Well... here we are in 2017 - we all thought 2016 was pretty bad with the likes of Bowie and Leonard leaving us...but what does this year have in store? A new POTUS... the start of Brexit... civil unrest all over Europe... ISIS growing in influence... it does look a bit bleak...
BUT despite all that the natural world continues... "So this old world must still be spinning round, and I still love you" to quote James Taylor. Whatever the news throws at us, we can delight in nature... we can all enjoy a sunset, the first blooms of spring, birdsong...
Photographically January can be great or awful...being at the mercy of the weather - personally I have been lacking inspiration, certainly during the middle part of the month but hopefully that is behind me now...
The start of January gave us some decent weather so a family trip to Ickworth House, near Bury St Edmunds resulted in a handful of landscapes showing lovely parkland oak trees, some of which were stag's-headed... these are great for wildlife...
Even an old stump provides habitat for fungi, algae, lichen, birds and mammals, as well as a fine architectural feature in the landscape.
Amongst these large oaks, are a number of mature lime trees complete with stands of mistletoe - always great to see...
The final tree of note, this one growing near the car park is known as the "tea-party oak", thought to be over 700 years old it was the favourite place for local children to meet for picnics...
I also managed a few more shots at my bird feeding station - a bit disappointed with the species and numbers here but that is probably due to the proximity of a disused orchard which must be stacked full of food... however, I did manage...
Blue tit... full of inquisitiveness...
Collared dove...
Displaying robins - a dispute over feeding rights...settled by a bit of posturing...
Long-tailed tit...
And another robin, because they just look the part in a winter woodland...
I took the opportunity to start photographing lichens - fascinating group of organisms - made up of a fungi and an algae living in a mutual relationship. The fungi protects the algae, the algae breaks down the substrate providing nutrients. There are many different types, some pollution tolerant, others only grow where the air is clean. The ones below belong to the former group and are common and widespread...
The neighbouring fen has been underwater since mid December and a recent spell of cold, clear weather did give the opportunity to spend some time on landscapes...the day spent taking these (and many others) was the highlight on January... enjoy.
My final selection this month are some images of ice - I have always been fascinated by ice as a subject - mainly puddle ice. The textures and colours that appear can be stunning. The following images are of ice formed in vegetation along the banks of a large Fenland drainage channel...
All images were taken with my 200mm macro lens and the colours have not been enhanced or altered...
And that about wraps it up for this month; hopefully some more plants and the first insects will show themselves in February.
Peace and love to all out there wherever you are.
TTFN
BUT despite all that the natural world continues... "So this old world must still be spinning round, and I still love you" to quote James Taylor. Whatever the news throws at us, we can delight in nature... we can all enjoy a sunset, the first blooms of spring, birdsong...
Photographically January can be great or awful...being at the mercy of the weather - personally I have been lacking inspiration, certainly during the middle part of the month but hopefully that is behind me now...
The start of January gave us some decent weather so a family trip to Ickworth House, near Bury St Edmunds resulted in a handful of landscapes showing lovely parkland oak trees, some of which were stag's-headed... these are great for wildlife...
Even an old stump provides habitat for fungi, algae, lichen, birds and mammals, as well as a fine architectural feature in the landscape.
Amongst these large oaks, are a number of mature lime trees complete with stands of mistletoe - always great to see...
The final tree of note, this one growing near the car park is known as the "tea-party oak", thought to be over 700 years old it was the favourite place for local children to meet for picnics...
I also managed a few more shots at my bird feeding station - a bit disappointed with the species and numbers here but that is probably due to the proximity of a disused orchard which must be stacked full of food... however, I did manage...
Blue tit... full of inquisitiveness...
Collared dove...
Displaying robins - a dispute over feeding rights...settled by a bit of posturing...
Long-tailed tit...
And another robin, because they just look the part in a winter woodland...
I took the opportunity to start photographing lichens - fascinating group of organisms - made up of a fungi and an algae living in a mutual relationship. The fungi protects the algae, the algae breaks down the substrate providing nutrients. There are many different types, some pollution tolerant, others only grow where the air is clean. The ones below belong to the former group and are common and widespread...
The neighbouring fen has been underwater since mid December and a recent spell of cold, clear weather did give the opportunity to spend some time on landscapes...the day spent taking these (and many others) was the highlight on January... enjoy.
My final selection this month are some images of ice - I have always been fascinated by ice as a subject - mainly puddle ice. The textures and colours that appear can be stunning. The following images are of ice formed in vegetation along the banks of a large Fenland drainage channel...
All images were taken with my 200mm macro lens and the colours have not been enhanced or altered...
And that about wraps it up for this month; hopefully some more plants and the first insects will show themselves in February.
Peace and love to all out there wherever you are.
TTFN
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