Apples are ripening...leaves are turning...

Well, unless the weather throws up a surprise or two I think the summer is fast leaving and heading for southern towns...with that said it has been a tricky week photographically - with my predilection for nature subjects, the persistent strong wind makes it tricky...almost impossible to capture any worthwhile images... Some of the ones I have managed...

back-lit rose leaf showing definite signs of autumn...

bee still hard at work but finding less pollen now...

autumn is strong in this one...

holly in flower...strange this as the holly in our garden is covered with berries...but this one still shows a flower or two...

slow bug on a garden compositae. All these images were taken in our garden in Ely...and also found was this guy...

migrant hawker dragonfly...

I had seen him sunning himself on the leylandii hedge several times and managed to track him down - migrant hawkers can be very obliging to photographers and this one allowed me and Quinn to get within a foot or so...his eyes are just gorgeous...

But that really sums up the week really...little opportunity to take pictures but when I did I was pleased with the results...Consequently I have been looking back on the year so far..and predictably have started with January...not as cold as recent January's but still some opportunities to take some wintry shots...

burdock seed heads and frost...

...Wicken Fen in a heavy frost...

...oak leaves...

grey heron...hunched up against the cold

when I couldn't get out I tried this... love the shadow...

...mallard and a reed bed...

Wicken Fen again...frosty and still

January wasn't that productive but just occasionally I found some nice images... Whilst searching through the files I happened across a set of pictures taken in Abu Dhabi that I thought I had lost. They were taken at the Grand Mosque during a visit from our dear friend Tricia...not sure what went wrong I thought I had deleted them...some of the highlights included...

a section of decorated wall in the Grand Mosque...

...a strange reflection...that came out much better than I had thought...

And that about wraps it up for this week...keep up with me here... or here... if you have the time or inclination...

Hope to get out real soon and see you all next time around...I now have a Sunday lunch to cook whilst Lucy takes Quinn to an organ recital in Ely Cathedral... so rock n roll!!!

TTFN

Autumn comes...

It's a Bank Holiday Monday here in the UK and as you may know that means bad weather...yep...forecast is dreadful - I look out of my office window at grey skies a moderate breeze and rain imminent...hey ho. Moving away from the weather it has been an interesting week - most of it spent writing ecological reports for the surveys I carried out the week before and desperately trying to get out and shoot pictures...Reports at clients for proof reading but pictures have been tricky... weather has been poor for plants and insects...I hope you like what I have managed to shoot...

sure sign of Autumn - hedgerow berries...these are on white bryony (Bryonia dioica)

...the garden escape Chinese lantern...

common rock rose...

...the menacing berries of deadly nightshade...

...rose hips - it's taken me many years to take a picture of these with which I'm happy...I will take more, but this one is OK for now...

sloes - the fruit of the blackthorn...they look delightful and when added to gin and left a while taste good too; but straight from the tree? urggghhh!!!

All these above were taken along a public footpath that runs along the bottom of our garden and over the golf course...that will be my local patch for the next year or so...not quite Wicken Fen, but at least it's countryside...
Speaking of Wicken Fen, I did manage to get down there this week in an attempt to count some dragonflies - the weather was against me with a cool wind and only sporadic sunshine (can we have some heat again and some sun please...). I managed a few shots after aborting the survey...

the pyralid moth Agriphila tristella

hogweed seeds...

a new plant for me - trifid bur-marigold (Bidens tripartita)

two different lichens...love the colours here...

But in general it was a frustrating trip...next week? Let's hope...

Last weekend we went up to Scarborough for a brief trip...I managed to take some seaside-type shots...

to the lighthouse...

thrift - usually pink, sometimes white...

I call this one "Which way Doris?"...

That almost sums it up for the week...except for yesterday...because yesterday we went to London. The British Literary Society has placed a number of benches around the capital in celebration of books and great literature. Each bench is decorated as a separate theme based on an author or a specific book. Mid September will see them auctioned so we went to have a look at some - Quinn wanted to see the one for How to Train Your Dragon - his favourite books (not the films) so we chose the Riverside Trail. In the process we walked over 5 miles along the Southbank and back...

how to train your dragon...

The biggest discovery yesterday was the realisation that when on a day out with Lucy and Quinn...I don't need to take a camera with me...my Blackberry Z10 smartphone is perfectly capable of taking decent family pictures...these last three were from the phone...not the same quality as the others but good enough...

So we start the last week of the holidays - Quinn seems to have more energy that ever despite yesterdays extensive walking though the streets of London and Lucy is gearing herself up for a new intake plus all the other things that a head teacher has to do... 

My work will always be found here or here depending on your tastes and I have also entered one of my pictures in a competition here... so if you feel so inclined you can visit this site and vote for me...

I hope you all have a good week...and I shall hopefully see you all again soon...

TTFN...

Been a long time...

...far too long but that's what happens when you move house...so many apologies for the tardiness of this blog...
Yes, that's right...we have moved house...left the fen 8 or so miles down the road and moved to Ely into a lovely thatched house within easy walking distance of the town centre...from the rural to the urban... it's very pretty and is lovely to live in (so far) but I do miss the countryside...

So that is the house... built between the wars we think - it has a lovely big garden for Quinn and thankfully comes with a gardener. It doesn't appear to have many flowering plants - just trees and shrubs - photographic opportunities will be few I fear...we shall have to see.

Well the move went OK - my best mate Nick (who is also Quinn's Godfather) came up to help and it took us all day and several trips to move the stuff 8 miles up the road...the highlight was somehow moving the piano...just two of us...up a step, into the back of the van, down again and then up 2 more steps..it was saved until last (maybe that was a mistake) but we did it...thanks Nick for all your help...you have no idea how grateful we all are...

It has taken nearly a week and a half for the internet to be connected - you would think in this world of instant connectivity it could be done immediately...but no...hey ho I'm back on now though...

With all that I haven't been able to take many pictures...which as you can guess is a great source of frustration for me. Here are a few...but not many...

comfrey...

crested dog's-tail...

lady's bedstraw...

lesser spearwort...

Quite pleased with them and they are a good inspiration to get me out there again...

We also had a trip to Sutton Hoo where surprisingly I managed to take some pictures of my wife, Lucy... she doesn't like having her picture taken...not sure why...

Black and white...

or colour...?

I think she takes a decent picture but can I get her to model for me? Some chance... What do you guys think...

Also from Sutton Hoo...

St John's-wort...

teasel...

female common blue damselfly...

yellow loosestrife...

harebells... love this plant...

Also a nice set...

That about wraps it up for this week...curtailed admittedly but hopefully I shall get back out there... I am also taking on work as an ecologist - the other string to my bow and I was commissioned to carry out some Environmental Assessments this last week - always enjoyable (4am starts again) and you do get to see the country...so that is also some good news. Finally the Photo Agency I shoot for - Dreamstime have started to sell my work which is always encouraging... a link to my gallery if you want to have a look. As usual I shall start uploading to Facebook and of course Flickr if you want to see more pictures of Lucy...(they look OK honest!!).

But with that I shall bid you farewell until next week...just hope for some decent weather...I still have to get a dragonfly count done at Wicken Fen!!

TTFN