Saturday 12th November 2022

The weekend.

And we are both COVID free, which means we can do stuff again. And with the seather being very unseasonably mild and sunny, we should do something outside.

But first to Tesco, where everything is more and more expensive. Again, a "normal" shop with no booze or cleaning products came to £110. The shop does seem well stocked these days, with no real shortages. You've just got to be able to afford to buy stuff.

Back home to put the shopping away and have breakfast; fruit followed by bacon butties once again. And after washing up, we were free to go.

Where we went was the Gove Ferry side of Stodmarsh reserve.

My hope is to see Bearded Reedlings at some point. Even better, to photograph them.

It is a half hour drive along to Sandwich Road past Eastry, then over the marshed to Preston and onto Grove Ferry, where two pounds fifty gets to to park all day. We changed into our boots and set off over the road, onto the reserve.

It was a warm day. So warm I hadn't bothered with a coat, and was soon almost summer-like. We climed to the raptor viewing platform, and once at the top, a gentle breeze cooled us down, though there were raptors to be seen or heard.

A ten minute walk away was the first hide. I went in and a range of snappers were there, some with lenses attached to their cameras nearly a metre long, these were serious pieces of glass.

In front of the hide, a cormorant was dryings its wings in the warm sunshine, allowing us all to get shots of its fine starling-like feathers.

I went on.

At one point we heard the call of the Reedlings, but as we neared where we guessed they were, the birds fell silent. We made do with looking through a wooden hide wall at a family of mute swans, gently swimming up and down while around them, ruddy darters still in cop, we laying eggs, the female's tail dipping in the water of the pond.

We walked back to the car, it was nearly midday and temperatures were now over 16 degrees, a pleasant summer's day really, but this is the second week of Novemeber. All of Europe is basking in unseasonable temperatures, nut just us in Kent.

Back in the car we head for home, getting back at half twelve; should I watch the Scottish football?

No.

THe afternoon flies by. I follow Norwich via the radio and Twitter, 1-0 up at half time, but concede two late goals to slip to another defeat. And that's the last game before the World Cup, next game is on Boxing Day.

Yet more football on the tellybox, which I watch if I don't take in the action, really.