a Maltese gal in the UK

I fancy myself as a bit of a photographer..and living in a new country gives me no end of opportunities to practice. . Obsessively making stuff also gives me plenty of practice....

Since we arrived here, I've been fascinated by this bird.. the common magpie....it is a member of the Corvidae family (the black crow) but looks way more appealing.. I love the flash of teal on its wings. It adds punchiness to the black and white. Incidentally, the Latin name for it is Pica pica which is alliterative I guess. ..because this fellow sounds very much like this.
I finally managed to get close enough to one to take a decent picture. ..they are quite tame, but they do tend to startle �

Besides crafting I also love cooking and baking..and today I thought I'd give a nod to Britain, seeing that this is our home now. My cottage pie...phase 1 and phase 2.  Phase 3 would be the empty dish .�

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