First of all, I was so sorry to miss this week’s What I Ate Wednesday. I was CRAZY busy and too stressed to take pictures of my boring on-the-run food . . . next week, I’ll be sure to share some extra special, glorious eats!

For several days, I was soooooooo depressed and disappointed in myself and with some people. I felt I had failed in achieving the “fresh start” I had so desperately wanted and needed.  I’ve been thinking about the behavior of some people, and if I am important in the lives of people who are important to me. I know, maybe this item is a little bit personal, but sometimes we need to share our feelings. But,… I started to look at things with a new vision, a new perspective.

Now, I feel much better.It’s been a week full of changes. Internal and external. I really needed it.

Well, I haven’t only been thinking these days. I also cooked. Pretty.  In the past, I have spoken of “The Kind Diet,” by Alicia Silverstone. It is a very important book for me. And I cooked some recipes that are listed in the book.

And here, one of them.

Kim’s Red Radish Tabbouleh

Serves 2.

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt.
• 1 cup bulgur wheat
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2 scallions, white and green parts minced
• 1/2 thinly sliced radishes
• 1 carrots (I add it)

Bring 1/2 cups of water and the salt to a boil in a saucepan. Place the bulgur and boiling salted water in a heatproof bowl. Stir once, then cover the bowl with a plate and set aside until the grain has absorved all the water, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice, oil, parsley, scallions, carrot and radishes and mix well. Add more lemon juice and salt to taste.

... and I thought I shot these

The hind stalking season closes tomorrow and we have been trying to get a last few stalks in. We haven’t been helped by a miserable turn in the weather which has brought low cloud, wind and rain.

We are particularly keen to make a cull target for sika, but the sika hinds have made themselves scarce in this weather, presumably keeping warm in the depth of the woods. However these two hinds and a calf decided to feed on the hill across from the house, in full view of the front door. Neil and I had a fun little stalk to get into them without disturbing a larger group of red hinds which are deemed off limits so close to the house. I was lucky enough to be able to shoot all three before they scattered too far.

Well, meanwhile, I  have been able to taste a new recipe of the book “Delicias Veganas“. A vegan cooking book from Spain. I’m sure that I are going to taste all the recipes, so you stay tuned because I will update them to the blog.

COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS

Ingredients:

• 300g of flour
• 200g of brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp of  baking soda
• 1 tbsp of salt
• 300g of margarine
• 100g of chocolate chips
• 1 tspb of vainille

How do you prepare?

1. Mix in a bowl the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
2. Add the chocolate chips, the margarine and the vainille. Mix well until we get a firm dough.
3. We make several cookies and put them on a baking tray.
4. Bake at 180 ° C until the edges of cookies are golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack and serve.

Easy, right? I did the XXL size.

And finally, let me show you my first basket of ecological fruits and vegetables. I’m very, very happy with the purchase. Some friends of mine recommended me to buy the basket ecological, and… I will continue!. The basket also contained, two liters of oat milk, organic hops beer and a bottle of the best hummus!. (Sorry, these items were already in the fridge and forgot to get them to take the picture)

And you, do you buy organic fruit and vegetables?

I think I’ve just seen a Sika deer.

I was driving home from work at about 7.40pm tonight, and just as I passed the small wood that contains the Hawthorn Tree Sett a deer crossed the road in front of me and paused on the verge by the hedge.  This is quite a regular occurrence.   On most days I see a Muntjac or a Chinese Water Deer when I’m driving, occasionally a Fallow.  But this deer was different.

It was dark in colour, a dark grey.  It was a stag with medium-sized antlers, but they were rounded antlers, not the flat palmate ones of a Fallow stag.  It had a blunt face with a prominent broad nose, not the more refined features of a Fallow. And last but not least, it had a distinctive, heart-shaped, white rump patch, with a black tail that was noticeably much thinner than a Fallow’s.

I think, all things considered, that it was a Sika stag.  It could have been an unusually coloured Fallow, but taking everything together it fits better as a Sika.  The reason I am writing this is because although there are many deer in this part of the country, Sika are rare.  I’ve only heard of two or three other Sika sightings.  This is the first and only Sika I’ve ever seen.  That’s what makes it worth recording.

