A new year and a new photo thread to keep us entertained through the months ahead.

My first addition is something suitably seasonal - a wintery scene taken in the Amsterdam woods.

All contributions very much welcomed, and if the photos we've seen in previous years is anything to go by, we've a lot to look forward to.

Enjoy!

5 minutes ago, Steve S 60 said:

Foreign rhubarb?

there's no answer to that, but I see where you're coming from!

14 minutes ago, TattooDave said:

getting closer Pete, but not close enough.

Yep I don’t know Dave. It does somehow look familiar. I’ll be patient and wait until you let us all know.

Pete 

OK, I'll reveal it now, it's the tip of the flower stem of Agave americana, they push up a flower stem up to 9m tall.

21 minutes ago, TattooDave said:

OK, I'll reveal it now, it's the tip of the flower stem of Agave americana, they push up a flower stem up to 9m tall.

I'd have never have got that in a month of Sunday’s! 

5 minutes ago, Peter99 said:

I'd have never have got that in a month of Sunday’s! 

It's a very common plant in Spain, and has something to do with the production of tequila, though probably quite remotely.  Travel broadens the mind, but I guess there's nothing like traveling inside your own, and many people don't ever try that, shame on them.

4 hours ago, TattooDave said:

A strange one for you to try and identify...

Prickly pear ? Oops  just seen the answer. And I still got it wrong 

Edited May 6, 20187 yr by Winsford Soul

6 minutes ago, TattooDave said:

It's a very common plant in Spain, and has something to do with the production of tequila, though probably quite remotely.  Travel broadens the mind, but I guess there's nothing like traveling inside your own, and many people don't ever try that, shame on them.

Interesting Dave. I saw a documentary on Tequila recently - it’s named after the town Tequila. It showed them harvesting the plants - there were specialist harvesters, all done by hand. I seem to recall that the main producer is a family business - Americans, who spotted an opportunity. That could be wrong though as it was all a bit fuzzy. Absolute Vodka, Cherry flavour.

😜

 

 

1 minute ago, Peter99 said:

Interesting Dave. I saw a documentary on Tequila recently - it’s named after the town Tequila. It showed them harvesting the plants - there were specialist harvesters, all done by hand. I seem to recall that the main producer is a family business - Americans, who spotted an opportunity. That could be wrong though as it was all a bit fuzzy. Absolute Vodka, Cherry flavour.

😜

 

 

You're pretty spot on with it, and the cherry flavoured Absolute.  I currently have eight label stickers from litre bottles of Absolut on the fridge, I keep a score as to how many I drink in a year, there's been a couple of litres of Tanqueray too, and facts and figures can come hazy, even to a genius.

4 minutes ago, Winsford Soul said:

Prickly pear ? Oops  just seen the answer. And I still got it wrong 

Prickly pear is Opuntia, lots of species all or most of which readily hybridize, so are always difficult to name, their flowers are incredibly different to agave and vary immensely in colour, they produce small fruits, which are the edible prickly pear, much praised by Baloo

1 hour ago, TattooDave said:

 facts and figures can come hazy, even to a genius.

Please leave me out of this conversation.  😁

Steve 

The Tour of Yorkshire passing through Haworth.

Wood Sorrel and Lesser Celandine down the woods 5.5.18

Yesterday by walking in the forest I saw this strange oak. Someone must have created this but for what purpose ?

 

3 hours ago, Philippe said:

Yesterday by walking in the forest I saw this strange oak. Someone must have created this but for what purpose ?

 

It happens quite naturally Philippe, it's called inosculation, trees will grow into each other if they have branches that are close enough and rubbing together.  Honeysuckle does it a lot with anything that it climbs through, much sought after by walking stick makers. 

Edited May 9, 20187 yr by TattooDave
mind lapse

With some forethought it is possible to create something uniquely beautiful, this is a simple example...

Our local beach yesterday.

4 hours ago, TattooDave said:

It happens quite naturally Philippe, it's called inosculation, trees will grow into each other if they have branches that are close enough and rubbing together.  Honeysuckle does it a lot with anything that it climbs through, much sought after by walking stick makers. 

Thanks Dave, a cousin of mine gave me a walking stick like the ones on your picture. However it's the first time that I see such a thing with an oak. and in this case it's ONE tree, not three different. Still a mystery for me...

 

47 minutes ago, pat bleasdale said:

Our local beach yesterday.

Those Anthony Gormley  statues are great. Everytime I got to formby to see the Red Squirrels I mean to go to Crosby to see these statues and never get there. . .One day. .

Steve 

1 hour ago, Philippe said:

 

If you search for "inosculation" and go to images you'll see that it can be from just about anything.  Multiple trunks are usually from damage early in the trees life, rarely do several seedlings survive if they germinate so close to each other, there's always a faster grower.  My father makes walking sticks.

Edited May 9, 20187 yr by TattooDave
mind lapse

3 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Those Anthony Gormley  statues are great. Everytime I got to formby to see the Red Squirrels I mean to go to Crosby to see these statues and never get there. . .One day. .

Steve 

The best time to go is when the tide is just about to go out as many of them are totally submerged at full tide and they slowly start to appear as the tide goes out - spooky.

