Tidying up the garden

So, as you can see, the Gardener finally turned up this afternoon, much to my delight as I was starting to worry about what on earth I might blip ... ;-)

This is the male green woodpecker - you can tell from the red in his "moustache", as the RSPB identifier web site describes it.  He's worth a look in large if you can be bothered.  We quite often have these visit the garden, and if they are left undisturbed  they will spend a fair bit of time working their way through the lawn, finding lots of nice things to eat.  This one was around for a good 15 minutes today - which gave me plenty of time to get the camera and attach the long lens. 

As you can see, it has been a very dark, dull and windy day.  The wind has caught some of the woodpeckers feathers just as I took this shot.  

Despite the cloud it has been largely dry and mild, but unremittingly free of any sign of the sun.  So I've largely been busy in the kitchen, steaming the puddings that I mixed up yesterday and baking bread.  I'm photography terms it wasn't the best day for outdoor shots, so quite a good use of my time.