Decorating for Christmas ..

I don't believe it's already the last month of the year, but it is!  

When I went out this frosty and cold morning the evidence was there - even the spiders are decorating ready for Christmas

There's a quiet beauty in the spider's decorations compared to the garish multi-coloured flickering lights of some of the decorated houses around.

Hoar frost and 2 'junior' webs. 

Back from our Panama Birding trip

We're back from Panama with some good memories and like the Curate's Egg some less good ones; the less good were the 'biters' in the rain forest, the need to wash absolutely everything when we got home to rid it of the humid, pervading rain forest smell and minor disappointment that the Canopy Lodge wasn't quite as 5 star as one had hoped! And warm rain. 

The good things were the excellent guides, who knew their patch and had brilliant eye, ear and whistling skills; the superb birds in plumages to delight and fascinate, warm rain every day and the experience of a new country.

Panama Canal was impressive, as was Panama City with a vast range of high rise, very modern skyscrapers - all seemingly belonging to Banks. And a few slums and rivers of rubbish if you looked behind the facade.

More Panama things

 Sloth in a cecropia tree trying to dry out in the sun0





































Really stretched out on the upper branches - and he stayed there for about 3 hours!





















Hey a Toucan!

























More sloth -now on the move - slowly.


































Sloth love Crecropia leaves

Panama 2012

 Outside the Radar tower watching the hummingbird feeders
 












 A sloth in a tree















A very tired Howler monkey



















































A  crimson-backed Tanager - looks like glorious velvet






























These pics were taken trying the technique of digi-scoping - where you put your poxy zoom camera up to the eyepiece of a telescope and try and take a picture!










The Panama Canal on a quiet stretch
















There's also a Panama canal train line for carrying cargo from one ocean to the other












Two Motmots (small)














Two Motmots larger!















Two tiny Owl Monkeys peeping out of a hole in a palm tree













This is them using the digi scope method (well, me doing the digiscoping!)













In the left upper corner of the pic you can see the telescope rim.















Bang in the middle is a 3 toed sloth.












Closer ...


















And even closer but with the telescope eyepiece making the frame
Sloth was drenched and very wet from the overnight rain












Very distant Toucans!

Off to Germany next week

Can't believe the time between Blogs!  For goodness sake we've been up to Hogwarts Castle and the brilliant Northumberland coast since Portugal  ....

Here's a pic of Hogwarts aka Alnwick Castle

Lovely atmospheric Castle and the weather was pretty good for us!

We had a wander around Northumberland coast and came across this C12 Church.  Just look at the Norman arches, look at its square solidity.  This is in 'Border Country' and was fought over time and time again - English ... Scottish .... English  etc. 

While we were away the garden sprouted ...

and azalea and rhododendrons stared to flower along with the self-seeded Foxgloves!

Anyway, off to Germany soon and avoiding the Jubilee!

Bought a little pressie for Roland and Karin with some Jubilee flags on it!  I thought it very pretty!  Got to get a pressie for Tante Anni - who will be 90 this week!

All for now!