second in July

Back again to write something. This is the second post in just over a week. I have been struggling to actually write some things down. OK so the world Cup has been on and I am sure I have come up with lots of excuses. I am still taking pictures. The website has sat for a while without addition. I am working on some changes / upgrades (that may be far too strong a word for it ). Anyway Vertrouge will have some new pictures and some new categories soon. we are back off to Scotland at the beginning of August so I hope to have done something by then.

So what has happened in the last week since my last post. Well I have been to work and we have had the weekend. The weather has held up.. well until today when the rain has returned. I have carried on with my walks up and down the River Severn around the English Bridge in Shrewsbury. A pair of swans has managed to raise so far a brood of seven cygnets who are growing well

They seem to spend most of their time when I am in the vicinity on the far bank or in mid stream. a couple of days ago they were lured across by the promise of bread and I got a couple of pictures. This is my favourite.

On the same day I saw a family group of goosander floating by. They stayed in the stretch for a couple of days before heading on, downstream I assume. There is something about the shape of their heads and the way they move that reminds me of the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park.

Yesterday I went for a walk along the canal that runs near where I live in walsall. I came across a couple of very young moorhen chicks and got a couple of pictures that I am quite pleased with.

As you can see from the first one the chicks were very small, this one looking as though it never wanted to get into the water again. After a while it had found a sibling and was being "fed" by the adult.

OK that is enough for now

Until next time

Onward

So I have been somewhat remiss writing in the blog for some weeks I remember doing something in May, but I have not even checked for a while. Not much has changed life has wandered on. I am still working in Shrewsbury and living in Walsall. the patterns of my life have not changed, maybe that has something to with the lack of writing in the blog.

Well it is now July and spring has definitely transformed into summer. This is my favourite summer picture so far. It was taken just upstream of the English Bridge in Shrewsbury on the River Severn.

I just like the colours and coolness of the water on a hot day.


The River Severn in Shrewsbury has provided my main source and I am developing my flotsam and Jetsam motif. I saw this Sainsburys carrier floating downstream as a bright amoeba drawing in all around it.

For those who have survived my musings for some time you will remember my love of Teasels. Well slowly this years batch is growing and coming into "flower".

Here is one of my favourites of the crop this year so far. You can just see the beginnings of the purple around head.

So I will try and be more regular with this

Time for bed

Isle of whithorn a flying visit part one

Having spent the weekend in Dumfries and Galloway during a hot and dry weekend and driven 300 or so miles there and back again. I feel I should spend some time recuperating and catching up with the pictures I took and writing up this blog. unfortunately no 1 daughters bedroom is in dire need of decorating and it has been decreed that we will get this sorted as soon as possible. so the room is now on the whole devoid of most things to be honest. there is a carpet and the occasional scrap of wall paper so I think I can call it a day.

My daughters had entered the Art and photography competitionn run by Castle Kennedy and the Stair Estates and both had won prizes. So we decided to go and pick them up in person. The presentation took place in the library in Stranraer on the Friday evening. We managed to get a place to stay in the Isle of Whithorn. Which is about an hour away from Stranraer but somewhere we have come back to over the years.

This is the main street on a busy Saturday morning.

the harbour itself is quiet and peaceful with the Steampacket inn possibly the favoured destination.

We arrived in plenty of time and were able to get top the presentation with lots of time to spare.

OK time for bed more in part 2 later in the week decorating allowing

another quiet day

So it has been another quiet day, I went for a walk at lunchtime and although I saw and talked to one of the people I pass quite regularly on my walks, I don't think I pointed my camera at anything at all.

Anything else happen well no. today I think was a normal day and I am not sure what to put down. I probably will have to make some decisions about trying to do something different. Re work I suppose. I am very bored and finding motivation is hard. The walking the pictures and shrewsbury itself are good. I like the people I work with. what I am asked to do is not challenging. Unfortunately I need to pay the bills and this does it. Unless someone has a better idea. Probably that someone is me.

Looking back I have never been able to directly get what I waned. Though sometimes it is working out what I actually want. that is the problem and I know, from experience, that just because something looks better.... the theory is great, the actual practice is crap.

I could get very maudlin here, but I won't. Today is Wednesday and Friday we are off to Scotland for the Weekend.

