November cards

Late getting to pick these out - and there aren't very many as November was such a busy month...

Warm Off the Needles

I've done a bit of knitting for Christmas this year - scarves for both my nieces, one on the needles currently for C, and this tea-cosy, which was a pattern I saw on Ravelry and really wanted to make - it was called a "Victorian Garden tea-cosy".

Just a couple of other photos - the stone carving was down at UCC (University College, Cork), at the entrance to the quadrangle, and the tree with berries is on one of the routes I take to work.

Last Leaf

The last leaf on the Spanish (Sweet) Chestnut tree in work. It's gone, now. There was a great harvest this year - large (relatively speaking) and sweet.

The second photo is leaves on the river wall one morning this week. The high winds have brought all the leaves down and there were streams of them floating along the river for a couple of days. At low tide I spotted these ones sticking to the wall.

And the wood duck is still hanging out in Phoenix Park.

The header photo is a long-tailed tit from last December. The mild weather means far fewer birds in the garden so far - plenty of goldfinches and a regular pair of robins, but nothing like the number we had this time last year.

Gulls

Life is crazy busy....

One morning recently there was beautiful sunshine, and the warm colour reflecting off the walls onto the river down by Heuston gave an almost posterised effect to these photos...

Plus my heron on the wall

October cards and Houdini Heron

I need to bring my Olympus in to work for a few mornings. In all the years I've been walking down past Heuston, it's the first time I've seen a heron with a habit of perching up on the wall along with the gulls and cormorants. Seven cormorants this morning, I think that's an all-time record for me.
The heron shots were actually taken last week.

Quite a few favourite cards for October - my most productive month this year.

September Favourites...

...and a cormorant in some beautiful morning light - not that it lasted long. It almost looked like a bronze sculpture at one moment.

Communal Bathing by the Seaside

I was out visiting my aunt on Thursday, and went for a walk along the seafront. I really enjoyed watching this little flock of starlings having fun bathing in one of the rock pools. In the last photo there's one who looks totally soaked.

Turn your volume down for the video - unless the music got added in (which seems to have failed) all there is is a of wind noise.

Boardwalk / bird walk

Last Friday I arrived in town somewhat earlier than normal before work. I'd wanted to vote on the way, since I wasn't going to be going home as we headed to Clare at lunchtime. I over-estimated how long all that would take, so I stayed on the bus as far as O'Connell Bridge, and walked back out of town along the boardwalk. It was the first sunny morning after several grey days, and I really enjoyed the walk - and all the gulls on parade (plus a pigeon!). Mostly juvenile gulls, bar one.

I also enjoyed watching some cormorants. There was one on the wall down at Heuston I could have sworn looked dead, if I hadn't seen it move. Maybe I'll get those photos edited and uploaded over the weekend since I have tomorrow off.