Nature Calls — so I head for the Country!

          Yes, I need relief, but from enclosing walls, where outside, the sun is beckoning. I gather my camera and lenses and a small amount of sustenance and a flask of weak orange juice to guard against dehydration. I head north and the River Great Ouse, to keep body and soul together, and ensure my reflexes and brain get exercise.
          Damselflies, flowers, and fresh air ensures that no cobwebs are woven into the fabric of what I loosely call a brain. Currently my ongoing concern is for a failing memory, something which in earlier times I held with great pride that recall was speedy and accurate, nowadays I often struggle to remember simple descriptive words, the names of friends and places, and worst of all, why I went up or downstairs or for what item! When that happened in earlier times I would laugh at myself, and the block would melt like ice on a hot plate, and the word, thought or name would appear in a trice. Then it was funny, now it is unnerving. However, I do try to avoid getting too stressed over it, but it is tough!
          Already the grass I cut barely a week hence beckons for the mower, but I have more pressing reasons to be out, so it will have to grow some more, as I need my fix, not photographic fixer, but photographic scenes, and challenges, and the exercise of limbs and brain, and on this day blue sky almost edge to edge was the clarion call that urged me to gather my camera, which was already encased with fully charged batteries, spare cards, and a separate case with an alternative lens and spare caps. However, knowing my memory is absolutely fallible, I open the case and double check! When I reach the car, I check not only my tripods, but my monopod with ball head, which is now my main support, the tripod is there for the off chance that clouds appear. I was never a Boy Scout, but the Cubs motto was similar!
          My destination was Milton Ernest, as I can park close by the river and at this time of year birds, flowers and insects abound, so with the trusty support of the monopod and ball head, the Sigma 60-600mm on the EOS R6 is entirely manageable and really flexible, as I keep reiterating. To be visited by the woodpecker, albeit somewhat shielded by the feeder was a delight! 

          I hope that others can enjoy the shots as much as I enjoyed taking them.

MM-Walk in the Fields

Having spent the afternoon of the Monday Bank Holiday really close to home to capture the Spring Growth in the hedgerows and the elusive male Orange Spot Butterflies, making the most of the warm sunshine, the following Day was destined to be largely seated in front of my Mac, spending time cropping and adjusting the images into a gallery to be put up on the blog.
This ensures I cannot spend too much time in the great outdoors and disobey the mores of Social Distancing whilst under the Covid pandemic, whilst still ensuring I keep body and brain active, and exercised regularly. On this trip, the large part of my time was spent without even a single soul visible for at least eighty percent of this period. Out in the large open field, the Marston Moretaine Church does not display its characteristic separate bell tower and seems ordinary and unassuming, beyond the shielding trees.
On three distinct occasions when I caught sight of a white butterfly with orange wing tips, they were making the most of the energy supplying sunshine to spend most of their time in the air, with only fractions of a second stationary, so with almost no time to frame them, let alone consider focussing. This is the single most frustrating aspect of using a mirrorless camera – one needs some appreciable time to follow and focus on such a subject in order to expect to obtain a reasonable shot, and with almost constant sunshine, the butterfly has the advantage! On one spell when the insect was working along the banks of the stream, it alighted on a flower probably three times in a five-minute spell, and the aggregate time it was stationary over that period never amounted to a complete single second! The really galling aspect was on that occasion, I never had a chance to get it in frame, let alone get an image!
Likewise, the stream was both deep and with overhanging grasses, reeds and other foliage, making it difficult to capture the few shots I did manage, of a pair of Mallard ducks making their way along. Fortunately, I enjoy a challenge as I need to master the controls of this particular camera, because they are far less intuitive than my Canon cameras. (I am also reminded of the saying involving 'Old Dogs' and 'New Tricks') and I freely admit that I have many more difficult-to-reach 'Little Grey Cells' that lie tantalising buried within the Cortex I laughingly call my brain! – I put this down to 'Anno Domini' and the sad truth that my dominoes are easily knocked over in a cascade!
However, the fortuitous finding of this Lumix FZ1000 Mk2 does mean that I can have it with me all day without it ever becoming a burden, and the quality it can achieve is exceptional, despite having thus far not reached that Nirvana where I find it entirely intuitive (this is when I am reminded of the mathematical term asymptote, and as if to remind myself, I accept I will only ever come close, in that Infinity always keeps its distance!)
After the trip as I reached home, a lone starling atop my roof was singing its little heart out, presumably hoping for its sweetheart to respond. Aha! My little Leica-lensed Lumix, can capture you clearly from down here!

Marston Moretaine - Circular Walk

At this moment in 2020 with the National Lockdown now around a month old, I find myself disappointed that at the new season of rebirth of the countryside is passing rapidly, yet my chances of capturing such images is diminishing with ever decreasing opportunities. Yet, the lighting is ideal and I am very aware of my responsibilities to observe the rationing of my time spent outdoors. I therefore venture out at the worst, every other day, by ensuring that at least a day after such a sortie, is spent in processing images I have taken during my outdoor exercise, sat at the computer creating a gallery of pictures I have managed to take during a walk at nearby spots deliberately chosen to avoid popular spots favoured by the majority.

        Sadly, as any reader of my blog narrative, will have noted, on my last excursion, I failed, and admitting defeat, cut short that walk prematurely due to the number of people sharing the route. The next outing will have to be a better choice, because although I need the exercise of a reasonably long walk, I do wish to select a time and place not favoured by too many others.

The gallery of images I am publishing on this occasion were all taken along the main road that passes my house, and a very short walk down some of the roads that intersect it, and despite being taken over probably just a single hour, were far more colourful and interesting than those taken earlier in the week, and I am fairly sure that during the entire time I was out I saw only one other person! So, at least in this village, most people are conscientiously adhering to the rules of disengagement. I suspect that at the weekend, I may have to forego any trip out, as possibly greater numbers will fail to resist the urge to be outside in the sunshine.

Station Road – Birds and Buds

At this moment in 2020 with the National Lockdown now around a month old, I find myself disappointed that at the new season of rebirth of the countryside is passing rapidly, yet my chances of capturing such images is diminishing with ever decreasing opportunities. Yet, the lighting is ideal and I am very aware of my responsibilities to observe the rationing of my time spent outdoors. I therefore venture out at the worst, every other day, by ensuring that at least a day after such a sortie, is spent in processing images I have taken during my outdoor exercise, sat at the computer creating a gallery of pictures I have managed to take during a walk at nearby spots deliberately chosen to avoid popular spots favoured by the majority.

          Sadly, as any reader of my blog narrative, will have noted, on my last excursion, I failed, and admitting defeat, cut short that walk prematurely due to the number of people sharing the route. The next outing will have to be a better choice, because although I need the exercise of a reasonably long walk, I do wish to select a time and place not favoured by too many others.

The gallery of images I am publishing on this occasion were all taken along the main road that passes my house, and a very short walk down some of the roads that intersect it, and despite being taken over probably just a single hour, were far more colourful and interesting than those taken earlier in the week, and I am fairly sure that during the entire time I was out I saw only one other person! So, at least in this village, most people are conscientiously adhering to the rules of disengagement. I suspect that at the weekend, I may have to forego any trip out, as possibly greater numbers will fail to resist the urge to be outside in the sunshine.

Caddington Front Garden – Riot of Colour

I returned to Caddington on my way back as I needed to get a bite to eat. The village is suffering badly due to ongoing diversions that have cut off the normal route north via Chaul End, and to avoid the worst section by the shops I parked a long way back, and as I walked along I spotted a couple of gardens worth grabbing a few photographs in, once I had collected some food. As I came closer to my old house, I spotted a familiar face, and Phil, whose name he mentioned whilst we talked, hailed me with: “I thought you had moved to Eaton Bray!” That brought me into conversation and the lady who had been with him took the opportunity to take her leave telling him she would catch up later. He was correct I had been looking initially in that direction, but I brought him up to date, and we chatted for ten minutes or so before I went for my food.