OK Goodnight

More Stuff on the Severn

Been an odd day in some ways, I went for the walk more to, just do it, and "get it out of the way" and yet I saw more stuff that I did not expect of would have looked for. I suppose that's the way it goes. so I suppose I should start at the beginning. There I walked down towards the English Bridge on the town side bank and in the shallows I saw a 6" long fish and it stayed in the same place long enough for me to get quite a decent picture of it. I have no idea of the species and will have to a bit more than the cursory bit of research that has so far left me none the wiser. I will report back any conclusions I come to.

As a I wandered under the English Bridge heading down stream I caught a group of goosander chicks without parent / adults, foraging. There were five of them keeping together. This was probably the best picture I got of them. I would normally blame operator error, and don't see any good reason not to continue with that.

So continuing downstream I kept my eye on the river, especially on the floating debris that I have taken a fancy to. In doing this by chance I came across a good size Pike sunning itself in the shallows. It seemed totally oblivious to me standing above. I did manage to get this picture.

I know that you will have to look closely and it is blurry, but I am happy with it ad I suppose that is what counts.

Some years ago I did some research with Anne Magurran into the alarm responses of minnows. To be honest she had most of the ideas I think she gave me some of the credit for which I am grateful.

It was as I was trying to get my picture of the Pike that I heard a racket on the river and glanced up to see one of the stretch's Mute swans getting in to the air with some effort. I was quite pleased with myself for this snap shot.

On top of this today was probably the warmest day we have had this year so far. so it was a good day especially in that I got to see so much more than I expected.

OK bed time again

Back soon

No 82

Post no 82. Sorry about that but I was looking at my stats and saw this was post number 82 and felt it deserved some recognition. I have carried on and am still here sporadically at the moment but it is still going which is an achievement in itself for me.

What do I have to get you to look at today. Well spring is drawing on apace and I have seen my first ducklings and swifts in the last few weeks. I know summer is not that far away. The swifts have to be honest to fast and elusive to take any sort of pictures of. One day when I have time and the right place I will do the swift thing. I tried once a long time ago when I first got a camera and spent an hour or so at Chasewater one early June evening. I got lots of pictures of sky and small blurred shapes on the prints that came back a week or so later.

So back to ducklings, This is the first duckling (mallard) I saw earlier this month on the River Severn on my daily lunch time meander along the River Severn in Shrewsbury and has been followed by several more sightings in the general area of the English Bridge. This has included a continuation of the theme of the winter and early spring with the sighting of Goosander brood on their way downstream. this was probably the best picture of I got of any of them as they paddled furiously towards the far bank.

This year has been the first I have seen May fly in any great numbers , I suppose mainly because I have never really spent any sort of time by water at this time of year. Walking on the bank over the last few days has given me a chance to at least catch a sight of them alive rather than on a pin board where I have seen them before.

I saw this one late last week, I assume not long after it emerged. Species... well I am just not well up on my ephemenopteans these days. Never was really.

Today most of the mayfly were on the water again but this time they were struggling, trapped in the surface layer they could not escape. Rather their vibrations of their struggles sent out ripples. I managed to catch the patterns as this individual came to the end of its final day (s).

So that is me for moment. next week end we are going to Scotland and I might get to take some pictures of Stranraer and its surrounds as we explore S W Scotland.

Any way more later. Goodnight

Hiatus

so I have come to put something in. The motivation to keep this going is still there that is why I have got in and done this. The website is much the same and I have not dabbled for a while, the pictures are still being taken and building up. I suppose there does need to be some sort of creative outlet. I just don' t feel particularly creative at the moment. I am still going for my walks and taking photos. It is this bit that has slipped. the process of going through the day and reflecting even if it is only on the pictures and where and when they were taken.

Thinking about it I am sure I have talked about this before. the jump between going out and doing something and recording it, writing it down, I was always crap at the actual writing down bit.

I want to keep this short as as ever it is late for me, and Lauren if you do read this, Hello.

Spring is arriving apace and maybe even the 1st signs of summer can be seen. It is now May and there are still Daffodils in flower, the Horse Chestnuts are in Bloom and the some dandelions have flowered and set seed.

I have continued walking along the river severn in shrewsbury and carried on with the pictures of the "interesting" floating debris I come across.

I still love the feathers, mainly white, that I see with this being amongst my favourites.


So it is now bedtime

Goodnight