I actually took this picture last year on the 10th of May. The yellow poppies, aquilegias and knapweed have only opened this week so I guess everything is still a week to ten days behind after our late spring.
Since I have received my bumblebee chart all the little 'b's' seem to have disappeared from the garden and if I do spot one by the time I have got my chart it has disappeared! Hopefully they will be back later. The garden is full of flowers but not the sort they like.
I was pleased to find several frogs in the garden although we have had no frog spawn this year. I managed to snap this one before it hopped away.
I still had the macro lens on the camera and had to hand hold it so only its further eye and mouth are in focus. This one is better but the iris leaves were in the way.
Click on the photos for a really large version.
Several of you have mentions my new banner - the clematis bud. I must say I am very pleased with it. It has also gone 'ballistic' on flickr. If you are familiar with flickr you will know that they have a page called Explore which has several hundred of the millions of photographs which are uploaded every week which are designated the most interesting. The clematis bud made it to Explore a week a go and has had continual views and comments made on it all week - it sort of snowballs.
Marvin like most cats hasn't really been enjoying the heat but here is a snap from the archives for Jane who I know is a Marvin fan. He has been spending most of his time dozing in the shade.
Meanwhile I have been doing a little bit of sewing, I've half made some curtains for the bathroom, and been experimenting with some free form machine embroidery. I've also working on a few ideas for my walled garden project, but everything is a bit unformed at the moment.
So today I sat in the shade and tried to finish 'Wolf Hall' by Hilary Mantel which my friends and I are supposed to be chatting about next Friday. It is taking me an age to read but this week I have managed a few good long chunks which makes the story much easier to follow - I am enjoying it.
Tomorrow I collect my photographs from the Walled Garden Exhibition, and Sally tells me that one of them has the red spot!!
Wishing you all a good week, and hope you are able to make the most of the gorgeous weather.
14 comments:
I'm not surprised, your clematis pic is beautiful. Great re the red dot! I need to give flikr a go, one more thing to get my head round!Cute cat. We had spawn, can't see any frogs!
Congrats on the photo. It's really lovely.
Lots of bees (unknown type) in the shrubbery and around the penstemons. Never looked before, so am learning to appreciate how many different kinds I see.
Well done on the rewards for your photography. What I have seen looks very polished and professional. The frog was very kind to pose for that macro shot. Just curious what kind of effects you used to get the misty soft look on your header photo. Do you use Photoshop?
Congratulations on Explore. And on finding shade yesterday. I went to Kew and got rather hot and tired. the spring meadows were looking lovely. and of course they're very into bees just now, with their own hives and a lot of bee-friendly planting.
Congratulations on the red spot and on Explore, well deserved.
I knew you'd get a red spot! You deserved to because your photographs are so good. Although I look through Flickr occasionally it is obviously a great community and I must 'explore' it more myself sometime.I think all your bumble bees have flown west! We had so many yesterday , definitely more than previous years. Let's hope the good weather continues and we see lots more. Lesley
Love that frog photo and congratulations on your red spot and on the number of views of your lovely clematis photo. Many thanks for the photo of Marvin too! Our two spent most of yesterday dozing in the shade - nothing new there then! I must investigate Flickr later it sounds interesting.
Have a good week.
Jane
How lovely to have a visual record of the garden and its flowers. Something I have always "meant" to do, but never got round to. Well done re the red spot, I am not surprised. Our cat is slowly trashing the garden by bashing down areas to curl up in and keep cool. :O)
Congratulations on the 'red spot' - and on the Explore on Flickr - the clematis bud is truly sublime.
Love your new banner photograph and congrats on the success of it on Explore. Marvin is a lovely boy, he looks as if his fur glows in the sunlight
Here's another Jane who's a fan of Marvin - he is a double for our old McCavity who lived to be 20yrs. Well done with the photos, the clematis bud especially is wonderful. Can't decide whether to sew as sewing room is so cool, or give in and get out in the sun.
Wolf Hall is bit of a marathon isn't it - but it is good - you need to read - CJ Sansom's Dissolution now for a light relief - a good garden read!!
I've just recently put some of my stuff on Flickr, it's a whole new world isn't it and great fun too. I'm not in the least surprised you have the 'red dot', congrats to you for that. Today has been so hot, my car registered 33.5 degrees, but the wind's up outside already so I guess the heating will be on again in the morning!
I lugged back Wolf Hall, a great doorstep, from the library, but found it's all written in the present tense, which I can't take - my brain keeps wanting to convert it to the past tense! But maybe no-one else minds much. I'm a great fan of Hilary Mantel (of her books written in the past tense) - have recently read "Beyond Black" and "An Experience of Love" - wonderful descriptions of feelings and places.
Post a Comment