Not a bad sighting for the drive home from work.  If only I had that camera ready in the car like I said I should…

The trip’s accomadation came courtesy of our caravan so the nights were short due to there being no electric hook up and the battery ran more or less flat on the second day, preventing any electric lighting. The mornings were bitterly cold, dropping below freezing on more than one occasion. This meant no lie-in’s! Up and about straight away was the only way to keep warm. I got up and got a fire going most days before the sun came up. It was warmer eating breakfast outside by the fire than it was in the van, and far more serene and picturesque with the birds starting their day and coming to life all around us. There was a pair of buzzards that hung out in the next field and would call as they flew around above our heads. The mornings were a highlight for me, making the fire and watching the wildlife at it’s most active part of the day – great!
After thawing out by the morning fire we ventured off for our morning walk, mainly to try and find some deer, and we found them, surprisingly enough! The woodlands are literally full of them but they are incredibly hard to spot. Only if they move can you see them and if they haven’t spotted you first. If your downwind of them, they are on to you well before your anywhere near and they slip away, just out of sight. The best sighting we had was of a stag when we were hunting down a geocache. Unfortunately it was injured, which was probably why we got close and had a good view. It was clear it was hiding from us, preferring not to move unless it had to, and when we got to close it limped off back into the woods.

Geocaching was our favourite pastime during the break.  It’s really grown in popularity over the last ten years or so with the increase in affordable handheld GPS (global positioning satellite) devices and mobile phone apps.  Caches are hidden and their co-ordinates are posted on the internet, then cachers punch in the co-ordinates on their devices and go out into the countryside and track them down, combining a nice country walk with a little added adventure.  There are varying degrees of caches, from the simplest to the most difficult.  Some being as easy as pulling over on the side of the road and finding the cache to others being hidden at the top of a mountain. A log book to record the date and name of the successful finder and small trinkets are left in the cache; if you take something make sure to put something else back in, like a trade.

All in all, a very successful trip.  Lot’s of wildlife and great scenery. The birdlife really is abundant, every time you look up you can see something different and interesting; from jays to buzzards, tits and finches, we even saw a goldcrest, a first for us both.  I’ll leave you with some of the best shots.

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Photo courtesy of Sika Boutique

I was first introduced to Sika by one of my favourite natural hair blogs K is for Kinky. Phyllis Taylor, the designer of the London-based clothing line, uses natural fabrics from Ghana to create her colourful standout creations. I love the marriage of African fabrics and prints with Western design and the gorgeous saturated colours.

-Septembre

This tape actually clocks in at ninety-five minutes, and of course opens with the usual video and we get highlights of a tag match with Lord Alfred Hayes doing the voice over. Over to the Video Control Studio, and Alfred tells a story of meeting a young Andre the Giant before his debut before sending it to the first match.

1. Andre the Giant v. Moondog Rex

Moondog Rex is the former tag team champion, later jobber to the stars. This is from the Philadelphia Spectrum, an Andre quickly hammers the Moondog down. Andre destroys Moondog as Alfred does a biography on Andre, talking about his watch, farm and drinking abilities. It’s been all Andre so far, as Moondog eats a big boot then the splash scores the easy win. Just a quick squash match, as Andre crushed Moondog with ease.

