Unfortunately not! I thought I had a Penduline Tit on the feeders at breakfast time. Better than a lottery win. When I eventually managed a shot of it’s head it was a Long Tailed Tit. It did have a lot of brownish feathers on it’s back though…………Still a grand sight.
Here it is again……………….a cracking wee bird. Next one of my favourites…………………
The Nuthatch………..these seem to be doing really well. I wish the same could be said for Red Squirrels. They are slowly being eliminated by squirrel pox. It’s carried by the Grey Squirrel who are immune but our native red isn’t, so looses coordination and dies. Found one this morning……………sad!
Back to Pendulums………..or the clocks that are regulated by them.
Here is the clock, I love tower clock movements……….they are like old traction engines, waterwheels, steam locomotives. Timeless in their function.
It’s not massive the wee can to the left is 3-in-1 0il. Over a hundred and fifty years old and still going………now and again. I was hoping it would be fully exposed. This one lives in a box and one can only get a foot away from it. It is still a wondrous thing and thank you Jon for allowing time in your schedule to pull an old man up the ladders.
The drive to the clock fingers. It powers three of these. The back of the clock face is on the right.
Early signatures of the Clock Masters who maintained it. They are written in pencil and are virtually indecipherable. These can be read. I’ve pushed them to hell and back.
Thank you again Jon for taking the time to show an old man a wonderful piece of engineering.
Shame it wasn't a Penduline Tit, but, the Long-tailed Tit is a great little bird. Extremely good photos showing their bits. The tower could lose those awful wires!
ReplyDeleteLovely shots of the birds Adrian, but the 'history' shots are a real treat. Craftsmanship at its greatest.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! I have recently discovered the joy of hanging feeders out my front window. So far I have seen chickadees, crossbills, and approximately 4,765 redpolls. We have nuthatches here too and I am excitedly waiting for one to visit me! :o)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE clocks. These shots are great and really made me smile!
All the pics are so beautiful! Thank you for the opportunity to see them.
ReplyDeleteGreetings.
Those bird photos are not just beautiful, they demonstrate your skill at blurring out the background. I liked the look at the clock, and thanks for enhancing those signatures. It's inspiring to see that people took that kind of pride in their work.
ReplyDeleteLovely little critters - always enjoyable to see but I especially love seeing the workings of that beautiful old clock. What a happy similarity in names for your post title.
ReplyDeleteWonderful clock details! What's up with the wires on the tower? not very decorative ;)
ReplyDeleteBob, Thanks, It lost a power cable. The green one is a lightening conductor the other I missed and I agree it should be ridded...a five minute job.
ReplyDeleteKeith, I was not well after climbing up there. I'm getting old but these wonderful pieces of mechanical art should have preservation orders slapped on them. Assuming one could find a fat cat slim enough to access them. It's another project to gain access to church clock movements..........almost impossible these days.Even for a bishop, don't find many thin bishops even on a chess board! The Safety Elves destroy appreciation. It was not a daunting climb but after the winter I am feeling old.
Jolynne, the blurry background comes with the territory. If you shoot at maximum aperture the background can never be in focus. The wee blighters aren't still for a second so I have to use really quick shutter speeds. It wasn't a Penduline Tit but it had a similarity to one. Rarer than hens teeth are Penduline Tits round here. Would have had birders flying in by helicopter for a look at one..............don't ask me. The Penduline Tit has more black on it's face....big deal!
Monica.............Sorry the lightening conductor has to stay. So do power lines. Got rid of those. What the other one I missed is I'm not sure. I should have spent more time with the clock. Vaseline on the shiny bits and diffused flash. I'll try and find some more clock movements.
Krista, nearly killed me getting up there but I'm glad I did. Don't tempt Nuthatches they fire seed everywhere, take what they want and poke it into holes in tree bark. Little devils......a feeder beats watching TV over breakfast.
ReplyDeleteClaudia, thank you and thanks for popping by.
Love the clock pictures,there is something about cogs and wheels that fascinates me,and your photograph showed them to perfection.
ReplyDeleteThe bird pictures were great,shame it was not the rare bird,but lovely all the same.
Carolyn, thanks not an easy thing to shoot in the dark. Far from perfection. that takes me two hours. Even then there is no guarantee.
ReplyDeleteI knew it wasn't a Penduline Tit but wanted a headline.
No worries.
The birds in the first couple of photos look so much like our Chickadees ~ and your Nuthatch is a spitting image of the ones I see.
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated with the clock workings, and think it was very brave of you to ascend into the belfry (or tower) to clock those photos! Bringing the signatures and dates to life added a wonderful touch ~ I guess with all the ups and downs, your ticker was working overtime ;)
Glo, I feel the days of such excursions and exertions are coming to an end. Worth it though I really love old machinery. all the more as it is still functioning.
ReplyDeleteIt's odd how birds are so similar on different continents. Beggars belief that they could have flown the Atlantic. I suppose they could have gone the other way, eastabouts.
There is something almost emotional about machinery like clock movements that have been chugging away for over a century often non-stop.
ReplyDeleteSad about the red squirrels. There used to be lots around the North-west of England but I understand they've been dying out.
Graham, I love machinery made by artisans. They did use machinery and some of that is as good as the items they manufactured.
ReplyDeletedifficult accessing tower clocks now. Safety Elves again. Most have been converted to electric winders.
This one used to run perfectly till the earthquake in Coniston before Christmas now the weight catches on it's way down. The tower must have shifted a bit. As Kiwis and Japanese know earthquakes are destructive things.
Wonderful shots Adrian! Congrats on POTW at Hilary's!
ReplyDeleteMaggie, thank you, I blog but am not the most sociable of bloggers. Must go back and see what Hilary has been up to. Glad you liked your visit.
ReplyDelete