I wanted to talk about the 10:10 thing, but it seems a bit done to death already, to be honest. What I can say is that a) any news articles done in the form of a list is likely to be cheap ill-thought out journalism and easy to take pot shots at and b) the sight of well-meaning Guardian readers each defending their own carbon footprint while happily commenting on each others' is getting old really quickly [1].

Yes, we need more big changes, but this does not mean we need fewer little ones, it just means that the little ones will be more possible, because the infrastructure will be there to support them. So if you've just found the time to go down the list and tick off everything you 'can't' do for various unarguable reasons, either think of something you *can* do, or do some campaigning about the larger issues. Don't moan to your mates about why you can't do recycling, moan to the council. Or call a meeting at work about *their* carbon footprint. Or even write a well reasoned and public article about what big changes need to happen.  Because the planet, annoyingly enough, doesn't care whether or not you personally are in the right.

I remember that the last time I ranted about something similar I made the point of contacting the council about getting recycling facilities on my street. Which there now are (well, just round the corner, and it doesn't do glass, but still). I'm not naive enough to think it was me wot dun it by myself, but I'm pleased I did.

[1] And, yes, there are things on the list which I either can't do or which would be really expensive or which I doubt the carbon efficiency of, and I'm not saying you're all wrong about everything on your lists, either.

I made it to the yarn shop today and got some nice 50% merino in fuschia for one of the Big Girls Knits I fancy (and at about a quarter of the price of the recommended yarn it's still more that I woul pay for a ready made sweater). I also discovered that they don't do double pointed 3.25mm any more, which is an arse cos I have a body done in that and need to make the sleeves. Does anyone have any they can lend me, or shall I adapt the pattern to straight needles?

At least I have the needles for the body of the fuschia pattern so I can start on that and, er, worry about the sleeves later (that one wants 40cm circulars for the sleeves, which the shop also doesn't do.)

Once day I will have a whole garment. Probably.

Wot I saw on my holidays: ( long list with links to picatures )
This included 66 bird species on the day we went to Minsmere, which is a personal best by a long way.

Back at work? Big pile of mail? Filling come out on a bacon sandwich? Then you are me and I claim my GBP5.

So cheer your self up with a baaaby red squiggle




Also Peacock butterflies are totally goth underneath

Proper bird post to follow...

Your insect of the day - If anyone can identify this even a bit I'd like to know...

A present for lovelybug and anyone else that likes that sort of thing ( under a cut for those that don't like our six legged pals )

Saturday was apparently invasive species day. In one short stretch of the Water of Leith by Stockbridge I saw Himalayan Balsam (lots), Rhodedendron, Fuschia, some kind of pampas grass (maybe not actually invasive, but certainly self seeded) and A family of six or seven mink kits with their mum. They were being very cute and squeaky and trying to persuade me that they wren't deadly invasive things at all...



Wuff! But Oh Noes! But Wuff!

Today's bee is unidentified so far. It seems to have to much black to be a common carder. Perhaps it is a field cuckoo bumble bee - cos you get cuckoo bumble bees, which is also a cool fact...

Here is your bee of the day - not quite as brilliant as Monday's bee, but A DIFFERENT KIND OF BEE. Apparently ordinary human beings can tell the idfference between kinds of bee - who'd have thought it?




This is a common carder bumble bee, wot is different from the buff tailed bumble bee of yesterday.

I have found out something about Beltane people that would have made me incandescently angry a month ago, and you know what? I was really really angry for about half an hour and now I just can't be arsed. I think this is an improvement.

Meanwhile, if you have sometyhing you need distracting from - here is your Monday morning bee - Beeee!



Did I mention recently that I love my macro?

I went puffin hunting yesterday evening and found many puffings even though it was too choppy to get to Inchkeith. This meant it was also too choppy to get many good pictures, or indeed focus the binoculars easily, but I did get a reasonable good shot of a fulmar. I also saw a distant but verifiable Manx Shearwater, which in Latin is puffinus puffinus, so that's kinda like extra puffins :-) Plus it brings my (mid)life list to 120. And photographically I now have a set of 85 bird species on flickr, which isn't bad for my camera...

I am fighting the urge to turn my bird list into a database. There may be no hope for me.
But puffins!

I am going to buy a new 20" iMac - is there anything I should definitely get as extra? Why?

Is there any software I should definitely get (either free or obtainable)?

What's a good optical three button wheeled mouse that's not a mighty mouse?

Does anyone want a mighty mouse?

Zoo pictures are now up on Flickr including some very small penguins and a pile of lemurs...

I managed to go out with camera but no binoculars today and managed to see:
Swifts (yay swifts are back!) and at least one house martin
Blackbirds, Song thrush
Blue tit
Chaffinch, goldfinch
Dunnock
House sparrow
Jackdaw, carrion crow and magpie
Starlings
Feral pigeons, wood pigeons, and my first ever collared dove seen in Edinburgh
Mallard
Mute swan
Moorhen
Black-headed gull, lesser black backed gull

Which must mean that I'm better at seeing things with my eyes

I am loving Stuart's Beltane pictures, including the excellent set of the Bower, which starts here, in which I think we look rather splendid...

That was my best ever Beltane as a performer. And the finance officer in me is over the moon about the numbers. Just for once I'd like to clearly state that everything is absolutely perfect. Therefore I declare that anything that is not perfect can fuck right off until at least tomorrow :-)

I have been out finding spring...



I love my macro.

Here is a totally awesome timetraveller cheatsheet - available as a shirt or a poster.


What would you put on yours?

I know it's unlikely, but... do any of you in striking distance of Edinburgh have a black or dark coloured cloak that you would be prepared to lend to one of my Bower Keepers. Or do you have 2-3m of heavy-ish fabric that could be turned into one? (Including old woollen blankets, curtains etc...)

They'd be very grateful and considerably warmer if we can sort something out...

Today I decided I had to get out looking for brids and prepared for a bread-and-butter day after the excitement of last weekend. Idid a reasonable walk round Colinton Dell and saw:

Blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit
Robin, blackbird
Starling
Wren
Dunnock
Carrion crow, jackdaw, magpie
Wood pigeon, feral pigeon
Black headed gull, herring gull
Mallard, gooseander (both of whom helped me dispose of half a loaf of homemade bread)

My first dipper of the year
And squrrels and a bunny and - roe deer! - which I have never seen in Edinburgh before. So yay!