1. Andre the Giant squashed Moondog Rex DUD

2. 18 Man Battle Royal

We get the list of wrestlers in the match, Sgt Slaughter, Adrian Adonis, Dick Murdoch, Big John Studd, Superfly Snuka, Andre the Giant, Pat Patterson, Hulk Hogan, Sal Bellomo, Paul Orndorff, Tiger Chung Lee, Iron Sheik, Alexis Smirnoff, Mil Mascaras and Tito Santana. Only name I don’t recognize is Smirnoff, unless you count the vodka, but otherwise a who’s who of the WWF in 1984. Three names not listed were the Hangman, Victor Rivera and Les Thornton, so I guess they’re not winning. Sal goes out, according to Gorilla Monsoon, as Tiger and Paul hammer on Patterson. Andre and Studd slugging it out in the corner, and Studd bails out, but not eliminated. Hulk and Slaughter working together on Sheik and Paul, as Alfred puts over the Hangman as being a threat. Sheik out through the middle ropes and Slaughter stupidly dives over the top on him, and eliminates himself, as the Sheik outsmarted him. I wish they’d make a four DVD set of battle royals, not the Rumbles, but just battle royals, I love watching these matches. Snuka eliminated, but we didn’t see it, so no idea how. Tito gets backdropped out by Paul Orndorff, as Adonis and Murdoch work over the Giant. Hulk and Studd fighting on the floor, as Hulk is such a role model for kids. Mil and Paul go out, as we again don’t see it, and Sheik almost lands on Paul, the camera work is atrocious as we keep missing things. Glad that’s something they’ve improved over the years, as Studd out by Hogan, and then pulls out the Hulkster with help from Tiger Chung Lee and Adrian Adonis. Gorilla is surprised Alexis is still in there, as am I. Hulk and Studd back in the ring and fighting, but both are eliminated and the refs force them backstage. Final Four are Andre the Giant, Adrian, Murdoch and Smirnoff, bet we know how this is going to go. All three heels work over the Giant, but are unable to lift the massive Andre. They back him into the ropes and Andre fights free and tosses Alexis and Dick right away. Adrian whipped into the corner and up and over the ropes to the concrete, as Andre wins the Battle Royal.

2. Andre the Giant wins an 18 Man Battle Royal 7/10

3. Andre the Giant v. Black Gordman & Great Goliath

This won’t take long, as Alfred point out the front row is empty because Andre has a habit of tossing opponents over the top rope. Gordman and Goliath are both wearing Red, well at least they have some unity as Andre works over both guys with ease. This has been all Andre, basically an extended squash match. They try to work over the legs of Andre, but to no avail as Andre comes back and now they try to use a weapon of some sort to take down Andre. Andre comes back with a double submission on both guys, as the announcer calls these guys two of the best in the world, as Andre double monkey flips both guys. Andre tosses Gordman onto Goliath and sits on both guys for the win. Went too long for what it was, but nice to see some agility from the Giant.

3. Andre the Giant defeated Black Gordman & Great Goliath 3/10

4. Andre the Giant v. Jack Evans, Johnny Rodz & Joe Butcher Nova

Great, another handicap match as now Andre faces three guys this time. Unlike the last match all three guys are in the ring at the same time with Andre, no tagging needed. No matter to Andre as he sets all three in the corner and squashes them. Andre again does the double submission and double monkey flip. With Andre on the mat all three guys pile on Andre who throws them off with ease. Andre just tossing the three guys around like rag dolls, and headbutts Evans out of the ring. Andre sends the other two into each other then piles them up before sitting on all three for the easy win. Another glorified squash match, as Andre handled all three guys with ease.

4. Andre the Giant pinned Jack Evans, Johnny Rodz & Butcher Nova 3/10

5. Andre the Giant v. Gorilla Monsoon in a boxing match

Alfred mentions that Gorilla has boxed Andre and wrestled Muhammad Ali, which we saw on Best of WWF Volume 1, as Gorilla looks fired up for this. Not a fan of boxing, so this is really not my thing, it’s right up there with the MMA junk. There just slugging it out, and Gorilla getting the worst of it. The only thing holding up Gorilla is the ropes. Second round and Gorilla suddenly unloads on the Giant, knocking him down in the corner, and Gorilla is pleased with himself. I can’t get over how fast Monsoon is, considering him size, but Andre catches him with a headbutt and drops the ass down across Monsoon. Gorilla pulls himself up and Andre clobbers him down again, Gorilla staggers to his feet. Gorilla covers up, as the round ends. Third round and Monsoon starts to come back, and hammers Andre on the ropes. Alfred on commentary is laughing so hard, as Andre catches Gorilla with a right hand and Monsoon is out, Andre wins via KO. Andre walks over Gorilla after the win, and we clip to them fighting again outside the ring. Andre knocks Monsoon out in a puddle, as Alfred is hysterical at this point.

