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| Lizzy's cake. Nikon D7000 |
Although a little belated, Jo made Liz a birthday cake today.
Liz rather liked the generous covering of smarties and chocolate fingers.
Wednesday 21 September 2016
Cake of Sweets
Although a little belated, Jo made Liz a birthday cake today.
Liz rather liked the generous covering of smarties and chocolate fingers.
Pink and Blue
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| Kitchen Plant. Nikon D7000 |
Jo has a new houseplant in the kitchen. The leaves are thick and green and it is good and sturdy. The flower spike is super spectacular however.
The main flower stem is seriously pink, and the flowers are deep blue and white.
Very unusual.
Knock Knock, can I come in?
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| Nugget on the patio by the door. Nikon D7000 |
The chickens spent the day out in the garden.
They wandered all around, and even ventured onto the patio.
They even decided they might like to come into the house ....
We're going on a Deer Hunt...
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| Evening IR sky. Nikon D70s IR |
This evening Jake and I set up some cameras and radar triggers to see if we could capture pictures of deer.
The cameras were taking the photographs in Infra-Red so that the deer could not see the flash.
We heard lots of deer; they were super noisy.
We did not manage to photograph any however :(
Sunday 11 September 2016
Taking pictures of the Dogs' balls
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| Dogs' balls. Nikon D7000 |
I had to crouch very low on the lawn today to get a close and low perspective on the dogs' balls.
I managed to take this picture, then was reframing for another shot, when Muppet came and removed the blue one :(
Avoiding a little prick
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| Bee on Thistle. Nikon D7000 |
I spotted this bumblebee today treading very carefully on the head of this thistle.
The nectar in the flowers must really have been worth risking a little prick.
Busy Snails
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| Snail Trails. Nikon D7000 |
The light this evening glanced across the bricks on the side of the house and lit up all the snail trails which are criss-crossing the wall.
In a few more years, we may have a shiny house.
Twisted and Green
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| Sweet Pea. Nikon D7000 |
The sweet peas are still growing well.
Anything that gets close however, can get grabbed and thoroughly wrapped and captured by the mass of tendrils.
I had better move the tripod back a bit.
Not vegetable
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| Steak. Fuji F10 |
Just occasionally, it is good to have a meal which is not biased towards vegetables.
Tonight was one of those days.
Although potato, chips do not count as veg really?
Buscot Canal
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| Typha. Nikon D7000 |
We had a wander this afternoon along the canal at Buscot.
The path along the river section leads across the fields to Kelmscott. There are stacks of willow trees waving their frond-like leaves over the water.
Would make a good wallpaper pattern...
Peck and Scratch
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| Chickens. Fuji F10 |
The chickens have been released from their pen today so that they could have a good scratch around.
Hopefully their forays today will yield decent eggs.
Wet Ears
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| Wet Dogs. Fuji F10 |
The dogs do like a swim on a hot Summers day.
They do not appreciate ears full of water though.
At least Xena has shaken some of the water off before standing next to me and clearing the rest.
Panda
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| Panda. Nikon D7000 |
Lizzy's panda had a wash today.
Just like washing a pillow, the stuffing has got a bit knotted and gone lumpy.
I am sure she will not notice :)
Poor Timing
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| Custard. Fuji F10 |
I made a little mistake this evening while cooking custard to go with the apple crumble.
I hit the wrong button and put it on for 3 minutes instead of two.
Much of the custard ejected from the jug, but there was a bit left, albeit lumpy.
Going Straight
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| Bananas. Fuji F10 |
I popped to the supermarket today and could not resist the bunch of bananas which contained to really quite straight ones!
They fit in the bowl better being this shape, but I am sure they will all taste the same.
Gnats
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| Gnats. Nikon D7000 |
Today is a classic Summers day, with plenty of shafts of bright sunlight tip-toeing through the boughs of the apple tree.
In one of the beams, the local Gnats were having a good dance; they pose a real challenge for the camera autofocus too!
Froglette
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| Froglette. Fuji F10 |
The contents of the pond are starting to make their way out onto the leaves.
This little froglet was taking a chance being very high up on a lilly leaf; I am sure the local birds were keeping an eye on it.
