Knott ending

The view from the Knott End slipway across to the fishing port of Fleetwood after sunset as gulls drifted down river to Morecambe Bay. This was the final stop on our leisurely New Year birding day out.  We were trying to find the flock of twites that feed on the strand line here. It wasn't our only dip of the day, but on the other hand we notched up a respectable list of birds. This included a bittern at Leighton Moss, spotted lurking inside the reedbed edge by the restless eyes of 10 year old M, a barn owl working the field edges near Glasson and a pair of corn buntings on a power line near Eagland. All this on a perfect day that was both bright and unseasonably mild.

The title is my first and doubtless worst pun of 2019, and is a reference to my decision not to stop blipping, and to maintain an occasional - perhaps weekly - presence here this year. That seems manageable at this time of long dark evenings, though it may be more challenging when we get into the vegetable growing season.

I didn't blip this last night because the toothache that had been grumbling over the Christmas period suddenly went bang-your-head-against-the-wall critical. On Monday I had made an appointment to see the dentist today (Wednesday) at noon, though at times last night I began to wonder if I could wait that long. I lay in bed last night counting the hours down, every time I fell asleep, my leg would violently twitch and I was awake again in a world of pain. Finally it subsided and I had a couple of hours sleep. It looks like the tooth can be saved, but it will need root canal treatment and crowning - but hopefully for now the toothache has been dealt with.

An eventful start to the year with its very own highs and lows!