5. Andre the Giant defeated Gorilla Monsoon in a boxing match NO RATING

6. Andre the Giant & Jimmy Snuka v. Afa & Sika

Before the match we get comments from Snuka and Andre, with a very young looking Vince holding the microphone. Early on Snuka gets double teamed by the Samoans, and Andre tries to make save but the ref forces him back to the corner. Snuka finally comes back, but the Samoans again double team Snuka and score a near fall. It’s odd with Gorilla and Vince on commentary, as Snuka collides with Afa and this gives him the chance to tag in Andre, but Afa cuts him before hand. It’s pretty much been all Samoans so far, as Snuka plays Ricky Morton tonight taking a massive beating. Andre again comes in illegally and the ref forces him back, as Snuka blocks a double team and Andre finally tagged in. The crowd explodes as Andre unloads on both Samoans, including the classic stack in the corner double shoulderblock. Andre shoots the Samoans into each other and is just clobbering both men, as Snuka is still down in the corner. Andre headbutts the Samoan, but stuns himself and Sika comes in. Andre hits the big boot on Sika, as Afa staggers up the aisle, Snuka dives off the shoulders of Andre for the win. A pretty good match, as Snuka played face in peril and Andre batted cleanup, which kept it at a good pace.

6. Andre the Giant & Jimmy Snuka defeated Afa & Sika 6.5/10

7. The Masked Superstar v. Andre the Giant

Masked Superstar was Bill Eadie, later known as Ax of Demolition, as Andre overpowers the masked man right out of the gate. Pat Patterson and Gorilla Monsoon on commentary talk about how awesome Andre is, and he truly was a one of a kind. Superstar has no idea what to do at this point, as a shoulderblock hurt him and then Andre stands on his fingers. Andre goes after Superstar’s mask, and Superstar quickly bails out of the ring as we get a clip of Andre palming Alfred’s face from TNT. Superstar off the ropes and runs into Andre’s ass, Andre then walks over top of Superstar, who quickly bails out of the ring. Superstar finally gets an advantage and clobbers the Giant, sending Andre to the corner and Andre crumples to the mat. Superstar quickly pounds on the Giant on the mat and goes for a Cobra Clutch type move, but Andre reaches for the mask and Superstar breaks the hold. Andre fights his way up and headbutts Superstar twice. Andre tosses Superstar in and hits the big boot then the butt drop for the win. After the match Andre goes for the mask again, and Superstar gets away. A very good match actually, better then I expected as Superstar put up a great battle with the Giant.

7. Andre the Giant pinned the Masked Superstar 7/10

8. Andre the Giant & SD Jones v. Big John Studd & Ken Patera

This is another match where if you know you’re WWF history you will recognize this match as it’s known as the haircut match and is a huge piece of WWF history. SD starts out with Patera, as Bobby Heenan looks on, and SD controls Patera before tagging in Andre. It’s sad that three out of four of these men are gone, Patera being the only one still alive today. SD back in the ring with Studd, and Studd works over SD as the Heenan Family double teams SD. SD comes back with a headbutt and tags in Andre as Patera backdrops SD to the floor, knocking SD out cold. Andre clobbers Patera in the corner, but Patera gets a knee up and Studd comes in for the double team. A double slam takes down the Giant, as they continue to tear apart the giant and the ref finally calls for the bell. The Heenan Family doesn’t care, as they beat down Andre and Heenan comes in with scissors as they cut the massive afro of Andre. The garbage is being tossed in the ring as Andre gets his hair cut, and Vince says they’re raping his dignity. Heenan walks around with the handfuls of hair, as the Heenan Family is proud of their work.

8. Andre the Giant & SD Jones beat Big John Studd & Ken Patera by DQ 6/10

We get a clip from TNT of Andre, with his new hairdo. Andre says he’s almost five hundred pounds as Vince asks about his mobility and asks about Studd. I have a hard time understanding Andre most of the time, as Vince mentions the upcoming match at Wrestlemania with Studd, and sends it to the Ken Patera v. Andre match.

