Wootton Bassett (Thursday 19th April 2018)

The temperature at Lozarithm Towers had exceeded 26 degrees by lunchtime and prompted me to head on out. At some point I decided to make for Templars Firs to look out for water voles on the Wilts and Berks there. I asked a young couple on a bench opposite the voles' favourite spot if they had seen any. The girl said, "What's that then?" and the boy said they'd seen some rats swimming in the water, so we had a chat about water voles and how to tell them from rats; they became quite interested, and we wished each other a lovely afternoon.
I didn't see any, though I spent a while on that bench later on, reading and keeping watch. Also absent were any of the swans that live on the stretch, but I did see quite a lot of wildlife including a honey buzzard being mobbed by a crow, some starlings and dunnocks, mallards, moorhens and herons, including this one, and some poorly trained dogs.
I was also challenged to take a picture of another youth further up the canal path (see Extra). A housing estate is going up on the other side of the canal and railway track, and several GWR 125s roared past.

L.
19.4.2018 (2146 hr)

Blip #2625 (#2375 + 250 archived blips taken 27.8.60-18.3.10)
Consecutive Blip #009
Blips/Extras In 2018 #068/265 + #21/100 Extras)
Day #2950 (579 gaps from 26.3.10)
LOTD #1769 (#1610 + 159 in archived blips)


Wilts and Berks Canal series
Wootton Bassett series
Herons series
Canals series

Lozarhythm Of The Day:
Prince - Nothing Compares 2 U (1984)
Prince wrote and recorded Nothing Compared 2 U one afternoon in 1984, but chose to pass on his demo to a group he was producing called The Family, who included it on their eponymous album, written by Prince. The song became famous six years later when Sinéad O'Connor recorded it with Nellee Hooper and members of Soul II Soul. Although Prince performed the song live, his original studio recording remained unreleased until this very day.

One year ago:
The Old Forge (Driveway wildflowers)