Hello Owl, I'm new here too - and just wanted to say that your thread is anything but boring! You are not alone...I know only too well that feeling of having forgotten oodles of the plant info that was so readily in my head years ago..... Hopefully, it's all still in there somewhere, if a little rusty.....I'm sure this wonderful website will help jog our i.d. skills back into action! Also, my camera "skills" amount to pointing and shooting a small 'family snaps' digital camera, which I sometimes use with my binoculars (oh - for a digiscope!) to get more close up shots of my garden birds. However, as most of the time I'm trying not to drop camera and bins into the kitchen sink, they do tend to come out very out of focus!
Looking forward to swapping wildlife news. It must be lovely to get away from the crowds and live on the Isle of Wight. Have you seen the Red Squirrels yet?
All the best,
Willow