Wedding Wildlife

My quietness over the last few weeks has been due to manic preparation for our wedding, which has meant there has been little time for our usual excursions to Strumpshaw or Foxley. However, in true 'us' style, we had a natural and wildlife themed wedding. Our flowers were designed to be as wild and natural as possible, and our florist did a wonderful job. Our photographer tried to get us in as many 'natural' locations as possible, which meant tracking across fields in a wedding dress and heels in a few places! Each table was named after a different British animal, and I painted a picture for each table rather than just having the table names. We had a wonderful day, and we hope everyone who attended did too! These are the pictures I painted for each table, and I will try to find more photos soon:

Badger - I think badgers are amazing, although I've still only seen live badgers on a few occasions when I was
much younger on holiday with my parents in Torquay.

Barn owl - This beautiful animal is another that had eluded for some time, but now that I work in rural Norfolk I
see them more often when driving to and from school in the dark.

Brown hare - Yet another that did a good job of eluding me when growing up in Cambridge. I have since sought them
out on Havergate Island in Suffolk and on farmland in Norfolk.

Goldfinch - I remember it being a rarity to see a goldfinch in the garden of my childhood home, but I am glad to say
it is now probably our most common visitor to our bird feeding station.

Hedgehog - Sadly, an animal that I used to see far more often than I do now. I can't remember the last time I saw one
in the wild.

Kingfisher - One of the birds that always gets a warm response. When I have been on trips on the canal boat with my
husband, mother- and father-in-law in the last few years, the sightings have been many!

Marsh harrier - A bird I assumed to be scarce before moving to Norfolk and visiting Strumpshaw Fen!

Otter - I think otters are beautiful, but I have not seen a wild one in a very long time. This might be my next challenge.

Red squirrel - these critters do a very good job of avoiding me, I have been to Kielder forest and not seen one, I have
also been to viewing points in the lake district and not seen one. Seeing one is very high on my 'list' though!

Water vole - Such cute little mammals, I used to see them often when living on campus and regularly walking round the
'lake' at UEA, or on Ecology field trips.