July came to an end and as far as I'm concerned it can go without my blessing. The last two and a half weeks have been pretty awful as far as a photographer of the natural world is concerned... chilly, strong winds, rain, clouds...dull. Just occasionally there has been a bright day...just occasionally. I'm hoping August will be kinder, but it hasn't started too promisingly.
The month started with my son's 9th birthday (9!!!, how did that happen?) - a day out to Blenheim Palace was his treat - some interesting photo opportunities...
A few days after this I photographed a school prom - sixteen year olds in suits and ball gowns dancing, laughing, joking and relaxing after exams... you know the kind of thing. I won't publish images as I don't have permission from the children, but it was an enjoyable evening...
I have managed to get out on the fen every so often; on one day I found one of our most spectacular insects... Volucella zonania - the hornet mimic hoverfly. Completely harmless and stunning...
In between showers I found a small area of waste ground in my home village - these can be dull but conversely can be the only refuge for wildlife in an area. I recommend you seek out waste ground in your cities, towns and villages and see what you can find... I found this...
Salsify (Tragapogon porrifolius) - uncommon...and rather delightful...
A bright sunny day (another rarity) on a weekend gave me the chance to explore the fen for a good number of hours...and I wasn't disappointed:
Arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia)
Flowering-rush (Butomus umbellatus)
This extraordinary plant is greater dodder (Cuscuta europaea) - it is a parasite, primarily on stinging nettles, which doesn't explain why it is rare...but it is. I've long wanted to see this plant, and finding my own really made my day. It reminds me of the red-weed in H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.
Southern hawker (Aeshna cyanea) at rest on a grass stem. My picture of the month...
A trip on a showery day to a nature reserve near Peterborough proved to be disappointing and excellent at the same time (if that is possible)... With my good friend Nick (an excellent field naturalist) we went in search of crested cow-wheat (a rare species of woodland edges on calcareous soils, restricted in distribution to Eastern England here in the UK). This site is a know location for it and a mutual friend had seen it there last year. Unfortunately we failed to find it... maybe too early or just not observant enough... but we failed...dipped! However, we did find...
Latticed heath (Chiasmia clathrata clathrata) - day flying moth nectaring on wild thyme.
Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)
Silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia)... so not a bad day after all...
Our final trip out this month was too the Norfolk coast...and the weather really did us proud; typical of the month...
And finally...the last hurrah for July...I wandered out into the garden and happened across this gorgeous beast, curled up in the sun...
Grass snake (Natrix natrix) - just beautiful; the cloudy eye would indicate that the animal is about to slough the skin. I hope I find it...
Nikon turned 100 this month... HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKON... my favourite brand of camera...
And that about wraps it up for July... I hope to see you all in August... keep the passion.
Love and peace to you all
A.
The month started with my son's 9th birthday (9!!!, how did that happen?) - a day out to Blenheim Palace was his treat - some interesting photo opportunities...
A few days after this I photographed a school prom - sixteen year olds in suits and ball gowns dancing, laughing, joking and relaxing after exams... you know the kind of thing. I won't publish images as I don't have permission from the children, but it was an enjoyable evening...
I have managed to get out on the fen every so often; on one day I found one of our most spectacular insects... Volucella zonania - the hornet mimic hoverfly. Completely harmless and stunning...
In between showers I found a small area of waste ground in my home village - these can be dull but conversely can be the only refuge for wildlife in an area. I recommend you seek out waste ground in your cities, towns and villages and see what you can find... I found this...
Salsify (Tragapogon porrifolius) - uncommon...and rather delightful...
A bright sunny day (another rarity) on a weekend gave me the chance to explore the fen for a good number of hours...and I wasn't disappointed:
Arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia)
Flowering-rush (Butomus umbellatus)
This extraordinary plant is greater dodder (Cuscuta europaea) - it is a parasite, primarily on stinging nettles, which doesn't explain why it is rare...but it is. I've long wanted to see this plant, and finding my own really made my day. It reminds me of the red-weed in H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.
Southern hawker (Aeshna cyanea) at rest on a grass stem. My picture of the month...
A trip on a showery day to a nature reserve near Peterborough proved to be disappointing and excellent at the same time (if that is possible)... With my good friend Nick (an excellent field naturalist) we went in search of crested cow-wheat (a rare species of woodland edges on calcareous soils, restricted in distribution to Eastern England here in the UK). This site is a know location for it and a mutual friend had seen it there last year. Unfortunately we failed to find it... maybe too early or just not observant enough... but we failed...dipped! However, we did find...
Latticed heath (Chiasmia clathrata clathrata) - day flying moth nectaring on wild thyme.
Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)
Silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia)... so not a bad day after all...
Our final trip out this month was too the Norfolk coast...and the weather really did us proud; typical of the month...
And finally...the last hurrah for July...I wandered out into the garden and happened across this gorgeous beast, curled up in the sun...
Grass snake (Natrix natrix) - just beautiful; the cloudy eye would indicate that the animal is about to slough the skin. I hope I find it...
Nikon turned 100 this month... HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKON... my favourite brand of camera...
And that about wraps it up for July... I hope to see you all in August... keep the passion.
Love and peace to you all
A.
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