Frustrating February

There is nothing worse than relying on a computer for business - and then having that computer play up! I have registry checked, scanned the disc, de-fragmented the disc, fixed errors on the disc..... and still it plays up. The latest was even more a source of stress, not being able to connect to my e-mails for over two days. My internet provider swears blind it wasn't them but I couldn't find any fault (this time) with my computer.
Anyway, I am back on line, still glitches with some of the program's but I seem to have spent most of my time in front of the computer screen and have not been able to get out and about very much, to my disgust!
You can tell we are looking to spring now. The snowdrops are up, the winter aconites are flowering and the woodpeckers are drumming out their messages across the fields. They seem to have favourite trees, probably ones with the hollowist branches for making the most noise. We counted 4 woodpeckers all calling to each other from different trees at the same time. It is quite a sound, sometimes hard to realise that it is a bird that is making the noise, it can sound quite mechanical.
The Barn Owl is also out hunting again by late afternoon. In fact yesterday, I had to stop the car as I was going down the road about 3.00pm. I thought the owl was caught in the lower branches of a tree but it seemed to be hopping from one branch to another. Not sure why, perhaps to escape the attentions of a flock of crows?? Whatever the reason, I got an absolutely wonderful view of it and yes, you've guessed it, no camera!
I did manage to get a couple of shots of some Vampire Cows, a very rare occurrence and not one that Smudge, our cat, was happy with. You can see why!
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