Hunting Nectar
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| Bumble bee. Fuji F10 |
The strawberries are flowering well still and this bumble bee was doing its best to visit each flower.
As it landed on each flower, its weight made all the stems bend quite dramatically.
I had a closer look around its waist though; it seems to have some passengers attached to it, which I am sure is not ideal.
Tuesday 6 September 2016
Colours: Pale pink
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| Pale pink. Fuji F10 |
It has been a while since I photographed anything specifically for its colour.
Today I rather liked the 'lilac pink' of the flowers on the mantlepiece.
Out with the old..
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| Library at Birmingham University. Fuji F10 |
I was visiting the University of Birmingham today and learned that their rather nice old red-brick library building is due for demolition shortly.
Shame, I prefer the look of the old building to the new one they have replaced it with.
Eerie Shadows
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| Shadows. Fuji F10 |
The clematis on the patio has grown heaps so far this year.
I turned on the outside light this evening and instead of shining down the garden, it cast eerie shadows on the wall..
Monday 5 September 2016
One that got away
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| Stray Clove. Fuji F10 |
There are a number of recipes we eat on a regular basis that use herbs and spices in a 'free will' mode.
The game of go-fish is entertaining, but often there is one that gets away.
Luckily this clove was found by eye, rather than by biting into it.
Everyday Objects: Signage
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| Signage. Fuji F10 |
There are many items we encounter everyday in our lives that pass us by.
I was in London today and realised after a while that in walking from the car park I had taken a wrong turn and the underground station was not where it should have been.
Luckily the distinctive signage helped me out after I managed to stumble on the correct street.
Josta few
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| Josta berries. Fuji F10 |
The Jostaberry bush has been a bit of a challenge over the years. I gave it a severe hack over the Winter and it has sprouted profusely, and it sort of fruited this year.
The fruit load is really not worth the effort however, so it may be the spade this Winter....
Black and Yellow
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| Blackbird. Nikon D7000 |
There was a blackbird today that seemed to be spending rather a lot of time around the patio.
Normally they are very transient visitors, but I first wondered if this one was injured.
I decided that it was just vanity, as it flew off shortly after I took its picture and did not bother to come back.
Sweet in Pink
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| Sweet pea. Nikon D7000 |
The perennial sweet pea plant is now in bloom and there are a decent crop of pink flowers all over it.
I must remember to try to keep dead-heading it and removing the pods so that the blooms continue for a good time.
Sunday 4 September 2016
The first of the fallen
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| Fallen Apples. Canon S120 |
The cooking apple tree has lots of trainee fruit on it, however, the first few are starting to drop.
There is always a thinning, but the tree has always had an issue with 'issues'.
I will wait a few more weeks for the fruit to ripen a tad more before I start to turn them into crumbles; there is only so much 'sour' I can take.
Nuts and Beetles
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| Nut and Beetle, Nikon D7000 |
The hazelnuts on the tree are improving daily; they are swelling and developing all the proper shapes that nuts should have.
The local beetles seem to think that there may be future promise too.
All frills
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| Poppy. Nikon D7000 |
The veg plot is doing far better at growing weeds again this year than veg.
The fruit trees and bushes are doing well, and at least many of the 'weeds' like this poppy look really rather pretty.
If nettles looked pretty, I may not hate them so much, given they zapped me again today :(
Significant Wood
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| Wood shed. Nikon D7000 |
After a fair effort with the saw, the woodshed is looking well stacked. Although the weather is still warm, having lost weight, the Winter may feel colder....
False, but feisty
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| False Widow Spider. Canon S120 |
I have mined my way to the back of the wood stack now. The wood shed is not empty however ....
A shine of the torch causes a scurry of motion as the spiders all look for new crevices to hide in.
There are quite a high proportion of 'interesting' spiders too; the false widows not only look like their deadly cousins, but apparently can give a fair bite too.
Luckily they do not have the venom content :)
Dusty
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| Moth. Canon S120 |
While sorting out some more of the wood in the garden, I found this moth hiding amongst the planks.
It was covered in dust from the wood, even though moths seem quite good at making their own dust from their wings.
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