And surely there have been buckets of rain falling on the UK - seemingly for ages and ages... It has been getting more and more difficult to get out and about with the camera as each day dawns with a leaden menace glowering though the trees... either that or slumber is broken by the steady sound of rain on the roof...
Seeing as I am driven to sit behind a computer I have taken to trawling through my back catalogue - just to see what images I can find... to remind me that it doesn't rain ALL the time (unless you live in Somerset that is)... I have also been putting together a portfolio of shots to send off to a calendar firm... they don't pay too badly so once those are sorted I can post them off and see what they have to say... I'm sending off a mixture of images from their wants list - York City Centre, landscapes, British wildlife... if successful it will give me great encouragement to get out and keep shooting...
I did get out briefly along the river in Ely where I was overtaken by the Cambridge University Boat Race team...
I've always barracked for Oxford so living over here I have divided loyalties...
I wonder if they will find the crock of gold...?
So, what did I find in my archive? Well somewhere I would like to be...
...a nice warm beach in the sun...
or maybe somewhere like this...
...lovely bit of broad-leaved woodland with a stream. I remember being here and listening to redstart and pied flycatcher singing... Ahhh... a British woodland in the summer...
Or possibly somewhere where I can see plants like this...
Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum)
Bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)... both plants photographed growing in the grikes of limestone pavement. For those who are not familiar with limestone pavement, the stone weathers into a series of blocks called clints which are separated by deep fissures called grikes. These fissures develop their own micro-climate and support all manner of ferns, mosses and higher plants. If you are ever lucky enough to visit an area of limestone pavement... enjoy... it is fascinating... and it can be quite spectacular...
Malham Cove, Yorkshire Dales National Park...
I did manage a swift trip to the fen the other day... not even an hour before the cloud settled in again. However, I did manage to shoot a distant shot of...
six little egret (Egretta garzetta). You know, I can remember when this lovely little heron first started to appear here - and it wasn't that long ago - I twitched my first one in 1994 - 20 years ago... now they are breeding in many places and spreading up through the country. My highest count was on the Somerset levels in 2001 where I saw 34 in one field... How quickly species can colonize should the habitat and climate be suitable...
The Konik ponies were also grazing near the path and I couldn't resist...
They remind me a little bit of stripe-less zebras...
...and I also captured this guy...
Eurasian coot (Fulica atra)... a bird with attitude...
So, what did I find in the archives?
Well and bit of this...
Cornfield under a summer sky...
a bit of that...
damselfly on an ornamental lily...
and a bit of this...
Great grey owl (Strix nebulosa)
Our garden did give us one ray of hope...
So not a very productive week... image-wise, but I have been able to get some admin done... I'm trying to run a paper-free office but that is so hard with all the nonsense the post delivers everyday... I maybe reduced to buying some bulldog clips...
I hope you can keep up with me here on Facebook or here on Flickr; maybe you are on LinkedIn and want to get connected... I shall be updating my website in the coming week... so keep an eye out for that.
Hope you all have a good week... January has gone, February is now throwing all it can at us... good luck down in Somerset and the West Country..
TTFN
Seeing as I am driven to sit behind a computer I have taken to trawling through my back catalogue - just to see what images I can find... to remind me that it doesn't rain ALL the time (unless you live in Somerset that is)... I have also been putting together a portfolio of shots to send off to a calendar firm... they don't pay too badly so once those are sorted I can post them off and see what they have to say... I'm sending off a mixture of images from their wants list - York City Centre, landscapes, British wildlife... if successful it will give me great encouragement to get out and keep shooting...
I did get out briefly along the river in Ely where I was overtaken by the Cambridge University Boat Race team...
I've always barracked for Oxford so living over here I have divided loyalties...
I wonder if they will find the crock of gold...?
So, what did I find in my archive? Well somewhere I would like to be...
...a nice warm beach in the sun...
or maybe somewhere like this...
...lovely bit of broad-leaved woodland with a stream. I remember being here and listening to redstart and pied flycatcher singing... Ahhh... a British woodland in the summer...
Or possibly somewhere where I can see plants like this...
Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum)
Bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)... both plants photographed growing in the grikes of limestone pavement. For those who are not familiar with limestone pavement, the stone weathers into a series of blocks called clints which are separated by deep fissures called grikes. These fissures develop their own micro-climate and support all manner of ferns, mosses and higher plants. If you are ever lucky enough to visit an area of limestone pavement... enjoy... it is fascinating... and it can be quite spectacular...
Malham Cove, Yorkshire Dales National Park...
I did manage a swift trip to the fen the other day... not even an hour before the cloud settled in again. However, I did manage to shoot a distant shot of...
six little egret (Egretta garzetta). You know, I can remember when this lovely little heron first started to appear here - and it wasn't that long ago - I twitched my first one in 1994 - 20 years ago... now they are breeding in many places and spreading up through the country. My highest count was on the Somerset levels in 2001 where I saw 34 in one field... How quickly species can colonize should the habitat and climate be suitable...
The Konik ponies were also grazing near the path and I couldn't resist...
They remind me a little bit of stripe-less zebras...
...and I also captured this guy...
Eurasian coot (Fulica atra)... a bird with attitude...
So, what did I find in the archives?
Well and bit of this...
Cornfield under a summer sky...
a bit of that...
damselfly on an ornamental lily...
and a bit of this...
Great grey owl (Strix nebulosa)
Our garden did give us one ray of hope...
So not a very productive week... image-wise, but I have been able to get some admin done... I'm trying to run a paper-free office but that is so hard with all the nonsense the post delivers everyday... I maybe reduced to buying some bulldog clips...
I hope you can keep up with me here on Facebook or here on Flickr; maybe you are on LinkedIn and want to get connected... I shall be updating my website in the coming week... so keep an eye out for that.
Hope you all have a good week... January has gone, February is now throwing all it can at us... good luck down in Somerset and the West Country..
TTFN
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