9. Andre the Giant v. Ken Patera

This is billed as the revenge match after the previous haircut incident. Andre starts out quickly pounding on Patera, who bails out to confer with manager Bobby Heenan. Patera continues to try and stall, and Andre waits patiently for Patera to get back in. Andre continues where he left off and Patera again bails out, so Andre stands on Bobby’s hands, and the crowd is eating it up. Patera finally back in and again Andre destroys him, choking the Olympian with his own straps. Patera rolls out of the ring again, and Heenan is having a fit at ringside. Patera finally gets back in the ring and tries to back off from the monster but Andre doesn’t care and chokes Patera in the corner. Patera unable to get anything to work here tonight, as Andre is just destroying the man including an Atomic Drop to the floor. Andre grabs Patera by the hair and throws him back in the ring. Andre hits the big boot and Patera rolls to the apron, but Andre catches him and clobbers Patera across the chest then sits on him. Andre follows that up by standing on the chest of Patera, and Patera outside again. Andre follows this time and whips Patera into the guard rail, as Heenan quickly goes to check on his man. Andre rolls back in and Heenan climbs the ropes as Andre argues with the ref. Heenan knocks down Andre and the ref, then pulls out brass knuckles and clobbers Andre. Patera dives off the ropes and Andre gets a foot up, then sets Heenan and Patera in the corner and squashes them. Patera tossed across the ring and then paintbrushes Heenan. Andre throws out both men as the ref raises Andre’s hand, as Patera has been disqualified. Not a bad match, but lots of stalling, however the end was fun. No one took a beating like Heenan did.

9. Andre the Giant defeated Ken Patera by DQ 6/10

Back to the TNT interview as Vince hypes up Wrestlemania and talks about Studd gaining weight. Vince mentions that Heenan has put up fifteen thousand dollars and asks what is Andre putting up. Vince keeps poking the bear, telling Andre that Heenan wants Andre to put up his career if he can’t slam Studd. Vince asks Andre if he has a yellow streak not putting anything up, and Andre has had enough as he lifts up Vince by the tie and says he will put up his career.

Now we get the interview from Wrestlemania with Big John Studd and Bobby Heenan. Studd says tonight he will prove he is the true giant of wrestling and Heenan says for fifteen thousand dollars and a haircut they will get rid of Andre.

10. Andre the Giant v. Big John Studd in the $15,000 Bodyslam Challenge

This is of course from Wrestlemania, and was one of the featured matches. Andre starts out quick with the chops and headbutts, Studd bails out to slow down Andre’s offense. Studd rolls back in and Andre back in control with a choke and the classic Andre corner squash. Studd gets a low shot in and goes for a slam, but Andre block and slaps on the bear hug. The crowd starts a chant of ‘slam’, as Andre squeezes the life out of Studd. Andre has full control of Studd as Heenan looks on, Heenan screams at Studd to get him. Andre with a series of headbutt on Studd and goes for the backdrop, but Studd catches him, however Andre catches the leg of Studd and pops him. Studd cowers in the corner and Andre unloads with kicks and scoops and slams Studd in the center of the ring for the win. Andre collects his money and starts tossing it out to the crowd, Heenan quickly in the ring and grabs the back and runs to the back. The match wasn’t great, but the historical value and the crowd make up for it. Would’ve like Studd to get a little offense in there, but it accomplished the goal.

10. Andre the Giant slammed Big John Studd to win the challenge 5/10

MATCH RECAP:

