It's Sunday - have Pictures!

[curiouswombat]

I said last week that although I'd finished my 365 project I had got in the habit of carrying the camera and would carry on taking pics and posting them on most Sundays.

The advantage of the more open format is that I can have more than one picture from the same day - so under the cut are more pics than usual - but half of them are from a short walk in the Arboretum - mainly of birds.



The first picture is taken from beside the building where one of my patient's lives - I always envy her the view -




The weather has been really bright most of the week - as you can see from that picture.

This is just a nice lump of stone used for edging in a garden - common enough but worth stopping to look at now and again, I thought -



I drove up over the mountain road mid-week when going North, as it was open again, and it was quite, quite, beautiful - but there was nowhere to stop and take a picture, because there was only a strip of clean road with great banks of snow on either side - all the usual parking places were blocked with piled snow. Despite the snow lingering up there it is really beginning to feel like spring.

melegyrn is also doing the 365 project and sometimes posts some wonderful bird pictures. Hers are better than mine, and I think she has some more interesting birds, but even so... these were taken when I spent a short break in the Arboretum in St John's. The trees are still only slowly waking from their long winter sleep - there is not a lot of new foliage yet, but the birds are more alert. Or maybe not...





Ducks and a moorhen drowsing there. There is a sense that the winter has bleached the colours out of so many of the plants, and the bright spring sunshine somehow makes things look rather faded.

Here, on one of the ponds, are a few gulls -



Mostly last year's fledglings by the amount of dappling still visible in their plumage.

And a black swan -



And here is a muscovy duck who looks a little down at heel, somehow -



There are certain pleasures in life that don't change - there are pictures of D-d at this age doing exactly this -



And a couple of the smaller birds - a robin, and what I think is a sparrow - I have friends who are much more learned than I when it comes to bird identification and so if it is something more exciting I'm sure someone will point it out!





Finally - one plant was in bud - but I have no idea what it is, as I am even worse at plant identification than I am at birds!



The last few pictures were taken yesterday, another bright day. I went about 2 or 3 miles from home, up Abbeylands, where I took these.

You can see that this is really in full colour by the green of the gorse and the blue of the markings on the sheep - but again it looks as if I might have Photoshopped it down it is so lacking in colour! Not a new leaf on a tree yet -



And here is the place where a small stream runs - it sounded so loud in the quiet up there and yet, beneath the branches and the dead grey grass, it is more or less invisible -



I just liked the pattern that the trees, bushes and grass made.

And, finally, a flash of colour - at the entrance to Strenaby farm there are open crocuses and daffodils that are beginning to show yellow - although they are not exactly tall and swaying in the breeze!





Yesterday, when I took those last three pictures, the temperature actually struggled into double figures - the car thermometer reached 10C for a few brief minutes and people in town were walking around coatless. I spent the morning helping at a Fairtrade coffee morning but then went to Abbeylands and Tesco's without my coat too - just a knitted jacket. Last autumn when the afternoon temperature was down to 10C we were all going around huddled up - it's amazing how hardy we all get over the winter, really!

Comments

[inzilbeth-liz.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you're still going to post photos every week. These are as lovely as always. Love all the bird shots and I couldn't help noticing how big the lambs are already.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

They are rather solid lambs - there are plenty of smaller ones around on other farms, these sheep must be early lambers, I guess.

[jerusha]

The flowers are just incredible! And you really can see how colorless everything is in the picture with the sheep.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you. The purple flash of the crocuses is a real treat in the grey of the dying winter.

[quinara]

Pretty birds!!

It's been nice and sunny here - and you can tell spring's coming because the river is starting to go a shade of murky green/blue, rather than the brown it's been pretty much all winter. (I'm not sure this has anything to do with the water so much as what it's reflecting, but it's always prettier in summer.)

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I think it might be mainly to do with reflection - the sea is a brighter blue today because of the sunshine, but also, in the case of the river, if it is full of water and running fast it stirs up mud from the bottom and looks browner.

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Flowers! And birds! We are just beginning to see spots of brown lawn as the snow is melting. Tuesday the temperature is supposed to reach 52F/11C - heat wave.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It's odd - it really does feel warm as we get to 50F or so!

Hopefully there will be a lot more flowers soon, too; grey is getting a little boring.

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

I love that bleached look you've captured; part frost, part winter dead growth. But I'm even happier to see crocuses flowering: ours are coming up too, in defiance of a freezing east wind.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

There is a real bleached look to so many of the fields - no wonder there are feeders in so many of the fields for the sheep as there doesn't really look to be much nourishment in the grass right now.

We are beginning to get crocuses out in quite a few places now, but I still haven't seen any open daffs outdoors.

[kortirion.livejournal.com]

Wow do those crocus zing! I think the flowering plant might be a cultivar of mahonia - the ones I see are normally primrose yellow with the most divine smell... mind you, the leaves look a bit soft for that - I'll see if I can look it up.

Scrub Mahonia - more likely Viburnum, or a Daphne, but can't see which. ;p

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

They do zing indeed - they caught my eye and so I parked up the road and walked back - it was only then that I noticed the slightly stunted daffs - some of the yellow is from frosted leaf-tips, but some of it is from flower spikes.

As for the plant; it is a really big shrub and the leaves are quite soft - they remind me a bit of a leather settee we used to have!

