As per usual, this year we did not buy each other presents. He's just had a mumble-zero birthday which provided a big iOptron SkyTracker with a telescope still to come, and I am the proud parent of an iPad Pro, so be honest, what more could we possibly buy? However, we did have a couple of gifts from friends and I placed them on the kitchen table at breakfast time, after which the conversation went:
M: We're not doing gifts this year, are we?
J: Not to the best of my knowledge
M: So is this it then? (looking at the kitchen table)
J: Yep, I haven't done anything sneaky
at which point he rushes out of the kitchen, and re-appears with one arm behind his back.
and he's grinning . . .
at which point I knew he'd done something sneaky. . .
And the story of that sneakiness is that one afternoon in early December he was working at home and I was conveniently out of the house, probably walking Daisy. A chap came to the door doing the "unsolicited selling" thing. Management thought about it, found some cash, and handed over what was probably an exorbitant amount (I've forbidden him to tell me what he spent), and then had the exceptionally bright idea of hiding the evidence until Christmas Day.
Which has netted him a zillion brownie points. He's a bluddy clever chap, but then we knew that - after all, he chose me!
To stay I am stunned and delighted is a massive under-statement. On the rare occasions I have been able to get a higher view of the garden (when the roof was done, and when we were rebuilding the log pile) I have absolutely loved it but this is really beyond any dream or expectation. Every time I look at the picture I am blown away; I have never before seen the evidence of all our work laid out in its entirety.
Scanning the image at very high resolution in TIFF has given me a 65MB sized file and the amount of detail I can see in it is mind-blowing.
For the time being, everyone else will have to make do with this one, a mere 3.5MB. In time I will update the "Finding your way around Bag End" page - I guess there is no longer a need for my out-of-date cartoon attempt :-}

Management is now researching drone-cameras in case I want a monthly "Aerial View From".
I'm encouraging him!
Wow
ReplyDeletewow indeed Ann :-}. M. can dine out on this one for years.
DeleteHe is definitely a keeper! What a wonderful gift xx
ReplyDeleteHe has his moment Hawthorn :-} !! But yes, a fabulous gift.
DeleteDon't ask the price of the drones either... I've looked. 'Cos I want one too :)
ReplyDelete{{LOL]]. I thought you might like this. And I think I know just how much the drones are, well, decent ones. Maybe just a little cheap one to try it out?
Delete(I know, and the cheap one won't work, or the photos will be cr*p, or it will crash and we'll end up having to get the decent one that we originally rejected. . . Seeing as I was the test pilot for our Trailcams, I nominate you and Mike to test drive for a sensible done!)
not sure what you mean by trailcam, but we got some cute aerial photos of the beach yesterday by attaching a camera to a kite, wonder if this would work for garden photos x
DeleteThe Trailcam is a motion-activated wildlife camera which can take either stills or video. We have one by Bushnell, but other are available. Have a look on Amazon or a general 'google' and you'll find plenty.
DeleteLove the idea of using a kite, it certainly has been windy enough recently to make that a real possibility :-}
Your place looks fantastic. Great job, both of you!
ReplyDeleteThank you :-}
DeleteThat's great! Well done him for the sneakiness. We had that knock on the door a couple of years ago and bought it too. We can even just about see a couple of the dogs and John doing something in the garden. Need another one now we've had the work finished too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amanda. We have one of our Hampshire house too, must dig it out for comparison.
DeleteYou could get a drone and take your own pictures then you could be certain of getting all the dogs included!
The garden has certainly transformed since when we saw it. When you started talking about not having seen the garden from higher up I was thinking that M had drone behind his back.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great gift. You'll have to tell him not to buy you anything more often.
ReplyDeleteGood idea Jo!
DeleteGreat picture! What a transformation.
ReplyDeleteI've been looking at buying a DJI Osmo camera. Same company do drones.
Cheers Martyn, I'll have a look at them
DeleteThat's brilliant. They are completely illegal over here as far as I know. I've just read through the posts I missed whilst away and glad you could get out a bit. Have a good week and take care.
ReplyDeleteThere are restrictions on drone use, and the idiots who don't follow the guidelines will ensure that one day they are probably banned here too.
DeleteHope you have had a good Christmas.
what a wonderful picture and your garden looks gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThank you, we've worked hard to create the garden and at the plane's altitude all the weedy bits don't show, but in light of the current flooding none of it seems very important any more :-{
DeleteWhat a lovely present ,,, such a fantastic view of your garden.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jill. I still have not stopped smiling every time I see it :-}
Delete