Goodby Millet

The Blue one picked me by hopping on my finger - Sold !

I'd made a travelling cage

put him in with a sprig of Millet and placed him on the car dash, he nibbled the Millet for the next 1/2 hour then went to sleep on it. Descided to call him Millet there and then
There was a new cage waiting for him at home

but he spent the next few hours exploring the front room

from day 1 he was fearless and super friendly

I'd open his cage in a morning and he'd hop out onto my finger then fly to the shape then the window ledge to shout at the garden birds then back onto me. It took him a few days to realise there was a floor, a whole new world

but the shape was his favourite spot

for the next 3 years he had the freedom of the house only going in his cage to sleep the rest of the time pestering me to play with him, or the grand-daughter Nadi
                                            
one of the last photo's I took of him
 
then a couple of weeks back I was playing with him, and the toys, on the floor when he flew back into his cage, after tea he was still there so I offered my finger he hopped on and I sat down to watch a film with him, he seemed normal may be a little quiet and head under wing went to sleep. The phone rang I put him on the chair cushion went to the phone came back he chirped tried to stand up but fell over I picked him up stroked and talked to him, he chirped then fluttered once and died in my hand



 
I buried him in the back garden -Fly High Millet

Mennock Pass camp

To tick an item off my 'bucket list' I had to make some gear first

Drove up 19th September in blue sky and sunshine picked a spot and got the tent up

Had an explore about then cooked tea had a brew and retired to the tent with a bottle of Grants. It started to Rain ! it was still raining in the morning. Rigged a tarp up over the truck as somewhere to cook brew and get dressed and undressed, 

as I get older and can't sit cross legged anymore the tent seems to get smaller. Met another 'panner' at dinner time who put a tent up by mine, spent the day sucking gravel up and panning it and got my first few 'tiny' pieces of gold Wahoo! wasn't bothered about the rain ! That night we had a few Grants under my tarp then into the tents as the wind got up and the rain was going sideways, they both got heavier in the night. The next morning the Burn was a raging torrent so spent a few hours on the old mine tips above Leadhills scratting for crystals and minerals and back to the camp late afternoon where the Burn had gone down enough to scrat about at the edges another couple of tiny specks. Friday morning wasn't too bad and as the other panner was leaving at dinner time I set off into the hills up one of the side Burns by 2 o'clock I'd only had a couple of tiny specks and it started to rain Heavy ! back to the camp packed up and drove home a real bed was Luxury !
I've given up to the Vango Force 10, I need to be able to stand up in a tent and even have an air or camp bed I just wish I'd taken a couple of 2" x 8' wood poles I have and could have made the tarp off the truck roof rack more substantial. I'm hoping to get another trip up Scotland before winter sets in just got to get the tarp/tent/sleeping sorted
camera didn't want to focus into a small bottle of water