And so our four-plus weeks of New England summer are coming to end once again. As ever we've based ourselves here at the in-laws place in rural Western Mass, the Mrs' childhood home, and although we've spent plenty of that time elsewhere, we've been here for multiple several-day stretches.
Which means there's been decent opportunities for both running and birding. Both involve navigating the single-track road just around the corner up Bragg Hill - my arch nemesis for the former, but just a brief inconvenience when walking to Deer Meadow Farm, the aformentioned abandoned, overgrown orchard, for the latter.
Of which: after seeing a U-Haul van and a dumpster in the driveway there the other day, I assumed my happy-tresspassing-summer-local-patch days were over. Happily, not so; as I emerged from the orchard for what I thought might be the last time, I bumped into the owner - who turns out to be a lovely guy who's into his birds, who (without prompting) offered access for me anytime I wanted. Thanks, Todd - I'll be back back next summer!
The garden here on Cronin Road is often quality, too, with lots of species in the line of scrub and woods at the back - indeed, these close-up Blue-winged Warbler shots were taken ten paces from our bedroom - and like everywhere here, it's gonna be a lot more productive in a couple of weeks time when migration kicks in properly.
But I'll be back in Yorkshire, doing plenty of birding, guiding and boast trips. Doesn't sound too awful to be absolutely honest.
