Evening folks — this one starts a bit differently because, honestly, I’ve had a bit of a nap week with the camera. I tried a couple of projects and they just didn’t come off. I spotted a sheep carcass with red kites and buzzards going at it, got proper excited, whizzed across the field and had my little Lagapus hide up in about ten minutes… and then nothing. I’d obviously spooked them, and by the next day the farmer had shifted the carcass anyway. I’ve also got a tall scaffold hide up in the front garden for redwings and bullfinches, and that’s staying up until I get the shots. So instead of forcing it, I conceded defeat, reset, and headed into the woods for a proper chill out: hot tent, tarp, campfire, a bit of whittling, baking bread on the stove with a little oven, and (because it’s been that sort of week) a very small slurp of homemade damson gin. While I’m there, I show two Olight bits that are genuinely useful for wildlife photographers this time of year when it’s dark by 4-ish: the retro-style Olantern for warm, safe tent light (and it doubles as a power bank), and the Marauder Mini 2 — an unbelievably bright torch with flood, spot, and combo modes that I’ve relied on for years.