ShareMondays2019 – Ringing In The Rain

ShareMondays2019 – Ringing In The Rain

I thought I’d join the bluebell party this week! I found these little bells at the Valley Gardens, which are linked to Virginia Water and Savill Garden, part of Windsor Great Park. The azaleas and rhododendron are absolutely glorious but the bluebells were totally enchanting!

Kestrel Portrait

Kestrel Portrait

My hubby and I braved the elements on Saturday to go to the Cheese and Chilli Festival near Guildford on Saturday. We were all hoping for a break in the rain to watch the GMG Falconry display! No such luck, complete washout. The birds were out on perches under gazebos but they were still getting a bit damp and chilly. I did manage to take a few portraits and I really like the way the damp feathers brought exaggerated detail to this female kestrel’s expression! She had puffed her feathers up to get a bit more insulation from the damp and cold. Such a beautiful bird but she really wasn’t impressed. The phrase “fed up” actually comes from falconry language. It was used to describe a bird that had eaten enough food that it wasn’t interested in flying anymore, literally fed up! The birds on display certainly looked completely fed up but not from feeding. Birds of prey really can’t fly in such heavy rain! Although oils spread through their feathers give them a certain amount of weatherproofing, a wild kestrel would have been hunkered down in a tree or rock roost waiting for the rain to pass. We decided that it was too wet to stick around and returned to our own roost to wait out the weather! So my choices for today’s Fotospeed challenge were limited but I can’t really complain when I had this lovely kestrel.

Singing In The Rain

Singing In The Rain

The rain didn’t dampen our spirits at Phoenix Rising, our free community music festival, in Woking Park yesterday! Young Jessica’s face has such a sunny disposition that says everything about the spirit of the Phoenix Cultural Centre and all the brilliant people involved in organising, performing, volunteering and promoting the project. Jessica was at the side of the bandstand watching her mum, the talented Anna Neale, perform to everyone sheltering under trees and brollies in the park. I love her expression of happiness here and felt that this would make a good image to share for Fotospeed’s weekly photo challenge! I hope she makes everyone smile 🙂

Blue Monday: A Vision In Blue

Blue Monday: A Vision In Blue

Over the last few weeks I’ve shared some photos of individual blue irises and I’ve loved all your comments which just go to show what a universally popular flower the iris is! Today’s photo is of a grouping of some of these beautiful blues planted up around the lake at RHS Wisley Gardens.

It was a dull and rainy day but coming around the edge of the lake to this vision in blue, set against the purple and greens, was just breathtaking 🙂 It instantly brightened the day for me so I hope it brightens yours too!

Wordless Wednesday: Soft

Wordless Wednesday: Soft

Twelve Days ‘Til Christmas

Daily Prompt: Mad As A Hatter

Photographers, artists, poets: show us RAGE.

On the seventh day of Christmas, whatever did I see?
Seven ducks-a-swimming,
Six troopers trooping,
FIVE GOLD COINS!
Four friends at Wisley,
Three kids and Chitty,
Two pipers playing
AND
A Santa with a rabbit on his knee!

When I left the house today the skies were blue, the sun was shining and all was crisp, bright and beautiful! As I was just approaching the lake at RHS Wisley Gardens, to get my “seven swimming ducks” photo, the skies clouded over, the heavens opened and I was the one nutter-in-a-wheelchair singing in the rain 😉

And, yes, I know the prompt says “show us rage” but the funny thing is, when you’re as Mad as a Hatter there’s not much that will actually get you that riled!

Carefree

Weekly Photo Challenge: Carefree

Carefree is being four years old, at your own BBQ Birthday Party, in the rain and having a great day!

Mylie is dancing in the rain with a broken umbrella and one of her new dinosaurs 🙂

Balance

After the rain
The leaves embrace
Translucent beads of life

Daily Prompt: Green-Eyed Monster

Tell us about the last time you were really, truly jealous of someone. Did you act on it? Did it hurt your relationship?

Photographers, show us something GREEN.

Well, after the prompt today, I have to admit to you all that I was recently exceedingly envious of the photo, blogger, Paul Davis, captured entitled “Poise“!

In answer to today’s question, yes, I did act on it! This is my homage to Paul’s image. With a little Haiku thrown in for good measure 😉

Raindrops on Windows

The Daily Prompt today, on the subject of Landscapes, asked the question “When you gaze out your window — real or figurative — do you see the forest first, or the trees?”.

Well on days like today my gaze is always drawn away from the bigger picture, to the delicate intricacy of the falling raindrops, running in ever changing rivulets before my eyes.

A fellow photographer, Paul Davis, had also come up with a similar landscape today, entitled “Fade to Blue“, which really intrigued me as I was looking through my reader!

I think Landscapes come in an infinite variety of forms.

April Shower

I rather enjoy the April showers, such contrast in the skies! Today was a true example.

Dark, moody clouds with thunder heralding the sudden downpours, interspersed with brilliant, blue skies, warming sun but a cool breeze.

I did a quick internet search and discovered lyrics to a song that expresses perfectly why I’m glad to see the rain in April 🙂

April Showers
From the Broadway musical “Bombo” (1921)
(Buddy DeSylva / Louis Silvers)

Life is not a highway strewn with flowers
Still it holds a goodly share of bliss
When the sun gives way to April showers
Here is the point you should never miss

Though April showers may come your way
They bring the flowers that bloom in May
So if it’s raining, have no regrets
Because it isn’t raining rain, you know
(It’s raining violets)

And where you see clouds upon the hills
You soon will see crowds of daffodils
So keep on looking for a blue bird
And list’ning for his song
Whenever April showers come along