There we were sat outside the front of the house in the shade, but we were not alone. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed something the size of a cat running about, except there are no cats round here. So what was this “thing?” On closer inspection it turned out to be…… Continue reading The Ferret Farce

He’s called Larry and has moved inside outside our house. Bless him, he’s just 2 inches long, and ventures out every night around 11pm. Here he his emerging from his sun apartment beyond 11pm… There’s all sorts of traditional Spanish adornments on the outside of our house, so this is his own “town house” on…… Continue reading We Have A House Guest

For years now Brits have asked the question: “Where have all the sparrows gone?” They’ve slowly dwindled in numbers to the point whereby they’re rare to see. Well I’ve discovered the answer, they’ve all set up residency here. Yes, they’re everywhere and tame too! Must be the sun… So while we were out the other…… Continue reading Savvy Sparrows

Look what met us as we walked down our road today: A horseshoe whip snake… Must’ve wandered outside it’s comfort zone from one of the many valleys nearby. Thing is, we’d walked through one of them earlier, neatly manicured with a nature trail, it’s a shortcut we might think twice about using in future…! Here’s…… Continue reading Snake Alert

Dave noticed two HUGE carp basking in the sun yesterday. So we took some photos, most of which were useless because the camera screen was also basking in the sun. And being as we were stood on a pier, it was best not to start searching for better angles of trajectory. In other words it…… Continue reading Monsters from the Deep

So we’ll call him Hector: Here he is sporting a spectacular balancing act on a boat’s back bumper… “Look, I can even stand on one leg too…” Now the thing is, heron’s aren’t supposed to like boats or marinas, but occasionally the odd brave one stops by for a good old nosy. Notice that he…… Continue reading Must be Harry The Heron’s cousin

In the early hours of the evening, after the spectacular thunderstorm yesterday we set off for a pumpout. There’s two stations here at Mercia, and the one that’s most convenient was occupied by another widebeam. So we did a 180 turn and stopped off at the other one. Bow thruster required, there was quite a…… Continue reading The attractive pumpout station

Just look at the damage wearing high heels too often can do: Stood on a rudder, reflecting on life in general. Celia looks down and suddenly remembers to book herself in for a pedicure… In an effort to share some helpful advice. I had a brief conversation with her about the pedicament predicament, and got…… Continue reading The Charismatic Coot with a problem

Yes folks, let me introduce you to the heron with it’s own personal mooring here at the marina. Unlike normal herons that play follow my leader with your boat out on the canal, this one likes posing for the camera. Integrating happily with boats and humans…

What a poser! Looks like it’s a teenager, not fully grown yet and still learning the best fishing techniques: Just finishing off the remains of a fish… And looking for more… Dave gets the credit for these photos, taken in “stealth mode,” meaning him not the camera…