Category Archives: Flora/Fauna

May 01 2020
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Birdwatching, again

Thursday 30th April 2020, 10.45am (day 3,171)

Jackdaw, 30/4/20

So, there went April 2020, spent entirely under a form of house arrest for reasons that I am finding increasingly hard to understand — ostensibly to protect me from a disease that I may well have already had, but really because having dug ourselves into this hole, we now have no idea how to get back out of it. And I’m not just pointing the finger at the British government here. Six weeks ago everyone panicked, and it’s now, ‘OK, now what?’. A question to which no one seems to have a very plausible answer.

Meanwhile, as we look forward with no joy at all to what is very likely to be an equally dismal May, I have to point my camera out of the window and capture the small part of the world that is permitted me. Hello jackdaw. Enjoy your freedom.

Tagged , , , , , , ,
Apr 29 2020
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna, Hebden Bridge, Urban scene

Sale deferred

Tuesday 28th April 2020, 11.35am (day 3,169)

Closed shop, 28/4/20

As predicted yesterday, the weather did change, into cold, damp greyeness. All very depressing, especially at the moment. It’d be nice to think this shop can open soon and restart its sale, but it ain’t gonna be next week or anything, is it. Meanwhile, the ducks get on with life and wonder what the jackdaw wants out of them: an alliance against the pigeons maybe?

I haven’t been producing many photos lately for understandable reasons but this is the first time since lockdown began (March 17th basically) that I have managed a photowhack — meaning, this was the only photo taken today.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 24 2020
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Eyes of the peacock

Thursday 23rd April 2020, 3.40pm (day 3,164)

Peacock butterfly, 23/4/20

Peacock butterfly, that is. This specimen positively batted its eyes at me, clearly it wanted its close-ups doing; but then again, with a pair of eyes like that, who wouldn’t. It seems to be a good spring for butterflies, there are plenty of them about. Maybe it’s because we humans aren’t disturbing them so much this year, but more likely is just that it’s been warm and sunny.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 22 2020
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Tree roots

Wednesday 22nd April 2020, 8.35am (day 3,163)

Tree roots, 22/4/20

I may have already said this — like in Groundhog Day, there is a sense of repetition — but there are a couple of things whose value has been emphatically demonstrated during the last few weeks. Firstly that the topography of my life still provides legitimate reasons to leave the house on a regular basis. Second that there is attractive woodland just over the road that I can reasonably walk through in order to get from one part of this topography to others, which at least provides regular photo opportunities. These gnarly roots (brushed here and there by strands of gossamer) caught my eye this morning: this is the earliest shot on a day since February.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 20 2020
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Bluebell season

Monday 20th April 2020, 9.55am (day 3,161)

Bluebells, 20/4/20

At the moment, some pictures just need saving up for a day when there’s nothing else to show. The bluebells have been out for a few days now. Is there a flower with a more appropriate name? Beyond the fact that they don’t make a sound, it’s hard to fault it.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,
Apr 15 2020
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Sakura

Wednesday 15th April 2020, 9.30am (day 3,156)

Cherry blossom, 15/4/20

It is three years and a bit, or more precisely, 1,112 days, since I went to Japan and commented on that nation’s obsessive interest in cherry blossom, which they call sakura. It is certainly a sign of full spring, and so ephemeral that I wonder if the Japanese are getting their spiritual money’s worth from the sakura in this rather odd springtime. I will at least report that Hebden’s own cherry/cheery trees are in full blossom right now.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,
Apr 11 2020
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Squirrel portrait

Friday 10th April 2020, 2.05pm (day 3,151)

Squirrel, 10/4/20

More fauna: it came down to a choice between this rodent and a butterfly today, as nature gets on with its stuff while we’re all stuck at home. I like this squirrel’s happy little face — it looks a bit like the way aliens are often depicted, with its big eyes and pointy nose.

Tagged , , , , , ,
Apr 09 2020
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Plum blossom

Wednesday 8th April 2020, 3.20pm (day 3,149)

Plum blossom, 8/4/20

One thing to be thankful for at the moment is that we have a garden, and now, the fact that it is a few minutes’ walk from the house is a boon rather than a burden. The plum tree has blossomed well: maybe this will be one of its glut years.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,
Apr 07 2020
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Stuck inside

Tuesday 7th April 2020, 1.20pm (day 3,148)

New kale, 7/4/20

The media narrative is that however safely we behave, we are not to be allowed outdoors. Like this new sprig of kale we are condemned to watch spring unfold outside, from behind glass. On the other hand this plant is probably more likely than us to get out before May: assuming we are permitted to take it up to the garden and transplant it, anyway.

I’m trying on here not to sound too bitter, but it’s not easy. These are bad times. If anyone in the future feels like looking back on this last month (and the month, at least, which is surely to come) with any kind of nostalgia or wistfulness then they will deserve all the contempt they receive.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,
Apr 07 2020
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

King of his castle

Monday 6th April 2020, 3.35pm (day 3,147)

Jackdaw king, 6/4/20

Happily, the sun has come out. Sadly, the people have not. So here is more birdlife: there is little else to bring variety at this time. This jackdaw was determined to get the best vantage point in his immediate area, and seems to have succeeded.

Tagged , , , , , , ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →