Doesn't help that my first weekend "in charge" brought frozen pitches and the postponement of all games in the Under-10 age group. There followed floods of e-mails with rearranged dates which kept me busy updating the fixtures grid on the FA Full Time website. Then the Cup draws were announced so just about all league games scheduled for the 12th Feb have to be rearranged...... Now I realise just how much work the Duchess has been doing over the last 20 years or so!
We've been busy at work too. Orders have been coming in steadily and the training for the new software system continues as "switch on day" (1st March) approaches.
No football since my last post. (22nd January - almost a fortnight ago - I know, I know, I've already been chastised for the "posting gap!"). Belper had no fixture on January 28th and were due to play Loughborough today at home. Two nights of deep frosts and the threat of snow (which, incidentally, arrived here at about 2 o'clock.) put paid to that!
I've hardly taken any pictures over the last couple of weeks. Saturday 28th Jan, we went back to Ford, near Eckington with the intention of taking a walk down the riverside track beyond the small dam. That was aborted because after about 250 yards, the path steadily turned into a quaqmire so we turned around and went back to the car. Not before we saw another robin though. Not the same bird I'd managed to shoot on our last visit (we saw him later, by the car park and I got some even better pics than the previous ones - read on!).
Anyway - back to Robin No. 1 - he was flitting from one side of the path to the other and on one occasion, made a brief landing less than a yard from where we were standing. Not sure if he was trying to encourage us to feed him or if he wasn't happy we were there and was trying to drive us away. Whatever the reason for his behaviour, I got some good shots of him in the sunshine.
Then - back to the car park and I put the big 500mm telephoto on because a buzzard was circling high above. Sneaked a shot or two of that but then saw Robin No. 2 on the posts by the pond. I think this shot is perhaps better than that of Robin No.1. What do you reckon?
Not wanting to go back home on such a lovely day, we decided to see if anything was happening at Carburton Lakes near Clumber Park. Apart from some half decent shots of a buzzard, there wasn't a lot but we spent a pleasant hour or so wandering up and down the road by the lake side.
Our son's visit went to plan and it was great to see him. I attended my first "Rosehill Press Sheffield & District Junior Sunday League" (you wanna see the size of the badge!!) meeting last Wednesday. Interesting. The league runs competitions for Under-7s to Under-16s and currently has over 11,000 registered players! Now I know why the registrars have so much to do!!
This morning - well, given the postponed game at Belper and the promise of heavy snow by 6pm tonight we decided to wrap up warm and go for a walk in the winter sunshine. The Garden Centre at the end of Dyche Lane was the original target (a walk of about 2 miles in total) but we were around 300 yards from home and decided that since the wind was directly in our faces and it felt like it was removing the skin from our faces, we diverted and went on a more sheltered route "around the block" and up to the local park where we walked through the "Rare Breeds" farm and and back to the house. Took the cameras and guess what - got some pictures of a Robin!
This afternoon has been spent sorting out Junior League paperwork (expecting another flood of "postponed game" e-mails) and having a haircut before listening to commentary on Watford v Barnsley on Radio Sheffield (with updates from Hillsborough where Sheffield Wednesday were playing Yeovil (isn't undersoil heating brilliant?)
Right - that'll do for today I think. I'll post some of todays photos tomorrow morning after an editing session and my weekly listen to the Archers Omnibus on Radio 4 but for now - thats yer lot! (And it's still snowing here!)
2 comments:
Two fantastic snaps Ken. Worth entering in a competition those are.
Thanks for the kind words Snapper! Much appreciated - especially coming from a semi-pro like yourself. Have to admit I'm more than a bit chuffed with 'em!
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