I noticed Keith's mention of the new word verification being introduced by Blogger just after I had battled with it on a couple of sites. Talk about Over The Top! The old system could be difficult to read at times but the new one is awful, stupidly complex, a real bug bear when you read and want to comment on several blogs. What should be a pleasant pastime becomes a chore.
I found a link on Keith's blog to Theresa's blog post
HERE where she puts a point of view I entirely agree with and an explanation of how to set up Blogger to remove word verification. I ditched it some time ago though I do use comment moderation to filter out the occasional comments which are really just advertising or irrelevant to my topics.
TIP
If you come across one of the modern word verification monstrosities and what you are presented with is unreadable, click on the circular arrow nearby which keeps changing what is offered. I had to do this several times before finding one which was easily readable on a blog where I wanted to ask for some information.
I think there will be a steady build up of protests in the Blogger Feature Suggestions and Feedback section of Blogger Forums which can be found
HERE.
Unwelcome Visitor
Yes, I know Sparrowhawks have to eat but there are times I wish they would look somewhere else. I had just transferred some video clips to the PC and was mounting the camcorder back on its tripod when I spotted this Sparrowhawk sat on top of the Birdy Bistro. Most of the feeders hang below the wood it is standing on.
It looks as though it was unsuccessful this time, in my garden anyway, and took off when another bird made a sound and gave away its position.