This week, for Monochrome Madness, Leanne asks us to stay in our home patch and show us what we can find within 10 km of our home. Well. I’m sorry Leanne, but frankly, one kilometre is as far as I can stretch today, and I may not even go that far. Let’s see. Have you met our next door neighbours? They’re in the featured photo.
We’re a bit light on neighbours generally. You might find these characters:
They’re from the local ponds – quite honestly the heron and egret come from just a little further up the road- but not much more distant.
Even nearer than the ponds is the River Ure.
Go the other way from the house, and it’s fields and crops…
… and more sheep …
But please don’t think our life lacks drama. On Monday evening we were unexpectedly treated to a starling murmuration at the bottom of the garden. At dusk, starlings in their hundreds – perhaps thousands – swirled above us, eddying back and forth, cacophanously landing as one on the trees, which bowed under their weight, before they took off again to wheel and turn above us. Then some signal, known only to them, indicated that they should disappear and roost in the nearby reed beds. They never seem to come to the same place twice, so they weren’t here on Tuesday, and they won’t come tonight.
So that was our drama for the week. Just an everyday story of country folk.
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
There are some lovely images here, Margaret. I’m loving the reflected tree, the wheat (corn? I’m not a country mouse) and the sheep with clouds. And what an amazing number of starlings! xx
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Seeing a starling murmuration is one of life’s unforgettable dramas. And we have no idea where they go during the day. We never see even one. Wheat. You were right first time xx
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I love that final shot, and what a treat. All the more so for being unpredictable I imagine. I saw no ducklings at all last year on our daily walks. I’ve begun to wonder if hens have been more affected by bird flu than drakes as they seem a bit thin on the ground.
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It WAS a treat. And last year, our ducks in the villaage raised not a single duckling beyong the first few days of life. We blame the invading greylag geese.
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Love your sheeply neighbours! And that Starling murmuration is Marvellous, all the better for not being anticipated. I think I’ve only ever seen one in my life…. And no photos
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Photos are hard to come by. I’ll show you a few this afternoon.
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Fab!
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Ba, Quack,,Coo 🐾🐦
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Quite right. Not much ‘moo’ round here.
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So beautiful and ideal in monochrome. I’m envious of that murmuration.
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They’re quite something round here. We’re so lucky.
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There is nothing more amazing than a starling murmuration! A great shot. I love the country photos, especially the sheep.
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Aren’t murmurations marvellous? So you get them too?
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I have seen them occasionally here in Spain. I also recall them in Alberta, Canada as a child. They have always fascinated me.
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Oooh, I must tell my daughter-in-Spain that a mururation is a remote possibility!
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Only out in the country. We live across from a wooded wilderness area.
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👍
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Delightful gallery Margaret
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Thanks Sheree.
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That murmuration looks fantastic and I love the last of your sheep photos in particular – also how you’ve shown us the fields in different seasons 🙂
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We country mice have to take our pleasures where we can! But murmurations are beyond special. We were too near to see the amazing moving patters they make in the sky, but close up has its pleasures too.
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Beautiful images, Margaret. You live in a gorgeous place. I’ve seen the murmurations in Florence. They’re stunning and a bit mysterious, too. I hope all’s well with you! It’s been a crazy year for us, but I’m hopeful there’s some tranquility for a while!
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I never saw a murmuration all that time I was in Florence. Aren’t they wonderful? And yes too, other-worldly. We’ve had some craziness too, but some tranquility ahead …
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The sheep in the clouds is stunning. Maggie
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Thank you! I rather like that one too.
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Isn’t it just magical and awe-inspiring to witness a murmeration! One we experienced in Wales took off from fields immediately beside our cottage, displayed right overhead, such that we could feel the downdraft of their wings, and the sounds were amazing. Not a single poop bombardment during the whole wonderful time!
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How marvellous. And no post-spectacle cleaning either!
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