Tandem Carriage Driving

For several years now I have groomed for Linda while she has driven her ponies initially as singles, then as a pair and now she has ventured into tandem driving. When Millie and Poppy are driven as a pair, the ponies are alongside one another - both responsible for pulling and leading. When they are tandem, the front pony is called the Leader and, as the name suggests, is followed by the second pony and the vehicle. The other pony is the Wheeler and is very active in pulling the vehicle with the Whip and Groom on board.

These images were taken in the past few weeks as Millie and Poppy have been preparing to be driven tandem. The first image was when they were being long-reined, in the school, to introduce them to the new formation. Then last week the ponies were driven tandem for the first time - out of the school and pulling a vehicle. At least one of the images shows that it is easy for things to go slightly awry - Millie thinking about coming alongside Poppy! All was well again within seconds.

The ponies did really well, once Poppy in particular realised what was expected of her. During this first outing, I was encouraging Poppy forward and to walk in a straight line! It meant I could snatch some photographs of everyone! It is always useful to have plenty of help on hand, so in the pictures are Ray, Linda's husband and Brent who is instructing, and the ponies are in livery on his farm. The ponies were very willing and tried hard to understand what was expected of them - no deliberate naughtiness. Driving tandem is a new challenge for the Whip too!

Sunset at Happisburgh

Here are a couple of images which should perhaps have appeared in the posting below. However, being on their own gives them additional attention! The first image has drops of water appearing on the left hand side as the result of waves again crashing on the dilapidated barriers. The second image is just as minimalist; it was the beautiful colours which held my attention.

Happisburgh

A group outing to Happisburgh, although very cold and towards the end of the day, was a first visit there for me. I would like to revisit the place and take more notice of the errosion of the coastline next time.

I should like to have got better images capturing the dusk light, but was pleased to have seen the damaged barriers with waves crashing against the remains, and in particular I was captivated by a couple of gulls dropping into the sea from wooden groynes and 'capturing' them returning to their posts. To have got impressive images one needed a special telephoto lens, but the Canon 100mm x 400mm did not let me down.

Seals at Horsey Beach

A week ago a group of us went to see seals and pups at Horsey. Not having been there before I was impressed by the number of seals to be seen on the beach and in the dunes, but apparently there would have been more a few weeks earlier! Most of the seals are Grey Seals, but one of the pups was thought, by a Warden, to be a Common Seal (which actually aren't common). The camouflage of the seals against the rock was striking.

It is tempting to anthropomorphise when viewing some of the other images, but...

Kittens

We had a great time today being introduced to a friend's recently acquired Siamese kittens - a brother and sister - who are likely to be called Tolly and Topaz. They haven't taken long to make themselves feel at home! At times they are very active and almost unphotographable in subdued light with their quick movements. After a while though, they collapse and sleep, as does another!


The proud owner.

Our Dogs

To make sure I keep adding images to capture the year, here are some introductory images of our two Golden Retrievers. The darker and older one is Rio(ja) and the pale one is (Tickety) Boo - 2 images of her. Both of them have been rehomed with us and give us a lot of joy.

The Start of a New Year!

What a serious gap since the last posting! Still, it is taking the new year to kick start me into getting some images up. I'm hoping the resolution is strong and that postings become more regular and frequent! Having seen how exciting it is to capture a year in a book straight from a blog, I'm hoping I can do something similar this year.

These photographs were taken this morning during dog walking alongside The Cam. Nothing special but captured!

What surprised me was the number of cormorants sitting on this particular tree. I've never seen quite so many inland before - 18.

Alongside the Cam

Just a couple of images from this morning's walk alongside The Cam. The new lens is a joy to use and is giving me the opportunities to capture birds singing and in flight. The heron is in focus, but the cuckoo isn't! However, with such a reduction in the number of cuckoos, it was great to have heard it at a distance for about half hour and then to see it in flight! At least it is just about identifiable.

I haven't yet been able to identify the yellow flower growing on the river bank. I expect there is someone who can help with identification though - thanks Ann!

Warbler

I shall need someone to help with the identification of this warbler - please! What impressed me was how much effort and expansion of throat area is involved in 'singing'. When just perched it is a very elegantly shaped bird.

The Lake

A few weeks ago a pair of Great Crested Grebes raised three chicks. Today I went to see how they were getting on and was delighted to see there was an adult with one chick. At some distance I could see that the adult had caught a huge fish which it was having difficulty in swallowing. Eventually it was successful while the accompanying chick showed little interest in the fish.

One huge fish took a while to be swallowed.

Within the hour I saw an adult with two chicks! Although the chicks had a go at diving they were reliant on the adult for fish! A considerable noise accompanied the adult returning to the surface. When the adult had been successful in catching a fish, both chicks gave chase to the adult swimming away from them until the nearer chick got the food. There was no way of knowing whether the same chick was getting all the fish or whether the adult had a way of ensuring each had a feed.