ShareMondays2020 – Winter Warmer

ShareMondays2020 – Winter Warmer

Finding myself vitamin D deficient once again I am trying to get out into the sunshine as much as possible! I spent an afternoon at Bushy Park last week, soaking up those precious rays and watching the wildlife. It was so mild I ended up shedding my big winter coat. It was fun watching the deer and wrens in the bracken near Heron Pond, before heading over to the Woodland Gardens for sunset and a cuppa at the cafe.

Signs of an early Spring were very evident in the Woodland Gardens! Watching the parakeets feasting on cherry blossom is a sight I don’t usually see for another two months! Just as the sun was setting at around half four, I came across one of the resident rabbits. I was really surprised to see one out of the warren at this time of day and year! The rabbits here are more used to people walking by and I was able to get really close to it, capturing the details of the fur and even a reflection of the sunset in the rabbit’s eye. The leaf litter in the background glowed in the late light and this little rabbit just stole my heart!

Hyde Park Heron At Sunset

Hyde Park Heron At Sunset

Thanks to Fotospeed’s new competition rules, I can now enter an image taken at any time in the last week, so here’s one from last Monday in London. I had been at Guy’s Hospital and got out in time to get over to Hyde Park to enjoy some afternoon sunshine before heading home.

I wasn’t actually planning to stay for sunset but a text from my hubby informed me that the trains were completely mucked up! There was no point in going back to Waterloo and hanging around in rush hour chaos with delayed and cancelled trains so I decided to stay put for a while.

I’m so glad that I did! Watching the sunset turn the waters of The Serpentine gold and red was magical. The birds were calling as they gathered and headed off to their roosts. The herons came to perch on the pilings by the island, silhouetted by red skies and golden water. It was really peaceful!

When I got to Waterloo, chaos still reigned as South Western Trains tried to get services running around a broken down train at Surbiton. The train I got took three times the usual journey time, but I didn’t mind as I had some lovely images to look through on the camera.

Sunset Stonechat

Sunset Stonechat

The birds have been putting on some great displays down at Surrey Wildlife Trust’s Papercourt Meadows! I’ve now had two wonderful sightings of the Short-eared Owl this year, along with the beautiful barn owls. It’s been great chatting to some of the other local birders and photographers down there too! Light was quite poor when it came out to hunt so I shall keep trying to get a good, clear photograph! Before we lost the sun on Saturday evening, the stonechats all darted across the grasses to come to roost in a thicket of brambles. They were joined by meadow pipit and wrens as a couple of kestrels flew overhead and tawny owls called from the woodland. This male stonechat was looking absolutely resplendent in his bold breeding plumage! This is my entry for the Fotospeed challenge today. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday 

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

101 Reasons To Visit Kos Island

101 Reasons To Visit Kos Island

Pictures speak louder than words, so I have 101 photographs that I believe will speak directly to your hearts on the beauty and appeal of this fascinating Greek island.

My piece of advice to you all this week, as part of the WordPress Discover Challenge, is to believe what your eyes see through my images of Kos and not what the world’s media would have you believe! Visit Kos and other Greek Islands, they are affordable, welcoming, enthralling and perfectly safe. You won’t regret it!

All these photographs were taken between June 21st and July 5th 2016. Most were shot on the Sony a6000 mirrorless camera, NFC transferred to my Sony Xperia Z5 smartphone and edited in Snapseed and Adobe PS Touch Apps.

Part of WPC: Look Up for the wonderful birds of Greece!

Unlocking The Landscape Part 6

Unlocking The Landscape Part 6

One of my favourite times of day on the Basingstoke Canal is just as the sun starts to go down. It bathes the landscape in a warm golden light, crowning the trees with a rich amber glow. I had the great pleasure of watching this chatty, little Nuthatch enjoying the last warm rays of the day, vocally announcing his territory and hunting out tasty morsels from the eroded canal banks.

Nutty about Nuthatches!

Later on along my way home, I caught some precious glimpses of our pipistrelle bats zipping through the skies above me, picking off midges and gnats for supper. I was lucky that there was just enough light left to be able to capture a few images that I’m afraid are heavily cropped but it was a thrill to watch them.

And Batty about Bats!

Part of the 7 Day Nature Photography Challenge and WPC: Landscape

In Loving Memory Of Lou

In Loving Memory Of Lou

Golden memories
Aglow with the warmth of the
Love still felt for you

A sunset frozen
In time, forever shining
On those left behind

The sun can never
Set on our friendship, dear friend
You live in our hearts

Louise Wood-Roe, my friend and once housemate, would have been 44 today. The memory of her is everywhere and in everything! This sunset image was taken in Kos a week before my wedding. She was with me, a bridesmaid smiling down on us with the warmth and love of the sun that she had always worshipped herself.

As has become my tradition, I remember Lou in flowers every year and I know that she would have delighted in these blooms that I saw in sunny Hyde Park, London, yesterday. I’m sure she would have pulled up a deckchair, poured the Pimms and soaked up the summer vibes.