I put my food in the car, picked up the camera and returned to the two gardens and the majority of the shots were from this one front garden which simply looked as if someone had opened a hundred seed packets and spread them liberally in the front of the house, then taken a hose and sprayed them with liberal amounts of water and possibly fertilisers! I had simply never seen so many brightly coloured flowers in bloom in such a small area – it could only be described as a “Riot of Colour’! It cried out to be photographed,

I obliged.

Mainly Tulips, and a host of others to which I could not put a name, so now that I have managed to get the Stockwood Discovery Centre gallery up, I have put these up as a follow-on. I hope they will give others as much pleasure as I derived from capturing them.

Westcott Neighbour’s Blooming Garden

Taking the day off to help my daughter seemed too good to miss any opportunity to take photographs in brilliant sunshine, and her neighbour opposite was fortunately not averse to my getting down and dirty with my macro lens on her various bedding plants and tulips. The colour was splendid, ranging from the subtle yellows of the narcissi, and palest pink tulips to the bold red of other tulips and the rich orange yellow of a daffodil talking to a small bedding plant. The neighbour also pointed out the white blossom on a form of miniature pear tree, so I made sure my lens captured its fleeting glory as well.

It is only a slightly larger gallery than the one of the Red Kites soaring in the sky above us at the time.

Two Studham Floral Displays

Driving through Studham on the way to Dagnall and eventually Ashridge Forest, I spotted two bankside garden beds awash with Spring colour and felt I just had to stop and come back to grab some shots they were just too good to miss.

I parked round the corner from the main road beyond the Pub, and decided that shooting with the 300mm although would be challenging to get close, would isolate individual flowers and show them against a strongly blurred background, and so it proved – I was a good distance away, and was lucky there was a narrow pavement to help me keep safe from passing cars!

As I moved across the road having taken shots in the first garden, the house owners returned, so I thought it best to explain what I had been doing, and fortunately the owner was more than happy.

The second garden bed was much smaller, and also sported a fine dandelion display! But what struck me here was a pure white daffodil alongside a yellow one that looked as if it had been sprayed with white paint. It is this pair that heads this piece.

Westcott Village Flowers

It is always a pleasure visiting Westcott, and my younger daughter; this visit was to help in putting up plasterboard in the bathroom ceiling – a task she would have helped her husband with had she not been so close to delivering my next grandchild.

Parking the car, I spotted an unusual blue flower which a neighbour assures me is a Clematis, so before I offered my help I asked for permission to delay the start, so I could take a few photos. There were others besides, and even some to which I was invited to see by her neighbour, even some tulips in her own garden, so out came my macro lens and these now form another gallery.

In the confines of the small, but newly extended bathroom, getting the boards in place was soon underway, and after some garden re-organising the day was rounded off with a barbecue.

Oxford Country Life

Tuesday, and I just had to get away from the computer to do some photography. Driving in the direction of Oxford was not my first choice, but I did want somewhere different, and the upper reaches of the Thames sprang to mind, but travelling without Jane (my trusty SatNav) I was at the mercy of my flawed bump of locality and the regional highways planners desire to put me on the A40 or M40 at all costs, and to make it very difficult to find small villages when close to the metropolis of Oxford, despite its abhorrence of the motor car.

I came close to Garsington and immediately off the main road towards Denton there was a passing place sufficiently close to another on the opposite side, so I felt it was safe to park for a short while. I had spotted some very large well-fed crows in a field largely given over to dandelions, but they were averse to my capturing them in this setting, so having readied my camera, I chose to start on my lunch.

Soon I spotted an ingenious farming vehicle equipped to muck-spread, involving twin augurs or Archimedes screws that flung dung far and wide from a large hopper. It was sufficiently intriguing to warrant my recording it in action. Having taken some shots that illustrated how it worked, I spotted a Red Kite circling low overhead, and was soon doing my best to get some shots. It was soon joined by its mate and they both gently soared around together, enjoying the mild warmth and some gentle thermals. I had a chat with the driver when he had evacuated the bowels of his vehicle, and learnt that there were several Red Kites in the vicinity, and suggested where I might go to catch sight of more.

As it turned out I only saw one more, and although hovering, it was far more distant; instead I found a tit and a one-legged pheasant, and several displays of flowers – tulips, daffodils, magnolia and purple clumps on drystone walls. I also met several women out walking their dogs or with young children, who were generally happy to chat. Later, rather than drive straight back I stopped off at Marsworth and Tringford reservoirs and found some young duck families in the last rays of the evening sun.

