The house I live in has a fabulous piece of ground behind it which used to be an old orchard, unfortunately I dont own it but you get a great view of it from my bedroom window. At the moment there are a couple of foxes that have adopted it as their home, and if you stay long enough you get a glimpse of them going about their business. This morning I looked out of the window to see what the weather was doing and there they were, one was walking around and disappeared behind the fence whilst the other one decided to settle down for a wash and a kip! (must have had a hard night on the town!) It was lovely to see them and so out in the open! So I grabbed the camera and took a few photos to see what came out on this my last blog of May, now these are not the best images, the lens was at full stretch and so I apologise for the lack of sharpness but I was so happy to be watching them that technicality went out the window! This one was oblivious to my efforts and settled down to sleep…..I wonder if foxes dream???
Archive for the ‘May 2012’ Category
41 Day 120 – Out Foxed Leave a comment
41 Day 119 – Psychedelic Cherries! Leave a comment
Weird title I hear you say! Youre right! It was my work colleague’s birthday today (I wont tell you how young she was!) and upon arriving at the office she pulled out one of her birthday gifts from her bag…..now it has been getting quite warm in the office of late and so one of her gifts was a small USB fan that runs off a keyboard (or USB port). The difference with this fan was that it has a row of led lights along one edge and so when she plugged it in and turned it on wow it was like a miniature fairground ride!! So I just had to take a photo of it! Its great! I want one! The second image again I just couldnt resist, my other work colleague brought in a bag of fresh cherries and as you will see they just looked sooooo good! The theme today I think is all about colours!Hence the title! (The cherries didnt taste bad either!)
41 Day 118 – Garden Delight 5 comments
Gardening and flowers, borders and containers….regardless of what it is as long as its in the garden I love it! I have always had a fascination for gardens for as long as I can remember. All my grandparents were exceptionally good at gardening and growing and they all used to take the time to show me different plants and vegetables and explain their names and what they were. My Maternal grandfather George was a superb gardener and from the moment I could toddle accross his immaculate striped lawn he shared his passion of all things horticulture with me. I dont remember this but my parents say that he used to pick me up in his arms and walk me round all the plants and veg and tell me the Latin names as well as the common names…apparently I was the ony one allowed to pick the tomatoes from the greenhouse! I definately remember the smell of them, so fresh and tasty…..I also remember landing up sat in the cucumber cold frame!!! Now I am older I indulge my passion further by visiting National Trust Gardens and houses, camera at the ready of course! These little beauties were a little closer to home tonight, residing in a front garden 4 dooors up the road! I asked permission to photograph them and the lady was more than happy for them to become stars of this blog!
41 Day 117 – Dogs Day Out Leave a comment
Whilst out this weekend with my trusty camera I spotted these chaps enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. I was actually shooting something completely different but inbetween shots whilst waiting I looked around and saw these little chaps (and I know they were boys because I asked their owners!) I cant put all the photos up on here but I have selected a couple which seemto have captured a moment in their day, waiting for their ownerto decide what to do next, patient (or not as the case may be) always ready for action and definately ready for fun!
41 Day 116 – White Chair Hidden Peace Leave a comment
How often do I look out my window and glance across the gardens that line up with my own? Loads, probably hundreds of times….but never once have I noticed the white chair placed amongst the foliage of a neighbours garden. Probably because it has been strategically placed to be unseen….but taking a longer look at this garden you start to wonder….this is not a pair of chairs….a place to be shared with a loved one or a welcome visitor….no, this is just one chair…a solitary, solo, single chair….maybe there to fulfill someones desire to be alone, to take a breather from life, to retreat to a silent quiet place alone. But this is not a sad chair, it is bright and shiny, it sits in a beautiful cottage garden full of greenery and flowers, warming in the sun! A most happy chair!
41 Day 115 – Pine fresh 3 comments
Yeap, completely unoriginal but hey! Ive taken to having a little lunch time wander round the estate that I work on mainly to stretch the legs but also to catch a glimpse of the recent summer weather! Being shut away in an office for almost 8hrs a day means that you get to miss all the best weather so Ive decided that if its dry Im walking!! This image was actually taken on my phone but it still looks fairly clear, the subject well thats not so clear! The most I know about this is that its a kind of flower from a pine tree, I have no idea what species of pine it is but the flower is what changes into the pine cones that then fall off and litter the roads around the estate….a really interesting process from flower to seed but unfortuantely not quite the happy ending for some of the cones!
41 Day 114 – Dying Orchid 3 comments
Going back to what I was saying a while ago about dabbling with editing, the only editing I seem to be comfortable with is converting from colour to black n white, mainly due to the effect it has on an image. So tonight’s little star of the shoot seemed to be a perfect candidate for a dabble! The image is of an orchid flower that had fallen off whilst I was at my parents house tonight, before Mum could throw it away I had it safely tucked in my hand. I placed it on my fire hearth which is a shiny black surface and just shot away! I really like the effect of the reflection on the surface, and I like the way the veins in the petals show up, the edges of the flower are turning brown and limp but I still think this little flower has a beauty even in death….
41 Day 113 – Front Garden Flora Leave a comment
A quick post tonight as I have been busy doing various chores and didnt realise the time! Still havent had dinner yet better get a move on! Arriving home this evening from work I stopped to look at the front garden, all of a sudden the plants have doubled in size and unforunately so have the weeds! But, to be honest when you look closely at weeds they are actually rather beautiful. Here I have shot two well known perennials and added a weed…..I think the weed holds his own…..!
41 Day 112 – The Great British Countryside 2 comments
On what can only be described as a simply gorgeous summers day you cant help but feel drawn into the English countryside. Living in the Midlands is as far as you can get from the beaches or the mountains, but it has that old fashioned style of farming land, the feel of being lost in a time long ago, far from cars and motorways…just the sounds of the grass, the hedgerows and birds chorusing to celebrate the end of winter and the start of summer. Today I even caught the high pitched song of the Skylark, a real sign that warmer weather has arrived. But for me its the sheer tranquility of being able to stand and look around and see field after field, miles of hedgerows and sense that there is an abundance of wildlife thriving, but know that there is still a piece of old England, unspoilt and utterly unlike anywhere else in the World…and the best thing…..it’s my home!
41 Day 111 – Lone Barn 3 comments
I dont often take shots of buildings, but I think I may start to look for more! The buildings around you seem to merge away into the scenery and almost get lost amongst the more eye catching things that surround us, how often do you actually really study your home from the outside, probably only when its time to decorate, or after a storm to check the rooftiles! How often do you actually consider the shape and form of the place you work in, after all you spend so much time there! Old barns, cottages, high rise office blocks, new, old, derelict or historic there are just so may buildings that man has thown upon the landscape, used, abused, loved and loathed….whatever your take on the buildings around you they were thought of, designed, constructed and used by man…..amazing every one of them! This one is in a field not far from where I live, the stone is somewhat weathered and appears to be reasonably old although the original roof has gone and is now topped by a more modern tin sheeting, there are timbers supporting the roof and Id like to think that its a haven for wildlife, field mice and their adversary the Barn owl….I may have to return to find out one night!
