Tuesday 23 June 2015

Black Air Vehicles

B2 Stealth Bomber.  Canon S120
7th June 2015

Today there were some interesting flying objects ambling around in the sky.   There was some form of exercise going on which meant that a B2 stealth bomber flew past!

The racket it made was hardly stealthy however and we could still hear it after it had flown a few miles away.

I then found some smaller flying objects to take pictures of.
Macro of fly.  Nikon D200

White Tips

New shoots.  Nikon D7000
6th June 2015

The tree next door is growing even taller.   The new shoots on the ends of the branches are so pale, they look white.

It looks almost like it is a Christmas tree with candles on it.

Springing from Stone

5th June 2015

Being late Spring, there are very many flowers out now.  This nice purple one is somehow managing to grow out of almost bare rock, yet still have a lush set of blooms.

The bees seem to appreciate it too.

SpongeBob

Muppet and Cherry.  Canon S120
4th June 2015

The sun has been out and the kids have had fun playing in the paddling pool.  

Muppet took one look and decided he would try and absorb all the water; Cherry did what she could to help, but does not have fur that can compete with SpongeBob Muppet!

The kids did not fancy paddling any more now there is a film of smeg and fur on the top of the pool water.

Burial Attempt

Muppet's attempt at burying a ball.  Nikon D7000
3rd June 2015

Muppet has been practicing digging holes in the lawn.  He is progressing at getting a reasonable depth now (deep enough for the mower to fall in and cause serious swearing), but has not sorted out the 'backfill' operation needed to form a successful burial.

At least he will still have access to his toys to play with for a while.

Multi Colours

Multi colour sweets.  Nikon D7000
2nd June 2015

The kids have a box of multi-colour sweets.  If they eat them all, it would only be fair if they puke.

They would just end up super hyper in practice; a grim combination of sugar an E-number colourings.

Friday 19 June 2015

Green and Brown

Ivy.  Nikon D7000
1st June 2015

As Spring moves over to early Summer, there are stacks of green shoots appearing everywhere.

I am not the greatest fan of Ivy as the pollen is a right bugger come the Autumn, but it does make for interesting photos.

I have found by stripping the ivy off the apple tree every few years, it means there are plenty of new shoots to take pictures of :)

Muppet's Hole

New hole in fence made by Muppet.  Nikon D200
31st May 2015

Despite trashing his Nads on the fence the other day, and lots of tie-wraps used for repairs of the wire, Muppet has managed to make another hole to squeeze through.

I do not know how he managed to get through without catching himself again; it is not really fair to make him wear the cone all the time as it does stop him getting through!

First Blush

Black currants.  Canon S120
30th May 2015

The black current bush is covered with berries; so far it looks like 2015 may be great for fruit if I can get to it before the birds.

The green new berries are just showing the first blush of pink.. Not long now.

Small but well formed

Baby apples.  Nikon D200
29th May 2015

The apple trees are hanging with lots of newly formed trainee fruit.

The 'June drop' is approaching, but hopefully there will be a decent crop of apples; I have eaten all the stores from last year that I had in the freezer!

Thursday 18 June 2015

The scratch before the cone

Muppet scratching.  Nikon D200
28th May 2015

Muppet has been coping well with his cone; he does relish those moments however when it is taken off (or he gets it off) and he can have a really good scratch behind the ears.

The cone is much easier to fit than the other option the vet suggested to stop him licking his Nads; that would involve strapping a sock across the key area!

Strange Leaves

Clematis leaf.  Nikon D200
27th May 2015

The other clematis we have on the patio has a very bizarre pattern on its leaves.   The plant seems to be growing and flowering ok, so it does not seem to be too ill.

It will be interesting if the flower petals have interesting patterns too.

Interesting Insect

House Centipede.  Nikon D7000
26th May 2015

Today I spotted an interesting insect on the door frame of the yellow room; a house centipede was lurking looking for a meal.

It is probably mostly the spiders that are at risk from this multi-legged beastie, but the kids were fairly alarmed by it!