1. Andre the Giant squashed Moondog Rex on August 1, 1981 from Philadelphia, PA DUD

2. Andre the Giant wins an 18 Man Battle Royal on April 30, 1984 from Oakland, CA 7/10

3. Andre the Giant defeated Black Gordman & Great Goliath on January 12, 1976 from Los Angeles, CA 3/10

4. Andre the Giant pinned Jack Evans, Johnny Rodz & Butcher Nova from 1975 in Philadelphia, PA 3/10

5. Andre the Giant defeated Gorilla Monsoon in a boxing match on September 23, 1977 from San Juan, PR NO RATING

6. Andre the Giant & Jimmy Snuka defeated Afa & Sika on February 18, 1983 from New York, NY 6.5/10

7. Andre the Giant pinned the Masked Superstar on February 20, 1984 from New York, NY 7/10

8. Andre the Giant & SD Jones beat Big John Studd & Ken Patera by DQ on November 13, 1984 from Poughkeepsie, NY 6/10

9. Andre the Giant defeated Ken Patera by DQ on January 21, 1985 from New York, NY 6/10

10. Andre the Giant slammed Big John Studd to win the challenge on March 31, 1985 from New York, NY 5/10

If you’re looking for great matches, look elsewhere, but if you want to see Andre before he became broken down this is probably the best place. The matches may not be considered technical marvels, but Andre could bring it when needed and was such a true phenomenon of the business. The best match was the battle with Masked Superstar, a highly underrated athlete, and the boxing match was a nice little oddity. All in all this was another fun filled tape with some great historical moments, cumulating in the legendary Body Slam Challenge from Wrestlemania. Coming up next is the Best of the WWF Volume 2.

A steady breeze across the heath and into the trees gave me the perfect approach to the deer grounds. It was quite late so I didn’t expect to see many, if any.  I was therefore pleasantly surprised as I approached the treeline to see a fine mature stag peering through the trees.  Not only that, but a white stag.  I got the impression that this was a larger specimen compared to the white stag of the previous week, although this one did not have a harem of hinds with him.

Not sure who saw who first, so we both stopped and tried a 'who blinks first' contest.

I managed to get a little closer, but never clear enough for a decent shot.

It was boggy as anything in there. No way I was going in after him..

I hurried on to the reedbeds, scanning over the top of the reeds hopimg to see a harrier quartering along.  No such luck. 

Not the greatest shot I know - but it's clearly a Curlew.

Curlew, Green sandpiper, more sika deer, godwits and a couple of egrets where all I could muster after standing around for ages.  Just as I was leaving (as always happens!) right over my head came this massive wing span, swooping low behind the willow to my right then away over the beds. 

Marsh Harrier. A distant one, granted.

A Marsh Harrier!

I then spent a frustrating time waiting for it to head back my way.  Not a bit of it – it stayed way out of sensible reach of my camera lens and then dropped down into cover.  A second Harrier appeared on scene soon after, and played the same trick – keeping out into the bay as it passed by.  Still, I got some shots.  It’s just a case perhaps of going back and setting up a proper hide at some time.

I did see another raptor, as a common buzzard made a gliding pass over the woodland before being harrassed by a couple of jackdaws and heading back into the trees.

Buzzard. A bit closer than the Harriers, but not really close enough..

I then paid a quick visit to the main hide to see what was visiting the feeders.  Good to see that the squirrel proof feeders were working well! 

Yep. Squirrel proof. For now at least!

The squirrels were still getting plenty of food, thrown down by the woodpecker who seemed to be dislodging plenty of the nuts!

Almost too much for the Woodpecker as well. Great tit standing by ready for action.

You can see part of the reedbeds from the Hide.  It didn’t help when I noticed the female Harrier flying low over the very spot that I had been stood only an hour or so before.  That’s it – decision made. I’m setting up my hide and waiting, and waiting… and waiting…

I like a bit of a challenge to getting close to wildlife, or even simply finding wildlife.  For the same reason, I don’t think I’ll be going to see the Blandford otters for quite some time. I went last week, saw one briefly before it was chased away by a well meaning ( I hope) but rather ignorant individual, and now there are loads of people queuing on the bridges to watch them, all day every day.  So, I’ll be staying away.

Fortunately, I know a site that backs onto Poole Harbour that is very rarely visited.  I spent 4 hours there on Sunday and saw – one person, and he was sat in his car.

What a great place to be!

It’s been a year since I had a go at stalking for Sika deer images, and the great thing about the herd here is that they are flighty.  They are easy enough to see – from a distance.  You want to get close? You’ve got to do a bit of fieldwork here – you can’t just walk up to them and ask them to pose nicely.

So, early-ish on Sunday saw me walking across a Dorset heathland, heading towards the rather eerie whistles from a bunch of Sika deer hidden behind a gorse thicket.  I spotted the two outliers (lookouts) - which always helps.  Seeing them before they see me is essential.  I can then work out the best approach and slowly make my way towards the main herd.

