At the end of October I drove south to stay with family for a week and we had a party to celebrate Mums 90th birthday. She's nearly blind, going deaf and very frail but a fighter, non the less. She had a good day when we all got together and here she is with me, my sister and brothers.
Happy birthday Mum and we hope you have many more.
While I'm on the subject of family ( she's going to kill me for doing this) my daughter Ruth, who lives with Marty in north eastern Australia, has just made me a grand father for the fourth time with Bay, the latest addition to their family.
Love to, as Marty said (deep breath) Marty, Roo, Lily, Meg, Willow, Bay, Scooby, Eddie and other miscellaneous farm animals.The oldest and youngest members of our family with almost exactly 90 years seperating them. I wonder what the world will be like when Bay gets to 90.
I returned from the deep south to find two letters waiting for me. The first was from the hospital to say I had an appointment for my op' on the 16th Nov' and the second was asking I'f I'd like to go and look at a cottage to rent in Glen Affric; which I'd asked about nearly a year ago. I was over there like a rat up a down pipe and I think it took me all of five minutes to say yes.
The operation went well , I already feel a thousand percent better than I did a couple of months ago; and while I've been recovering I've been doing a complete upgrade of the print web site which was long overdue.
The lease has been signed on the cottage and I am moving in on the 21st December. Initialy I'm there for a year and have been offered a nearby alternative if it isn't possible to stay longer; but whatever happens I hope to be surveying Red Squirrels and doing photography in the area for a number of years.
The cottage is a bit remote and as a consequence I may be without direct phone and internet contact for some time. The mobile will work in odd places and I'll be able to access the internet at least once a week so I wont be completely cut off. It just means I may be slow at responding when someone emails or leaves a message on the phone; but should never be more than two or three days.
I've set the web site up for print sales so that it more or less runs itself and can promise that on most instances I'll be able to respond to questions and problems within a week. I'm not realy doing any photography at present due to lack of oportunity while everything is in flux, but by the end of the year I'll have got myself settled in and sorted out. From then on, as my health improves, I intend to be very busy with the camera. In the meantime I hope to add to the existing galleries, a few more pictures that I haven't published before.
So there it is. A lot of changes, beginnings and fresh opportunities.
I'm so excited I feel like a kid again.
