Thursday 24 January 2013

Dinner for two



Just after 5:30 pm I was head down in study urgently trying to finish some work which had to e-mailed out when Niall, in a loud stage whisper, said "deer" from the livingroom. Very slowly I turned round to get the camera which I hadn't yet put in its case from earlier in the day --we had spent a fabulous morning being very medievally-anoraky [if indeed there is such a word, which I doubt!] on which more soon...

 Two ladies had come for dinner....

First arrival

Are you coming then?!

Coming!

The light was poor and it was quite misty as you can see--no hint of the other side of the valley. However, I took these photos as they slowly moved from west to east nibbling away, occasionally throwing their heads up to listen for danger--as when Shadow pushed his way noisily out through the cat flap-- before going back to din-dins.
Hopefully they do convey a bit of the magic of living here and having the chevreuil passing through, grazing at dusk.

It's only the cat!

The starter was good....

nice mains!

Shall we move on to dessert then?
I wish the quality was better and know I need to learn more about using my camera properly.  I took them on a low light setting and have an 18 - 135mm lens which was at max. I've tweaked them as best I can--the light was disappearing terribily quickly and even on a low light setting they are grainy. As always, just click on them if you want to enlarge.

23 comments:

MorningAJ said...

They're wonderful. I'm jealous of that kind of wildlife in your back yard.

Shame my mind had to spoil things by thinking "What, darling?" in response to a whispered "deer". :)

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello Niall and Antoinette:
This is indeed a wonderful moment and does, most definitely, convey some of the magic of your beautiful surroundings.

When we lived in Herefordshire, deer could often be spotted at these times of fading light, either early morning or at dusk. They never failed to make an impression on us, especially when the 'Monarch of the Glen' would appear!!!

Susan said...

Charming -- I love the one where she has a mouthful. I think the only improvement you could make under these circumstances is use a tripod. Taken through the glass in low light they are always going to be a bit grainy. I ran into Marc this morning and reiterated how much we appreciated his time yesterday.

Ida said...

prachtige foto's, jullie hebben geen sneeuw meer?
hier nog steeds veel ijs geworden sneeuw (glad)en ook mooie sneeuw; alleen de belangrijke straten zijn sneeuwvrij door pekel.
vandaag heel veel zon dus we hoeven niet meer op wintersport!

Vera said...

I have never tired of seeing deer here, although not on our fields any more because we have had to fence them. But I often see deer tracks around the perimeter, and I love knowing that they are still here. Not so sure about the wild boar tracks I saw in our furthest field yesterday though!

the fly in the web said...

Magic indeed. We used to see them on the other side of the river at the last of the light...but I was never able to photograph them.

Tim said...

Great pix... don't worry about using a tripod... it would take too long to set up... use a sand bag... works as a doorstop for the room when not needed... nestle camera into bag... as good as a tripod.
Works well in a car too... fold over the part raised window... but turn the engine off!!
Cheap and easy to make... cost a fortune from photography shops!!
You missed a rib stickler of a meal yesterday... but if you hadn't had the work to do... you'd've missed these wonderful shots.
Talking of meals... haggis is currently thawing out at room temperature... should be ready for tomorrow evening... but had to buy a neep today... ours were non-existant this year!!

Perpetua said...

Marvellously atmospheric photos, Antoinette, and I don't think the slight graininess detracts from them at all. How wonderful to have them browsing so close to your house. We see deer out on the hills in Scotland, but never just outside the window.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@AJ - LOL! Yes we are lucky but sighting a fox over the road isn't too shabby either :-)

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Jane & Lance - we only see the small roe deer. There are red deer hereabouts in the more extended woodlands but they don't grace us with their presence.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Susan - I know; although next time if I get the chance I'll try an even lower light setting & support also...note to self: must clean windows :-)
Glad you saw Marc and thanked him.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Ida - hier bitter koud, grauw en 'errrrg' nat. Sneuw was snel weg. :-(

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Vera - we never get tired of them either. We've seen wild boar now and again but not from the house.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Fly - They have settled down a bit. When we were first here they used to charge across like hysterical school girls; all in a flap. Now this year's are a little more relaxed; despite the same level of hunting that we can hear going on around us on Sundays.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Tim - what a good idea :-) we have a mono-pod but gave away our tripod years ago.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Perpetua - they were probably 50m away when I took the photos.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Tim - haggis is defrosting here too :-)

GaynorB said...

What a lovely surprise and wonderful to have deer visiting your back garden. Yor certainly picked a fantastic place to live.

Enjoy Burns night.

Jean said...

Beautiful photos. How wonderful to live somewhere where you get such lovely visitors.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Gaynor - every time the appear they are a delight. Last year we had a little group of 3 [a juvenile buck and 2 does] this year our 'regulars' are these 2 does.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Jean - they definitely are our VIP guests :-)

John Going Gently said...

That's so beautiful

Niall & Antoinette said...

@ John - And they're so dainty with their pretty faces.