Initially, it was case of walk/crouch from cover to cover.  As I got closer it was more a case of crouching as I moved. Before long I’d reached the stage where I was belly crawling along, almost dragging myself through the heather.  At one point, I had no choice but to haul myself across a 5m section of young gorse.  That did cause some major discomfort and gritted teeth!

I pushed my luck as much as I could, and soon it was just 40m or so of open ground between me and the two lookouts.  I couldn’t go much further without spooking them, so I took a gamble.  I sat up.

Spotted - and about time too!

Immediately, a shrill cry went up from a nearby doe.  The lookouts turned, and clocked me. Importantly – none of the herd ran.  They all simply stood there, all looking intently at me. 

Spotted by number two

 Finally, the younger of the lookouts made his move.  Not away.  He walked directly towards me. 

He's really quite a brave chap, and got quite close.

I guess that they perhaps weren’t too sure what I was.  I was pretty well camouflaged up so maybe they couldn’t really work out if I was a human or even if I was a threat.  He stopped at about 30m.  Meanwhile the other ‘lookout’ had made his way back to the main herd.  He was soon joined by the ‘Big Guy’ – head of the herd, who challenged him to a duel and then promptly sent him back towards me. 

Big Guy makes his challenge

So, there I was with now 2 stags slowly working their way towards me while the rest of the herd (about 30 in total) stood back and watched.  Next, a doe ventured forth, almost shoving the younger stag ahead of her. 

The Doe (on left) about to come and investigate

They all stopped again and stared at me, while I stared back.

Spotter stag back on sentry duty again

I was busy clicking away of course!  There then came a bit of a stalemate.  I had a go at video:

Eventually Big Guy decided it was time to retire into the woods for the day, so calmly led them all past me and off through the gorse. 

Big Guy and some of his does, leading them back to the woods

Only one thing was missing.  Last year, I’d seen a white stag here.  So where was he? Moving further towards the shoreline I soon had my answer.  He has now matured and was out in the reedbeds with his own harem. 

The White stag seeing off a challenger in the reedbeds.

Before you ask – no, I didn’t try stalking them.  Can you imagine belly crawling through the thick mud of a reedbed?  Not only would it be very noisy, but I’m not sure my wife would appreciate the mess I would make of the washing machine either!  

I saw a fair few other things out there.  Hen harrier and Merlin were no doubt the highlights, though I didn’t get any decent images of either – so we will have to settle for a late Red Admiral that flew by, then turned back and landed on a nearby gorse while I took it’s picture.

A splash of colour on a November day. A Red Admiral

So, next time you want to get closer to a Sika deer, don’t try and crawl right up to it.  Just get near and then sit up.  It may well come across to check you out!

Citigroup has a good summary on the implications for the euro which you can read here. I am particularly struck by this paragraph:

We doubt that this package can bring long-term support to the euro, even as we note that there are a lot of committed USD sellers out there. There is a risk of running stops to the upside, as positions still seem somewhat short EUR, but we don’t think this package can sustain major gains unless outside money is more enthusiastic about backing euro zone debt than either the ECB or euro zone governments seem to be, and we are not sure why this should be the case.

(Disclaimer: I am a shareholder in PetroNeft plc) Speaking of things that are going up, I am pleased to see PetroNeft’s share price motoring ahead. At the time of writing the shares are 30% above their recent lows. While violent moves in share prices are not unusual in a smallcap, I wonder if there is some buying going on in optimism of a positive result (due in December) from its hydraulic fracturing programme at the Lineynoye oil field. I recently doubled my shareholding in the company, and while clearly my timing could have been better, I’m glad that I persevered with the stock!

Greencore received a preliminary takeover approach on Tuesday, which is an unusual development given that the group has only just concluded the €125m takeover of Uniq. While some people suggested that the interest could be coming from Kerry Group, I would dismiss that out of hand – Kerry’s M&A strategy in consumer foods is centred on buying brands, not the own-label products that Greencore and Uniq produce. My guess is that the approach is from a private equity fund with existing interests in the UK consumer food space that is keen to cherry pick certain business units across Greencore and Uniq that overlap with its owned businesses and flip the rest out to other firms/funds in the space. As an aside, I note that there has been some talk about the P/E multiple that a successful bidder would have to pay for Greencore. You can disregard that, because in reality it is the EV/EBITDA multiple that is of relevance in a takeover situation.

(Disclaimer: I am a shareholder in CRH plc) I was pleased to see CRH appoint a top-drawer business person as a non-executive director. Ernst Bärtschi is CEO of Sika Group and the former CFO of Schindler. This is the sort of best practice approach to non-executive director appointments that all large plcs should be looking to emulate.

Just when I thought the social media bubble was at an end, up popped this - Groupon seeks valuation of 5 times 2012 sales.

My MBA class had a Halloween themed party last night. Which reminds me of this – Halloween by the Numbers.

If you’ve a spare hour, why not spend it with the magnificent Hugh Hendry?

And finally, I was amused by this tweet by Lorcan Roche Kelly, who is one of the most astute financial commentators in Ireland:

When trying to sell retail sovereign debt, is a cliff the best thing to put on the brochure cover?

Unfortunately I’m without a camera these days and had to use my iPhone therefore the quality of these photos is really poor. Nonetheless I still wanted to share with you these fantastic local designers.

Established in 2010 Ready Set DC aims to promote up and coming designers from the DC area and support local boutiques and businesses. Saturday evenings fashion show was held at Eastern Market on 7th Street in DC.

On Saturday night a medium-sized crowd gathered around the runway awaiting the start of the show which kicked off at about 10:15pm. The show started out with a female trumpeter on the runway. I’m not certain what music she was playing but she did an excellent job setting the tone for the show.

Designers featured were:

Artaya,

Derringer Friday

Durkl

Espion

Ginger Root Design

Sika

SaintCHIC

Yes I do have a critical analysis of each designer. In truth I thought most did an excellent job and deserved to be on the stage.

I’ll begin with Artaya. The dresses that hit the runway were totally my style. To the point I regret I missed “The Shop” at The Ready Set DC on Sunday. I would have liked to have seen what else Artaya has to offer. I thought her lines were clean and the designs were just edgy enough with a ting of conservationism. Artaya came out the box with this simple black dress with an unexpected train in the rear of the dress. The design was classic and chic and even better because it caught you off guard. She used a bright pink wool in a couple of her designs that I thought was fabulous. I was so busy looking at her fashions I missed taking photos of most of them. I look forward to more from Artaya.


Next up was Espion. I actually had an appreciation for these designs although not quite my style.

Her style is a cross between the Grecian look and dominatrix. The way she tied the two together had a very interesting effect. I will this, say her craftsmanship was great and her presentation rocked!

Next up was Durkl. Primarily focused on men’s outerwear I found these shirts to be your basic everyday men’s shirts. The way Durkl styled the models in these shirts and jackets is what made them more appealing.

This next designer was Sika. Again not my style but I always look at craftsmanship and design. Those two things can make or break you as a designer. Even if you have a very simple design it’s important to keep clean lines and not overdo it. With Sika I found that some pieces fell into a clean line category and some threw me off a bit. What really got my attention was the hairstyles. Tres unique Sika! Again poor quality photos from an iPhone. Overall I enjoyed watching Sika’s designs hit the runway.






And next up was Ginger Root Designs. These gals located in NW DC take clothing and transform them into very unique designs. Women after my own heart. They do a great job at refashioning something otherwise dull and boring into something fabulous.

Derringer Friday was up next. Mainly featuring men’s ties although not a man was on the scene until the designers came out at the end and tossed up a couple beers. The ladies all wore white men’s shirts and found creative ways to wear a tie as you see below.

Below you see photos from SAINTChic designs. The models moved across the runway so quickly I missed most of them. I though her designs were edgy and funky. Good use of color and fabrics. I wasn’t really feeling the mummy look on a few of the models but I liked the fact she had her own unique style and pulled it together.

I simply googled myself (Sika) and found that I was featured as a search result on nonstop.com.

I feel so honored to be featured with an icon like Betty Page and with.. well, those other girls who I don’t know the names of…

Below is a screen capture I took. And I assure you, it’s the real deal.