vivdunstan

A bumper crop of more books finished in the last month. Helped again by some library books.

( earlier books )
1. Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
2. City of Vengeance (Cesare Aldo book 1) by D.V. Bishop
3. Beside the Ocean of Time by George Mackay Brown
4. Delirium's Party: A Little Endless Storybook by Jill Thompson
5. The Haunted Trail: Classic Tales of the Rambling Weird by Weird Walk
6. Manga Classics Sherlock Holmes volume 1 A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, Crystal S. Chan and Julien Choy
7. Glenshee: Glen of the Fairies by Antony Mackenzie Smith
8. Insomniacs After School volume 7 (manga) by Makoto Ojiro
9. Forgotten Churches: Exploring England's Hidden Treasures by Luke Sherlock
10. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

Of the newly finished ones, I enjoyed Arthur Conan Doyle's Memoirs collection of Sherlock Holmes stories yet again. The David Bishop book was a Renaissance Italy thriller, the first in an ongoing series, and very enjoyable. The George Mackay Brown novel (Saltire award winning and Booker shortlisted) was still magical, on a reread. I found the Sandman Little Endless graphic novel on a book clearout/rummage, so read it again quickly before passing it on to charity. The rambling "Tales of the Weird" book was interesting, but not a great run of stories for me. Enjoyed the manga Sherlock Holmes. Still really enjoying the Insomniacs After School manga series. Loved the church history book, and enjoyed with provisos the V.E. Schwab vampire book, newly published in June. That last one was read for my book club. I wouldn't have got to it so quickly otherwise.

Martin’s birds etc list from his walk today. Walking in his usual area, in the wooded river valley / old railway viaduct area very near our home.

25 birds seen, 4 others heard, 4 butterfly species (3 ID'd)

blackbird
blue tit
chiffchaff
collared dove
crow
dipper
dunnock
feral pigeon
goldfinch
grey heron
grey wagtail
herring gull
house martin
house sparrow
long tailed tits
magpie
robin
rook
siskin
song thrush
starling
swift
whitethroat
wood pigeon
wren

blackcap heard
chaffinch heard
coal tit heard
stock dove heard

butterfly white
red admiral butterfly?
small tortoiseshell butterfly
speckled wood butterfly

My husband’s birds list from his walk today. This is from his usual Saturday walk to the wooded river valley / old railway viaduct very near our home. I post this list every week on Facebook, but thought I'd post it here too today!

28 species seen, 3 species heard (including tawny owl at 12:50!), grey squirrel, bee heard

blackbird
blue tit
bullfinch
chaffinch
coal tit
collared dove
crow
dipper
dunnock
feral pigeon
goldfinch
great tit
grey heron
herring gull
house sparrow
jackdaw
long tailed tit
magpie
mallard
oyster catcher
robin
rook
song thrush
starling
stock dove
wood pigeon
wren
yellowhammer

grey wagtail heard
tawny owl heard
woodpecker heard

grey squirrel
bee heard

Every week I check the descriptions Martin types into Flickr for his latest photos. Just got to this one:

"The east side of the southern end of the Seven Arches Viaduct in Monifieth viewed from in the Dighty Burn."

Yes, photo taken from _in_ the burn (river). He goes out on his walks wearing wellies and waterproof trousers, and usually ends up in the water!

This photo.