 

3 hours ago, TattooDave said:

If you search for "inosculation" and go to images you'll see that it can be from just about anything.  Multiple trunks are usually from damage early in the trees life, rarely do several seedlings survive if they germinate so close to each other, there's always a faster grower.  My father makes walking sticks.

Wow, we learn something new every day. I didn't even know this word "inosculation". Thanks Dave !

2 minutes ago, Philippe said:

Wow, we learn something new every day. I didn't even know this word "inosculation". Thanks Dave !

It's not one you trip over everyday, there's a plethora of them if you investigate.

Male Blackcap sulking about in the leaf canopy in terrible light. 

Steve

Male Blackcap singing. Could,nt get a clean shot in the awful light

Steve

Roe Deer. Last years fawn. Its mother is heavily pregnant with this years baby and is due anytime now and was barely visible in the bushes . Couldn't get the two deer in the picture

Steve

 

Sparrowhawk ( Male ) They have a scary yellow  eye that's amazing 

Steve

Edited May 9, 20187 yr by Winsford Soul

Just had this B & W Sunset  set to a 36 " X  24 " canvas so I can hang it in my lounge. I originally posted it  on here in colour . It was taken at Black Rock Sands on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales 

Steve 

A Few from last weekend

Johnny. I love the colour of the rape seed . The yellow is so vibrant when it's growing this time of the year. Pity that it's not the most insect friendly crop we grow here in the UK which is one of the contributing factors to the decline of so many of our farmland bird's.

Steve

2 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Roe Deer. Last years fawn. Its mother is heavily pregnant with this years baby and is due anytime now and was barely visible in the bushes . Couldn't get the two deer in the picture

Steve

 

Had a beautiful stag walk right towards me last weekend, alas no camera/phone on me , which I ‘always’ have with me , doh. Great pic , you must have been stealth like!

1 hour ago, Colnago said:

Had a beautiful stag walk right towards me last weekend, alas no camera/phone on me , which I ‘always’ have with me , doh. Great pic , you must have been stealth like!

Thanks Col. It was about 60 yards away from me on a island.  Where they know that they're safe so stealth  mode isn't really needed.  . I went looking to see if the fawns had been born but after seeing one of the pregnant Doe . It answered my question . 

Steve 

Chiffchaff. 

Steve

 

Kestrel ( Male )

Very grainy picture because of the absolutely awful light. I was pushing the ISO up to 4000 to try and get some detail 

Steve

Edited May 11, 20187 yr by Winsford Soul

English Bluebells. Unfortunately the Bluebells in the woods had gone passed there best to get a typical woodland scene and there was no sun light

Steve

Aquilegia. ( Spring Magic)

Steve 

Edited May 12, 20187 yr by Winsford Soul

Wattle, not in a bottle

This was amusing watching the young Mallards chasing, and catching flies

Something I don't see very often ... Hair ... sorry a Hare, posing nicely in the sunshine

Edited May 14, 20187 yr by martyn pitt

A few from yesterdays dog walk, plenty of wild garlic about.

On 03/05/2018 at 19:16, Russell Gilbert said:

We have a three-way tie for the most-liked photos for the Month of March!

The very worthy winners are...

 

 

Congratulations @Soulfinger @soulandy & @Rick Cooper!!! 

Nice one. thanks very much. Been on the Isle of Mull for a week and just catching up 👍

Just had a week on Mull and managed to get a couple of zoomed in shots of a Otter eating a rather large fish, a Sea Eagle flying high overhead and the keeper of the castle 😀

One of the many Sedge Warblers now residing at Belvide for the summer, already pairing up and building nests.

56 minutes ago, martyn pitt said:

One of the many Sedge Warblers now residing at Belvide for the summer, already pairing up and building nests.

Stunning picture mate. Not seen any at Pennington flash this year

Steve

Pied Wagtail fledgling

Steve

Doggy paddle

Steve

 

I was lucky enough to see this Pike swimming up the channel passed me this morning

Steve

 

Carrion Crow with fledgling Blackbird that it had predated. Nature is tough

Steve

Brown Rat. One of the most hated animals on the planet

Steve

 

3 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Carrion Crow with fledgling Blackbird that it had predated. Nature is tough

Steve

Once saw one grab a starling by its wing and swing it round and literally battered it to death on the roof tiles of the house we were working on , then it ate it, feathers an all ! . Hate the buggers, I see them looking for small birds ,nests , reducing the population of the blackbirds etc , I suppose this is to be expected since all birds became protected. Great pic by the way👍

3 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Brown Rat. One of the most hated animals on the planet

Steve

 

I think they’re actually very nice. Wouldn’t  want them in the house though. I had one living in a huge pile of rubble outside my back door once. It was in the winter and I became aware of it after hearing strange noises at the back door at night for about a week. I finally noticed that something had chewed a huge hole through the wooden weather board at the bottom of the back door. In the spring we filled two skips with the rubble - after nearly a mornings work, down to the last couple of barrow fulls, Mr Rat jumped off my mates shovel and scampered off. He was the size of a rabbit! 

Pete 

3 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Brown Rat. One of the most hated animals on the planet

Steve

 

Looks cute on your picture Steve, maybe it's a "she" ?