Odd Shots On Monday

Time for Odd Shots again.

As most of you will know by now, I love shadows and reflections.
This shot, with the sun pouring through the vertical blinds, combines both.

A small patch of shadow is visible on the floor, reflected in the front of the TV unit, and in the TV screen.
Careful observation (and clicking to enlarge the photo) will discover the main window, and a much smaller patch of light that is the hallway window seen through the sitting room door.
Only an odd person would take a shot like this!

For more Odd Shots, visit our host and originator Katney.

Have a good week.

Camera Critters

I've mentioned Tris before.
She's our elderly cat who came to us in the autumn of 1993.
She was fully grown then but still young, which makes her over 15 years old now. When she came to us she had a badly injured hind leg and had been living rough for some time.
Eighteen months ago Tris had several small strokes, and we thought it was the beginning of the end.
Tris had other ideas!
She learned to manage with her head twisted to one side.
She even learned to walk in a straight line.
Now, it's hard to believe there's ever been anything wrong with her.
The only real problem is that Tris loves dry biscuity cat nibbles. Rinli, our younger cat (only 10 years old!) also loves them. Rinli eats them when he's hungry, then leaves them. If Tris sees them she races over to eat as many as she can. Trouble is that more than a few will make her throw up, so we keep them from her.
I know, we're cruel!

Anyway, these pictures show the lengths to which Tris will go to capture her favourite treats!

She loves them so much!

For more photos, visit Camera Critters,
hosted by Misty.
You'll be glad you did!

Saturday PhotoHunt - Bright.

Time for the Saturday PhotoHunt again, and this week the theme is

BRIGHT

Fortunately we had some bright weather during the week. I was using the microwave to defrost some stuff, when I noticed the bright reflection in the door.

The sun was so bright on the garden that it was reflected through the windows and onto the microwave.
So of course, I grabbed my camera!

For more bright pictures, visit our host
TNChick.

Happy Hunting!

Sky Watch Friday - Midsummer Evenings.

This first photo was taken last Sunday at 11pm from my back garden. The sky is still surprisingly light.

This second shot was taken the next evening from the same place, just 20 minutes earlier.

I was lucky. Both evenings were cool enough that the evil midges were fairly quiet, so I could manage the photos in safety!

For more Sky Watch photos, visit our host at
Wigger's World,
and enjoy!

ABC Wednesday - W

ABC Wednesday has reached letter W this week.

W

is for

Window

and

Wind turbine above the water

and

Wet young starlings
sheltering from the rain.

For more W pictures, visit our hostess
Mrs Nesbitt
and enjoy the fun.

Two Fer Tuesday

Two Fer Tuesday was started by Jonna. Visit her for some interesting photos.

Here are her rules.

Two fer Tuesday is easy. You just have to post about a pair of photos that have a theme, like Autumn, cars, a trip. The theme can be of your choosing. The theme may be direct or implied. You must explain how they are related, if implied. You must post at least 2. If you must post more than 2, they must be in pairs.

Right then, here are my two for today.


This first one was taken at the start of May this year.
It shows the blossom on our ornamental crab-apple tree, which was bought and planted by Stephen, my youngest son, two years ago. The blossom is a lovely deep pink, and the leaves have a purplish blush.
This year, for the first time, we have tiny crab apples developing.

This is the biggest so far. Now I want to know how big it will grow!

Odd Shots On Monday

Good morning everyone.
It's Monday, and time for Odd Shots,
hosted by Katney.
Visit her for more Odd Shots, and to join the fun!

This is my Odd Shot for the week. I was messing about, trying to catch a shot of a drop of water falling in a dish in the sink (I wanted something a bit different for PhotoHunt last Saturday)
I didn't manage it this time, but I thought this photo was a bit odd.
Can you see the strange face in the bowl?

Have a good week.

What animal were you in a previous life?

I saw this over at Misty Dawn's place, and I was so impressed I thought I'd give it a go.
Believe it or not, Misty was told that in a previous life she was a dog!!!

Well, I thought, I'd have been a cat. Or maybe a cow.
So I went to look.

You Were a Swan

You are a spiritual soul who sees into the future. You are also good at interpreting dreams - those of yourself and others.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

Well well well!

Camera Critters

Sunday again, and I'm making this post serve a dual purpose.

Firstly Misty Dawn's Camera Critters.
(Visit her for more Captivating Critters!)

Secondly an update on my elderly dog.
I posted about our worries here.
All this happened just after my last Camera Critters entry.

At the ripe old age of 14, nothing will make Badger into anything other than a distinctly elderly lady, and all elderly ladies can expect to have one or two problems. (I know this, because I'm getting there myself!)

Happily, Badger's expensive medicine seems to have done the trick.
Here are some photos of her taken just this morning. She's straight out of bed, so please forgive the slightly disheveled look - she hasn't yet been brushed and combed!

Here she's come face to face with our even older cat in the doorway. The slightly shifty expression is one that often appears when the camera comes out and she can't run away.

Outside the door. Oh no, it's the camera again!

And here you can actually see her walking. She's licking her lips after a nice drink from three different sources of water - she tells me they all have different flavours.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and don't forget to visit Misty.

Saturday PhotoHunt - Water

Here we are at Saturday again.
Time for the PhotoHunt, Hosted by
TNChick.
Visit her for a flood of photos on the theme of
WATER.

Here's my selection.

Drops of water in the bottom of my kitchen sink.

Plants reflecting in a bucket of water in my garden.

The same bucket, but this time after filling, with the last drops of water splashing in.
I tried to catch the stream from the tap, but I found it too difficult. The bucket filled before I managed it!

