You might laugh but actually my pockets are stuffed with hats, often the cold weather one first thing then sunhat by mid day, I don’t have a top hat for the evening though, don’t suppose many ecologists do these days.
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I don’t doubt it, but I afraid the facetious remark popped into my head because of your profile picture.
Funnily enough I do have a top hat, which I bought in an antique shop in Inverness.
I am SO relieved that it is done. It is interesting how few of the Recipients have acknowledged the 
praise.And I suspect Janice has not yet realised
Well done, you have made a thoughtful and comprehensive review in spite of the tight timescale. I cannot meet your standards, I am afraid 
The idea is that anyone can have a go and it does not have to be polished or long, just need to choose something you like and say a bit about why you like it.
Och yes, thank you Mike. Of course you are right and I do know that, I think I just had a ‘moment’ when I thought I won’t be able to reproduce Derek’s excellence so maybe I should say that. I will try to Keep It Simple since I suspect that’s all I’ll be able to do ! Thanks for replying. M
I second what Mike has said. The judges decision is final and by definition the Observation of the Month. Your approach and decision will be just as valid and just as good Derek’s.
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I’m doing it in July, fingers crossed the issues are sorted by then as otherwise it’s going to be a real chore - I feel for you mags! My plan is just to choose my personal favourite, give my justification and mention a small number of others that I also liked.
I will support anyone who asks ([email protected]). Can easily produce the Atlas of Month’s Observations at the last minute, if I’m online.
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In principle, I’d be happy to do one. But I think I’d be wise to wait until it is clear which direction my eye issues are heading. It wouldn’t be fair to judge observations if I couldn’t see the photos clearly.
Is there any idea at all when the site issues will be resolved please? I appreciate this is such a difficult situation for everyone, however I’m so sorry, but I just don’t feel I could do July’s obs of the month if it’s like it is, especially with my work and everything. I use either my iPad or phone and trying to view the posts currently is so very time consuming, not to mention frustrating, and so other than posting a few observations, i’m just not engaging as much with the site. I’d also be worried about missing some and not doing the posters justice. I therefore wanted to give as much notice as possible. Obviously if the issues are resolved then I will gladly do it in July as planned. If not, I’m happy to move to another month when things are back up and running. Absolute hats off to dejay and mags for this month and last, and apologies again if I have to back out of July.
It may be best to put observation of the month on hold until the site issues are resolved. The programmers have a plan, they know what to do, but it is unlikely to be a quick fix as it is rather complicated to implement, so it may be very slow to do the filtering for a while yet.
Thanks for this input, Mike. Re June, I’ll keep trying till I can’t try any more!!!
I have a table with some picks to which I am adding as I go.
Watch this space for news 
I agree, the difficulties are probably too great to be able to filter properly and the site often appears as if it has crashed. I think it would be a pity to work hard and not get the rewards or praise it deserves
There are over 1200 Obs already and with a week to run there are likely to be over 1500.
I would be glad to do a summary, with a map and a few trends (Maggie?) if you would like to relax a little. Beyond that, I think, as Mike wisely suggests, it may be best on hold for a while.
Photo removed by me
That’s fine - in that case I’ll presume there won’t be one in July (unless things get sorted by then) but i’m happy to do August instead if the issues are resolved - if not I wouldn’t be able to do Sept or Oct but could do November. Cheers
I’ll talk to Mike and suggest my summary will serve as a June Entry (@mags49?) but WON’T have any Observations of the month. I can do this ‘last minuteish’
I think it still is worth having the link on the home page and I will write WHY we are not doing an Observation of the Month. I may do the same for July, subject to any other offers or improvement in the site’s behaviour. I am NOT volunteering for July’s Observation of the month (only a summary, if that’s OK) I am able to be flexible over these.
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Apologies for delayed response. Good idea (of course) and also thoughtful suggestion, thank you. Yes, worthwhile to highlight reasons, not a lack of will or interest in the concept. I made such a good start too, then the site issues began to impact!
OK, I am in 
Prep Mode - Observations in June
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I hope everyone has now seen the review via the Home page News:
I have just submitted the July report
There seems to be no planning for the August one (of any sort)
To be honest, there is so little feedback (three comments) or general interest, it MIGHT be worth a ‘rest’.
The Reports do not take long to compile ( a few hours) but it would be best done (if at all) by someone from Admin who would have much better access to display, layout and research. It does need to be illustrated and held on the home page which itself needs far more regular maintenance and interest.
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