Where has that month gone!

Time certainly does fly, I don't know where this month has gone; usually June/July is when I whizz off to the Farnes, Skomer, north west Scotland and concentrate on island seabird colonies, several things have meant I needed to stay closer to home, most importantly I wanted to be available to help my mum through a hip replacement. At 81 she has made an incredibly fast recovery and though still using crutches (she must for 6 weeks) she's back to being her busy self!
Another reason for staying closer to home is that I have had a couple of books to supply lots of images for, and just as 'sods law' always seems to dictate I have been indoors busy on the PC when the weather has been best for photography.
When I have been out and got some air around my cameras it has been quite eye-opening; its is so easy to forget that within a few miles of home there is a wealth of nature to photograph and although perhaps not as glamorous, it's no less inspiring.
I have also done a few days of 1 to 1 tuition at two different local sites, no rarities again, but lots of common species that are comfortable with people close by, these allow the time to practice different techniques, such as how to use 'depth of field' creatively and how to work with 'fill-in flash', I get a real buzz from seeing the smile of someone who has mastered the sort of shot they have previously struggled with, it's been good fun!