plugged into my PC, none of the photos had really caught the beauty of it. 

I really thought it was all over now, when Anna pointed out that the sunset had rekindled itself and was now even more glorious than before.  

I rushed upstairs and as I leaned out of the window, trying to get a clear, steady shot, I noticed our next door neighbour Dave, out in his garden with his iPad, trying to capture the same shot.  We marvelled at the lovely warm light, and nattered for a minute whilst ineptly snapping away.

So I was really pleased to find that some of the pics had captured some of the warmth of the scene at least. 

I know I'm still a bumbling amateur when it comes to photography, and I'm doing all this on my phone...but I feel as though I'm making a little headway, and getting some nice shots now and then.   

It will be curious to look back over the year, come next Winter, to see whether I have made any clear, discernible progress.  

Of course, I'm under no illusions that any of this is of any particular value...the Earth will keep right on turning regardless, just as it should.

We are always hearing about legacy, about what we might leave behind, or how we might be remembered. 

I don't quite understand this.  Why do we want to leave our mark on the planet?  Isn't this just selfishly egotistical?   What makes us so special that the Earth (or the rest of us) should remember us for eternity?  What makes you so special that the Earth should forever remember you?   Can any individual be so significant?   Can any species be so significant?  

Surely not homo sapiens, in any case - destructive parasites that we are...

Shouldn't we rather be striving to adhere to the conservationists (and climbers) mantra - Leave No Trace?

Your conscience knows the answer to this...have a word with it and see what it says.

Ooh, that was all going so well, until I wandered off a bit at the end! 

That's how I roll...   Bo)