[framefolly.livejournal.com]

Awesome, awesome birds!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you - it's interesting how they seem fairly ordinary to me.

[ayinhara.livejournal.com]

You have really captured the wintery look. The photo of the swan is really wonderful. I love the reflection of the bird in the water. Ah, crocuses... It is in the 50s F now (approx 11 C) ... I have to take myself and my camera for a walk in the park and see what I find.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I was rather taken with the one of the swan myself. Your temperature is only a touch warmer than ours - nothing in it really and hopefully you'll have some flowers making an appearance too. It will be good to get away from the post-snow wintry look and have a little colour again.

[ayinhara.livejournal.com]

I didn't find any crocuses, only wintery landscapes. I will go looking for color tomorrow.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Even a good green would be very welcome after this grey and white winter.

[keswindhover.livejournal.com]

I was thinking exactly the same thing about the colours today. Brilliant sunshine was making the dry grass look drier, and the bare trees look barer. Your pictures are still lovely though.

p.s. your sparrow is a dunnock. They used to be called hedge sparrows, but it turns out they're not related to the sparrow family at all. They have very interesting and complicated sex lives.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

There is a beauty in the bareness - but it looks as if there ought to be colour...

Ah - I thought the bird had a touch too much grey, somehow, but couldn't work out what else he could be. Things with complicated sex lives should certainly be encouraged!

[keswindhover.livejournal.com]

The RSPB tells it like it is:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/d/dunnock/breeding.aspx

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Works for me - well apart from having my bum pecked!

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you're still doing photos, because I just love seeing your island through your eyes. I love everything, but I'm struck by how different your robins look from ours. And ending with that splash of color was inspired.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you're still doing photos,

I've got in the habit of taking the camera and looking for things to share! I was thinking, too, of looking back at the files to see what I didn't post last year that is worth sharing.

Our robins are more of a winter bird, whereas I gather the American version is often more of a summer bird. Actually they live here all year round, but a few also migrate down to Britain from Scandinavia, and also they are more obvious when some of the other migrants have migrated.

The splash of colour is welcome, isn't it!

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Our robins are considered one of the first harbingers of spring. Spotting the first one is always a happy relief, because it means yes, winter is done for another year.

[melegyrn.livejournal.com]

First, thank you for your comments aboiut my photos. *blushes*

Second, I thinks yours are just great. I love the ducks and the moor hen nestled in the long grass. I especially like the little birds I've not yet been able to get shots of these little guys. The ones that come in my yard are quite camera shy and I've come nowhere near capturing them as well as you have.

As always, I like all of your landscape photos of the island. Well done!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I tend to think of the gulls, ducks and so on as quite boring!

The robin and the hedge sparrow/dunnock ( so Kes tells me) were taken using the zoom, and then cropped by about half - so I was actually about 8 or 10 feet away from them.

[bojojoti.livejournal.com]

Yes, isn't it funny how we acclimate. What is unpleasantly cold at the beginning of the season has people running about in short and flip-flops at the end of it.

I love that your job has you out and about all of the time. My husband has the same sort of mobility, and he has stated that he couldn't abide the thought of working indoors in one spot all day, every day.

I'm very glad that the end of your photo project hasn't resulted in fewer photos, but, rather, more!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

That temperature thing is weird - but interesting.

I'm with your husband - I would hate to go back to ward work where, in the winter, you walked into the hospital in the dark, were under artificial light all day, and walked out again in the dark.

The leeway to post more pictures of the same thing was really good - although some weeks there might be less.

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

I don't often comment on your pictures, because it seems silly to keep saying "Oh, those are beautiful!"

But today I couldn't help saying that, oh! Those are beautiful!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I can't help thinking things might look better when they start to grow green again, though!

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Glad you're still posting pictures-- I always enjoy them!

muscovy ducks always seem to look a little down at the heel, don't they?

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you - yes the muscovies are sort of Depresso!Duck with a slightly world weary and downtrodden air!

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

I went to the park with a friend and her toddler not to long ago; Christian (age 2) was fascinated by the moscovies. I guess the mallards and wood ducks are too old hat for him!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

When I was a child I loved them too, but I thought they were called Scoby ducks - I still think of them that way.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Our landscape looks like all the color's been Photoshopped out, too... even the evergreens are looking a bit tired.

I love all these but especially the black swan. Such a lovely shot.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I was rather taken with the swan picture myself. The dried out beige of late winter is just crying out for some colour - although the crocuses do help!

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

What beautiful pictures! especially the black swan -- the reflection is perfect -- and those crocuses, such a vivid colour. Thank you for sharing!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The weekly picture post has become a tradition over the past year, it is my pleasure to share the island.

I was really pleased with the swan picture, I think it is one of my favourites - and the crocuses are such a relief after the greys and whites of winter.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

These are lovely, thanks for sharing. It is chilly here too.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

It is chilly here too.

It's so lovely and bright - but there is not much warmth in it.

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

Are black swans native to Britain? I thought they were only found in Australia. (Even read a folktale about how black swans were created in Australia.)

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

They're not native - this one may well have originally been in someone's garden, or maybe in the Wildlife Park like our wallabies (http://www.iomtoday.co.im/north-news/Elusive-Ballaugh-wallaby-snapped-by.5032135.jp).