The Bluegown Blog

Image by unlobogris @ deviantart.com

Cranes are amongst the most beautiful and spectacular of birds. Indeed, in the Far East they are considered sacred. As an inevitable corollary, almost all species are endangered to varying desgrees. Once ubiquitous in the UK (where they are still sometimes referred to, with extreme irony, as 'Common' Cranes), the Eurasian Crane was effectively extinct when I was growing up, and the odds of ever seeing one in the wild so remote as to be unimaginable.

Part 1: Reliance Rock #1; Eastern & Portland #'s 6 & 8

Gravatte Central is ostensibly an all-steam layout, but in addition to the 40-odd steam locomotives in the motive power pool, there are also two diesel railcars, one electric loco and four trolleys. This series aims to present the collection in a haphazardly numerical order beginning, obviously, with #1.

Okay, so this is not an obvious bird at all. True to its name, the Nightjar is a thing of dusk and darkness, so to actually see one you need to be either very lucky, or you have to plan it. Either way, it's an experience you're not likely to forget.

Well, after a bit of cussing & swearing over the bank holiday weekend, the site has been upgraded to Webeden's version 6 software (whatever that means)... Things look pretty good this end (nowhere near as strange as I'd feared), but please let me know if you're having trouble viewing anything, especially things such as the wonderful view above (reminds me of one of the very first erotic images that ever seared itself into my brain, found on the pavement on my way home from school some forty years ago - on such serendipitous foundations are sexualities built...)

Much love, Alice - X

Few birds in Britain are as celebrated as the Osprey. A major symbol of conservation and a tourist attraction rolled into one, this bizarre raptor proved over half-a-century ago that Nature had an economic role to play - a lesson that still seems lost on developers, farmers and landowners across the country. Nonetheless, the Osprey's enduring public appeal remains a positive beacon.