Another day for spring foliage to fill up the bandwidth. 2,803 days in and there are still some corners of the home town worth depicting. The bridge has been here since 1510, or thereabouts, and seems good for a while yet. Whether the same is true of the photographer, who knows…?
The blossom came out in force over the hot Easter weekend…. and a good chunk of it came down again during the last couple of less clement days. This ephemerality is why people like the Japanese get all sentimental about it, I guess.
This tulip is open and ready for business. Come and get it with those hairy stamens right now baby. Or so to speak.
Was up early to catch a train for a Good Friday walk in the Lake District. Had stupendous weather and lots of nice photos from that will eventually appear on my other blog. But today’s picture isn’t from among them, because this one needs to be seen…. A deer, a very young stag (going on those first brave attempts at antlers), on the side road that parallels the canal for a little while, by the railway station. Astonishing sight so close to town, 6.35 in the morning or not. We both stood stock still for a while staring at each other and he decided he would let me get the camera out. Then he trotted off back down the road — I hope to safety.
Wildlife has been noticeable by its absence in Vietnam, even in the Delta yesterday: all that has been seen has either been trophy poodles, or a morose looking python in a cage (which I did consider making pic of the day, I admit). But I transferred today from the very centre of the city to a more suburban part, and by the lagoon of Hồ bán nguyệt [don’t ask me how you get those diacriticals on there — I just copied-and-pasted], I spotted this lizard, a skink I assume, before it spotted me.
This year’s crop of baby leeks emerges from the soil in the seed tray on our window sill. I like this shot because though they each started out as the same configuration — a seed — they have all grown up in slightly different ways, each an individual. They all liked the burst of sunshine that came around 3pm but I hope they drank it in well, because about five minutes of sun was all we got today. The JPG file you are looking at has loaded properly, by the way. The bottom strip is the tray.
If I had things as fine as that sprouting from my back, I’d want to show them off now and again, wouldn’t you?
My unexciting week continues, but at least I got up to the allotment, where this earthworm seemed surprised at suddenly finding itself atop a slope of plastic, namely, the compost barrel. And, you know, it managed to climb up it, over the edge, and drop back into the rotting food bounty below. Which, on smooth plastic, is not bad going for what is essentially a piece of ligament.
Piles of frog spawn filled various random bits of water (such as, literally, roadside puddles) on my walk yesterday and an equally huge pile filled the ornamental pond in my in-laws’ garden this morning. Now you’ve seen the size of a frog, right? These rafts of spawn were two feet wide. There must have been mass spawn-laying orgies taking place on Friday night. Wouldn’t we all like to be invited to such parties.
I know I’m anthropomorphosising, but please tell me you see this bumblebee’s grumpy little face… long nose, protuberant jaw, etc. It’s like, “I know it was a nice sunny day today, but bloody hell is it early in the year to get up.” However… respect the pollinators, that’s what we have to do….
Being 42 