I bet there are more lurking around unseen...

"Cos"

Macro of calculator.  Nikon D200
25th May 2015

I have been spending lots of time typing, writing software and developing equations recently.

My calculator has been taking a fair bashing recently, especially the trig functions.

The lettering is beginning to wear off some of the keys, which is rather sad!

Veins

Clematis leaf.  Nikon D200
24th May 2015

The clematis that covers the pergola on the patio is going mad.  There are lots of new delicate leaves.

The sun was shining through the leaves, showing all the fine veins within.

You can also see many of the individual cells.

Wednesday 17 June 2015

Alternative Stripes

Snail on the stump of the plum tree.  Nikon D200
23rd May 2015

The snails in the garden are mostly of the normal 'escargot' type.  This snail has its stripes in a different pattern and seems to like the old plum tree stump.

It would be nice if it showed itself for a picture, but as it is right next to the bird table, it may be a tad dangerous for it.

Poly Orchids

Orchid petal. Nikon D7000
22nd May 2015

The Orchid in the kitchen is in flower at the moment.  The bright purple blooms are spectacular with the evening sun shining through them.

There have been other bright purple orchids in the house too. When Muppet went hunting melon in the chicken pen, it seems he caught his nuts on the fence as he jumped over.

They are now swollen and he looks like Buster Gonad from Viz!

The vets laughed but he now has cream to be applied, and of course the obligatory collar of shame :)

He is getting used to it slowly.
Orchid. Nikon D7000

Muppet with a cone of shame.  Nikon D7000

Muppet can at least catch a bottle now!  Nikon D7000

Here little piggie...

Muppet, Titan and Wriggles.  Nikon D200
21st May 2015

Liz cleaned out the guinea pigs today.  The netting was pegged out on the lawn and Wriggles and Titan had fun chasing around on the grass.  

Muppet was very interested and insisted on trying out his new found fence-flattening skills in order to say 'hello'.

Picked by Pigeons

Damaged Cherry tree.  Nikon D200
20th May 2015

The cherry tree flowered well and had stacks of blossom; all looked promising.

The pigeons have had other ideas however.

They have been sitting on the branches and stripping both the leaves and the developing cherries.

The low-hanging cherries have eluded them though, but the chickens have sorted them out!

There are a few green globes tucked away, but a crop of fruit is not looking promising.


Fruity Muppet

Muppet with Melon.  Canon S120
19th May 2015

Muppet has developed a taste for certain fruits.   He has a particular passion for melon.   I made the mistake of throwing the melon rinds in the chicken pen.  

The chicken pen fence is now trashed, the chickens are out, but Muppet is happy as he has lots of melon rind to chew :)

New Yew

New Yew shoots.  Canon S120
18th May 2015

As Spring advances, more shades of green are appearing each day.

This Yew tree has been perfecting its new shoots which are an interesting pale but almost florescent green colour.

Three

Trike.  Nikon D7000
17th May 2015

Today there was a motorbike parade through the town.  I managed to go down too late and missed it!

There was a trike parked up however that had lots of 'threes'; three wheels, three flags, three lights...

Tuesday 16 June 2015

Pom-Poms and Creases

Creased T-Shirt.  Nikon D200
16th May 2015

The sun was bright today and the washing was drying well.  I could not resist the way the shadows fell across the creases in the T-shirt hanging on the line.

The local carnival went well too, although there were some grim sights parading down the High street.
Carnival.  Nikon D7000

Pink Bush

Wygella, Nikon D200
15th May 2015

The Wygella is bursting into bloom; filling the corner of the garden with a rash of pink.

I did not get around to pruning the bush last year, so it is rather large at the moment.

Give it a few weeks, then it can have a decent severe hack.

Raindrops and Rodents

Rat captured by radar.  Nikon D70S
14th May 2015

It has been heaving down with rain today.   I noticed there have been a few visitors to the garden too; so I set up a radar and an infra red camera to see who it may be.

A couple of chunky rats spent a few hours trotting around.  Grrr.




