Yellow Irises and a Barn Owl

The yellow flag irises are out down on Newby Moor, the SSSI that covers much of the valley below us. 

Patches of ground in the lowest lying areas and along the beck sides, and in the wonderfully sunny weather that we have had these last few days, they look magnificent!

A few days ago, we had offered to collect an arriving guest at Clapham station at about 6pm. As Di drove back with our guest, Jack and I walked back along the road - about 3miles & normally taking about 1½hours ('cos of all the interesting smells that have to be checked!)

Out of the corner of his eye, I caught a glimpse of a bird, not sure what it was, so stopped & waited for it to show again.

Over the next  hour a barn owl hunted across the moor, returning three or four times to the apex of a ruined barn, 
well away from the road.

These are distant photos, taken at maximum zoom. The 'one that got away' was the one where the owl was heading straight for me, face-on, 30, then 20 yards away....
            ....but Jack & I were in the middle of the road with a tractor bearing down on us, less than 20 yards away. "Oh, ***!"

Thank You!

A few days ago we received a couple of "Thank You" letters. It's always a pleasant surprise and nice to receive.
One was from one of three lovely ladies, away on their annual get-together, off walking by day & filling the house with happy chatter whilst in.
The other letter was from "Country Walking" magazine, who say that we have been recommended by one of their team or by a reader as a welcoming and lovely place to stay.

So, to both - a big "Thank you" from us