Have a good weekend, and
Happy Hunting!

Sky Watch Friday

Well, it's very nearly midsummer, and the sky shows the type of weather we're getting. You can even see some raindrops on the window (no, I wasn't mad enough to go out!)

This second photo was taken just around sunset (about 10pm) Wednesday evening. The sky was so bright that the houses look dark!

The window faces roughly south-west, and the sun would be setting behind the house roof on the far right of the picture. There's another shower on the way in from the see!

For more Sky Watch pictures, visit Wiggers World.

Happy Midsummer!

Badger

Poor Badger isn't feeling very well.
On Sunday evening she was walking between rooms and suddenly yelped. I thought she may have twisted her foot somehow, as she was holding it up slightly.
Next morning she could hardly walk. Her whole body seemed weak and painful. She had to be supported out into the garden to relieve herself.
She wouldn't eat.
This has happened before, but she was fine after about two days. This time feels different.

I rang the Vet. As there's only one in the area, dealing with all the farm animals as well as the pets, it's not always easy to get hold of him, but this time I was lucky. We made a rapid lunch-time dash to the surgery, and came back with an anti-inflammatory mixture for her.

Badger slept all the rest of Monday, and most of Tuesday. Yesterday (Wednesday) morning she looked ready to try going for her morning walk - she made it to the front gate then came in again.
I'm glad to say she seems better today. She actually walked across the road and investigated the wheels of a small truck. When we came back in she wanted a snack. She's still not eating properly, but I think there's hope.

She's 14 years old now, though, so we have to face the fact that one day we'll be without her.

Not a happy thought.

ABC Wednesday - V

Poor Mrs Nesbitt has electrical problems, so
ABC Wednesday
is starting a bit early this week!

Anyway, we've reached the letter
V

V
is for
Violets
and
Vetch

I took this photo earlier this year.
A clump of Dog Violets grows in a stone wall along the lane where I do most of my dog-walking.

This yellow Vetch grows further up the same lane.
I'm not positive about it's name, but I think it may be Birdsfoot Trefoil.

This is probably Tufted Vetch. It likes to grow and climb up any supporting plant or fence.

For more V posts, visit our hostess
Mrs Nesbitt,
and enjoy!

Two Fer Tuesday

Tuesday again, and time for

Two Fer Tuesday

hosted by Jonna

I'm sticking with garden bird pictures for the moment. They're filling my garden with movement and noise, in spite of two cats and a dog.

I've been trying out my camera's motor-drive, enjoying catching the near-perfect moment. I could bore you all day with photo after photo, but I'm limiting myself to just the two.
The robin keeps coming back to bathe.
He looks as if he's really enjoying himself!

But he's sure someone's spying on him!


Here are Jonna's rules:

Two fer Tuesday is easy. You just have to post about a pair of photos that have a theme, like Autumn, cars, a trip. The theme can be of your choosing. The theme may be direct or implied. You must explain how they are related, if implied. You must post at least 2. If you must post more than 2, they must be in pairs.

Odd Shots On Monday

I stood in my kitchen, watching the birds through the window.
There was a male sparrow with two young ones.
He brought his children to a pan of water and demonstrated how to hop onto the edge to drink.
They watched him carefully, then he went away to find more food for them.
One chick had a drink and hopped down.
Then it was the turn of the second one.
He didn't seem to get the idea!
(Click on the photo to enlarge.)

Silly bird, you need to put your beak into the water!

For more Odd Shots, visit Katney.

Have a good week.

Camera Critters

Badger is an old dog, 14 years old now.
Tris (short for Triskel, because she ran on only three legs when she came to us as a stray) is over 15 years old.
Old ladies often have strange ideas (I'm one, so I know!)
Tris decided that Badger's basket was nicer than hers.
Badger tried out Tris's basket, but it didn't really fit.
So she had to squeeze in alongside Tris!

The poor dog has a hard life!

For more Camera Critters visit Misty, who had this lovely idea.

Saturday PhotoHunt - Emotion(s)

Saturday again, and time for PhotoHunters.
This week the subject is
Emotions

I have two different emotions for you today.

The first two pictures represent

anger

While the second represents

love

Visit TNChick for more interpretations.
It's worth it - hers is lovely!

Happy Hunting!

Sky Watch Friday

Yes, I'm joining in another photo meme!

For some time I've seen many inspiring sky pictures on blogs I visit, but I've been nervous of joining in. But now newly blogging daughter has taken the plunge, so I've been encouraged to follow suit.

I took this photo yesterday evening from one of our upstairs windows. As you can see, the sky is nothing like that posted by our host!

To join the fun, and so view some wonderful pictures, visit
Wigger's World
and enjoy!

ABC Wednesday - U

All right, it's not quite Wednesday, but it's near enough for me.

This week, we've reached the letter U

U
is for
UMBEL

An umbel is a particular arrangement of flowers on a plant. They grow in groups, and the flower stems all grow from about the same place on the main stem, with the youngest flowers in the centre. This means the centre can still be in tight bud while the outer flowers are wide open.
Carrots and parsnips are umbellifers.

So is parsley.

While thinking of what to post this week I found some of last year's parsley growing in a corner and flowering well.

A rather pretty flower head, even if the colouring is far from showy.

Funnily enough, I spotted another umbelliferous plant in an old tub, obviously self-seeded from some time ago.
I've cropped this photo so as to show you the dainty flower buds just beginning to open - believe me, you don't want to be shown the surrounding mess!

This pretty little thing is a carrot flower!

So now I've bored you all with my UMBELS, wander over to Mrs Nesbit's Place to see what other people have found for U. It's bound to be interesting.