This stretch of back road is only a couple of miles from my village house in Eastern Slovakia. It’s the perfect motorbike road but today it was thick with snow and heavily pitted. Stunning views. Lots of wildlife.
Monthly Archives: January 2015
Winter gazebo
We went to a steak house in Bardejov for lunch today and the place doubles up as a stunning garden centre. This gazebo is one of its dining locations.
The Road to Zborov Castle
In the centre left of the photo you can see Zborov Castle, which is located a few miles East of Bardejov, Eastern Slovakia. It’s an extremely large ruined castle which was once an important factor in the amber trade.
Meopta Admira A8GO 8mm camera
A new toy, and almost mint condition! This is a Czechoslovakian Meopta Admira A8GO 8mm wind-up movie camera from 1965. It was found in a store cupboard and now has a new home. I just need to get some spools, 8mm movie roll and a projector. And then a complex video transfer device so IContinue reading “Meopta Admira A8GO 8mm camera”
Fieldfare and winter berries
I really need to start photographing some other species but this Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) was just hanging around, stuffing itself on berries, so I thought ‘why not?’
Raccoon Dog Slaughter Season
Ever since I first saw one stuffed and mounted in a small village bar in the Pieniny National Park in Slovakia, I have had an interest in the Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) – at first I didn’t even believe such a creature existed in Europe. Having been thus far unable to locate them alone, IContinue reading “Raccoon Dog Slaughter Season”
Snowball fight
Winter can be long and bleak, cold and monochrome, so it’s great when you can burn off some energy and have some fun. As there’s plenty of snow at the village house, my kids had a snowball fight. Me, I just drank coffee and avoided their icy missiles.
Deer tracks in garden
This is how you tell you’ve got deer in the garden. Each year they force down the 2-metre-tall deer fence at the back of the house so they can get to the shrubs, young fruit trees and tuja. They then use the garden as a latrine.
Pine Marten tracks in snow
We have a huge problem with Pine Martens (Martes martes) as they live in my attic and cover the garden with all the roof insulation they rip out to make nests. These tracks are from my garden.
Ural Owl in the snow
Finally, a better image of an Ural Owl (Strix uralensis). I’d just stopped the car to take a photo of a group of ravens eating something in the snow when they all took off. I then noticed this beautiful specimen sitting watching me in a tree.