A Bright Wednesday in the Walled Garden

Having missed the Sunday event at Luton Hoo, I wanted to see how the team restoring a Dairy cart were getting on, and now the days were getting both sunnier and warmer, see whether some of the plants were catching up.

There was still a cold breeze when I first arrived, and there were a good number of volunteers judging by the number of vehicles, but oddly it did not look crowded with people, I later gathered there was a meeting discussing future plans.

The restoration team were not due till after one, so I wandered around the greenhouses and garden first. And later met the three main restorers who were now cleaning up the springs for the cart, then later was shown a room I had never been in and found an old bus sign and odd finials. There was discussion this might well become a tea shop.

I also recorded some very obvious signs of subsidence damage evident in the brickwork of the potting shed outhouses.There was an abundance of tulips many yet to open, but still snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells and some blossom appearing on the fruit trees.

The sun had brought out the bees and they were once again swarming around a water trough.

Westcott Day, followed by Bulbourne and Tringford flowers

A bright day with a chance to see how Lizzy’s garden was progressing and to see the kitchen in sunshine provided a few interesting examples of colour, light and shade.

A day or two later, visit Bulbourne to see the Blacksmith where there was a beautiful display of Spring flowers rarely all seen at the same time, daffodils, tulips, and early bluebells with some dandelions thrown in for good measure! Then on to Tringford to meet the man who introduced me to the bailiff, which allowed me to capture life on both the stream and the reservoir, there in his garden were poppies and tulips.

There were Greylag, Canada Geese, a Heron, Coots and a Grebe to be found in flight, on the water and on the ground in a field still with blossom on the trees, yet at long last the day had the warmth of coming summer.

Later still, and I took a walk along the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union canal, and managed to get up close and personal to a Starling. Fishermen were to be found in abundance as were cyclists, families with children and dogs and a few slowly chugging narrowboats. A woman was knitting seated by the towpath and a man ensconced with his Sunday newspaper outside his galley. Birds were to be seen gathering twigs for nest-building others sang invisibly in the bushes, and overhead were the occasional sounds of light aircraft, cattle lowed in the fields nearby and the horses wandered slowly with swishing tails – the midges and seemingly mosquitoes were the reason for that. There were some very strange canoes on the canal looking very precariously low in the water.

The shot of the anchor was especially for Catherine.

Business Breakfast at Putteridgebury

I had to readjust my biological clock to prepare for the 5.45am alarm call to allow me to go to my first Business Breakfast at the Putteridgebury Campus of the University of Bedfordshire. The last time I had a business breakfast was when I met up with bankers from The World Bank to photograph a several million pound cheque-signing, and that was aeons ago.

Considering how sunny yesterday was, I was amazed that there was still snow around, yet at least the snowdrops were showing and the moles had been mining with gusto. I got the impression that a magpie had been burrowing into it. Whilst outside, Nigel Huddleston, a local parliamentary candidate, came up to chat – I had last seen him when he led the protest march against the proposed Bushwood development.

What a change in weather from yesterday when the sun had been out all day, but I did want to at least have a record, so did take a look around the old house, before going in for the meeting. At first because I was early, there were only a few people around and those unlike me, all wearing suits and ties. I glanced at a few badges and was once again not too surprised to read the names of Banks! However, as the room filled, I began to see obvious business men, which gave me the opportunity to network (the primary purpose of the visit). I got to speak to Wes Randle, who had taken over as head of the Innovation hub. I did idly wonder how many present saw the connection between the University logo and the flowers at the window.

I listened intently to the speakers, but was forced to interrupt one speaker, Laura Church to express my desire for the construction of a flyover to improve the link between Capability Green and the Junction 10 of the M1, and avoid interaction with traffic to Luton from the A6. These two streams need not meet at the present roundabout, unless serving Luton. I firmly believe that it is a project Luton cannot afford not to build.

May I extend my thanks to all, including the Canteen staff who provided very good food, that made the event a success.