Raindrops.  Nikon D200

White


Bumble bee on Garlic flowers.  Nikon D200
13th May 2015

There was lots of White today.  The bumble bees have been making the most of the Garlic flowers (it must make the honey flavoursome!) and this evening the clouds were high and pretty.

I also captured some of the daisies in the garden, although they are white, they look almost silvery when seen in infra-red.




Clouds.  Canon S120
Infra Red Daisies.  Nikon D70s


Bright, Yellow and Buttery

Buttercups, Canon S120
12th May 2015

The field on the way back from school is turning yellow with the blooming of the buttercups.

The bees seem to be enjoying the bounty.

The pollen levels are starting to build now though...

Shell-like

Snail.  Nikon D7000
11th May 2015

With a little rain, the shelled residents find it easier to move around.  This little one was moving around down by the pond this morning.

As I moved in close to take a picture, Muppet decided to come and play with the camera strap; I managed only a few pictures before he got too close and the snail hid again in its shell.

Monday 8 June 2015

Tick

Dandelion clock.  Nikon D7000
10th May 2015

Although it is only Spring, there are lots of seeds taking shape in the garden.

The Dandelions have been making the most of the warm weather we had in March and April and there are lots of clocks waiting for the next windy day to spread themselves.

I must pick a few before we end up with a veg plot full of Dandelions.

Chew Toys

Petals and Shoe.  Nikon D7000
9th May 2015

There are lots of objects in the garden that have been taken out by Muppet.  A large proportion are assorted shoes that have been degraded by Lizzy's feet.

Muppet must have no sense of smell or taste!
Muppet and shoe.  Nikon D7000

First purple in the garden

Lilac.  Nikon D7000
8th May 2015

The lilac at the bottom of the garden is now in bloom.  The subtle purple is augmented by the wonderful smell.

Hayfever season is here to stay ...

White out in Spring

Tree 830nm IR.  Nikon D70s
7th May 2015

When viewed deeper into the Infra Red above an 850nm wavelength, green leaves take on a strange snowy appearance.  

Why green stuff reflects IR so much I have no idea, but it does at least make images that are more like what we should have had in winter.

Muppet comes out jet black still, although Xena does seem to reflect some IR however.

Windy Night Flotsam

Flotsam.  Nikon D7000
6th May 2015

Last night was super windy; this morning there was a good covering of leaves from the trees.

The shredded leaves were making interesting patterns on the surface of the pond as they formed into clumps and blew in circles in the remaining breeze.

Ultimate Reds: Infra Peony

Infra Red Garden.  Nikon D70s
5th May 2015

We see vibrant colours all around us all day, but there is lots we cannot see too.   I fired up the infra red camera for a few test images today; they come out with a red sky, but swapping the red and blue channels make an image that looks more normal to us.

Except the grass and leaves glow like crazy!

It is amazing just how much foliage and grass reflects near IR light.

The tree Peony is in bloom again too, providing a decent red that we can see.


Tree Peony.  Nikon D7000
IR Peony.  Nikon D70s

Stone, Steel and Bluebells

Anthony Gormley Sculpture.  Nikon D7000
4th May 2015

We stopped at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park for a few hours today.  The sun was shining and the sheep crap was soft and sticky.   We had great fun educating Alex as to what large-scale sculpture is all about.  There were Moore's and Gormley's, Hepworths and others too.

We also saw some bluebells.

PS.  Happy Star Wars Day :)
Bluebells.  Nikon D7000

Sunday 7 June 2015

Dam Busters

Lady Bower Dam.  Nikon D7000
3rd May 2015

We had a really good walk today, including a visit to the dams that the Dam busters practised on.

The dams are really a spectacular part of the scenery, but the stone walls in the fields are rather spectacular too,

Stone walls.  Nikon D7000


Stuff to make your tip go blue

Pool chalk.  Nikon D7000
2nd May 2015

It has been years since I played pool; I am still crap at it.

I took some time however to make the most of the colours :)