Memory Cake and ingredients

Cooking up a Memory Cake. Main ingredients: self-indulgence 20%, stock of reflective moments 20% and lots of fun 60%. It has always been motivating for me to aim to make each year better than the last, or at least not worse. The last 12 months have been a real rollercoaster ride of thrills, spills, fun and lots of great memories, what a ride. I quite deliberately setout to travel less over the last 12 month, but still managed South Africa, Morocco x2, UK and not least a special, self-indulgent premiere visit to bird in Canada. Of course these travels always produce great memories, but my local mountains also continue to come up trumps for scenery and special moments. I wanted and achieved more time here in my mountains; my wildlife and me danced a dance of pure bliss through the year’s seasons.

So here is a pictorial of the preceding 12 month and unusually for me, no words, just captions. And this is where the self-indulgence comes into play, sifting through photos and remembering sweet times.

Reminding me of times in South Africa, great to lead this tour with such good friends travelling together

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, South Africa just so much more than safaris and better known animals

Exotic species or travelling friends? Wonderful companions for me touring Morocco

Yes! At last a good photograph of the elusive Orphean Warbler. Morocco delivered memories in March 2017

During a Spanish Tour a Booted Eagle provided a laugh or two with it's beady eye following a flyby pigeon 

Spanish Tour and got so so lucky with Griffon Vultures up close enough for my point and shoot camera

What better or appropriate on my Canada Tour than a lifer, the beautiful and memorable Canada Warbler

Cuteness and a lifer to boot, a Boreal Chickadee fledgling hops around below parent birds, what a memory!

I looked happy being replaced as Chairman of Andalucia Bird Society, then being voted as President, but Elli wasn't sure!

Big day during my summer. Actually getting a Two-tailed Pasha to sit still long enough for a photograph - a result.

The summer also became very satisfying when a homemade pond saw 12 species of dragonfly and damselfly ovipositing

After over 40 tours in Morocco I finally get a winter plumage photograph of  a male Seebohm's Wheatear, excited.

Morocco and the Sahara Desert always acts as a magnet to me, attracting me back year after year. A wonderful destination

As winter takes hold of my mountains, we still get warm days and here an Ocellated Lizard takes advantage of sunshine

Not a decent photo, but a birding highlight recently as a Hawfinch male attempts to take a chunk out of a Ring Ouzel male

Well that's a brief taster of my year and all that remains is to wish my many friends and readers a Very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful and Healthy New Year! Take care and catch-up again in 2018. Peter