Well, for Oilseed Rape anyway.
In spite of some recent high winds and occasional heavy showers it was still standing.
One of the fields at the end of our lane was harvested a few days ago.
Today when we went walkabout mid afternoon I could hear the combine was working very close by.
It was working on the field right next to the lane end:
This is the first time I have used the Nikon at full 1080p resolution.
Hand held as I do most times. A bit of stabilization done in iMovie.
As usual you may have to force YouTube to show it in HD.
As it was blustery and the video ended up with loud wind noise I replaced the soundtrack.
Music - God's Reminding.
Seems like it was another difficult one last week.
Congratulations to Adrian who worked out that:
was a WidsMob Montage modified version of
a bulrush.
I do think you shouldn't have many problems with this one:
If you think you know what the original photo was please leave you guess in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the original photo, next Monday.
As one of the traps opened this morning I could see that my Venus Fly Trap had caught a small moth:
What annoying weather conditions we have had recently. The night before the 'Blood Moon' there were perfect views of the Moon. They night after, once again perfectly clear views. The night of the Lunar eclipse - thick cloud, heavy rain and thunder storms!
A rude awakening this morning about 5 a.m. Woken by several loud booms, just like the sound a heavily laden artic makes driving over an uneven road surface. It didn't sound anything like thunder I had heard before but that's what it must have been as it heralded the arrival of a band of storms which stretched from London through to the east of Lincolnshire. We were on the edge of it and so far have only had 5mm of rain in three short outbursts.
Needless to say we didn't get our usual early morning walk. Penny was in her safe space as she hates thunder. It will be at least a couple of hours after the last thunder heard, even if it is miles away, before she will show her nose outdoors. The passage in my home has no windows, no natural light except some light spilling from the kitchen at one end so she goes to the far end in the darkest part.
Looking at the Blitzortung live lightning site it showed in excess of 20,000 strikes mainly over the UK in two hours. Things should be clearing out to the North Sea soon so we will get a break from storms until the next batch which seem to be forecast for 6 p.m. onwards today.
To end on a brighter note, Yucca flowers seen in a local front garden:
My Hibiscus bush used to produce an abundance of flowers every year. Last year was a great disappointment with very few blooms. That was a shame as it can attract all sorts of insect life. I think it was the result of a sudden change in lighting conditions when I cut down a couple of evergreens which sheltered it from the midday sun. Fortunately it seems to have recovered. This year it is absolutely covered in new buds and the first one has opened:
I hope it attracts some butterflies as they have been far and few between round here this year. I put that down to loss of habitat on the cricket field. There were several wild areas, mainly nettles and thistles, around the edges of the field but most have been cut down for the past couple of years.
I nearly fooled everyone with last week's WidsMob Montage picture:
Well done to Ragged Robin who correctly said it was a:
photograph of a moth.
I wonder whether this one will be easier to identify:
My thanks to those who had a go last week. If you would like to have try this week please leave your guess in the comments. They will be revealed, along with the original photo, next Monday.
Been having a play in HitFilm Express (recently updated to v9)
Edit: Starter pack purchased and installed (<£9)
Set up a new composite project at 1080p
Corn jpg imported
Clouds effect applied and coloured, maybe not the best choice of colour yet.
Cartoon effect applied to corn.
midmarsh..... text on a new layer
Heat distortion and emboss effects applied.
(The first time I've experimented using key frames to change effects with time)
Followed by Neon Glow, Diffuse and Light Flare effects.
Most of the effects have many different adjustments which can be made.
Lots of experimenting needed to see what each did.
Result saved as a video file.
Temporary title made in ArtText 3 on a green background.
Saved as a jpg.
Both imported in iMovie.
Blended using green screen.
Title text made to move using Ken Burns effect panning from a blank space to the text.
Saved as a video file (no sound)
With this set up it is easy to make a new title in ArtText 3 and replace the temporary one.
As yet I haven't managed to eliminate the small green dot.
Once again the title was made using HitFilm2 Express.
I have now installed the latest version. HitFilm Express v8.1
This is a free app / program available for Mac and Windows.
Of course they hope you will eventually buy their Pro version.
Although I have lived less than twenty miles away for many years this is the first time I have been to explore the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway. Sundays are usually running days where you can get a ride on a train, look round their museum and enjoy a cream tea. Tuesdays and Saturdays are often working days where rolling stock and track maintenance are conducted. Visitors can have a look round the station and sidings but all the extra facilities are closed.
As I had chosen a Saturday I was not expecting to see anything working but hoped fewer visitors would give me the chance for some quiet exploration. As it happened I only saw one other visitor.
When I arrived I was delighted to see a loco making steam as it stood near one of the platforms.
It looked as though it was about to move some coal and wood to the other end of the line.
As luck would have it it started to move so time for a hurried video.
I was also able to catch the same loco later in my visit:
Oh, how the sound of a real locomotive chuffing its way down the track brings back memories of travelling by rail in my youth before the Beeching axe closed so many branch lines.
Next was a walk across the road to the main platform and have a look round.
View from the end of the platform.
No visitors allowed past here but on my way back along the platform I spied a gap between two buildings where there was a notice giving some details of the locos and rolling stock they have.
Walking past that led to a path which visitors are allowed to follow.
This runs next to sidings where some of the rolling stock, old and refurbished, can be seen.
Then back to the platform, heading for the car park.
First a look at the station clock.
and a last look at 'Spitfire'
The amount of work put in by the volunteers is mind boggling. From rebuilding the signal box and station, restoring carriages and laying track (BR removed all rails, sleepers and ballast when they closed the line) to the ten years it took to restore 'Spitfire'. Not to mention the money that has to be raised to pay for materials. To date the trains run on an approximate 1.5 mile (2.4km) track between Ludborough and North Thoresby.
There is a link to the LWR site near the beginning if you are interested.
There is also some information on Wikipedia.
It was a hot, Sunny, very enjoyable afternoon exploring.
I was grateful that the air conditioning in the car now works at full strength.
All photos and video were taken with the Nikon Coolpix S9050
The finished timelapse video of my Sundew plant flowering:
If the video looks a bit blurry YouTube may have chosen to show it at 480p
In that case click the cog wheel at the bottom and then Quality.
Choose a better quality, up to 1080p depending on the speed of your internet connection.
Title scene made in HitFilm 2 Express
Stills compiled to video with TLDF
Final video made with iMovie
Soundtrack found on Wikimedia Commons.
Sorry folks. This is not a set of instruction for making your own hooch.
I've had a quick look at the new set of photos of the Sundew plant flowering.
257 taken so far. I have to check every one to remove the occasional blank photo.
Possibly the flash / shutter sync fails every once in a while.
Also tried a new app for assembling them to make a video at 1080p 25fps HD
This is a crop from one of the new series of photographs:
There might be enough by Friday to make a new time-lapse video.
One problem has been keeping the flowers in frame:
The photos were taken about a week apart and show that the flower stems grow as they unfurl.
