Red Bottle Brushes

The Callistemon (bottle brush plant) may be somewhat straggly in growth



but the unusual brilliant red flowers make up for it



Even though it is not a native British plant it attracts a lot of bees.
I wonder what bottle brush honey tastes like.
This coming Autumn I will try to cultivate some cuttings.

Monday Mystery

Last week's close view



turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated. It was part of



a whistling kettle which was correctly identified by Adrian. In fact a camping kettle (the handle folds down to take up less space when not in use) as identified by Kev Scott. Well done to both. Thank you to all who had a go.

I used to have an electric kettle that had an electronic whistle which sounded as the kettle switched off but it developed a leak. I replaced it with another electric one but the water from that always tasted foul. Some chemical in the plastic seemed to be contaminating the water, even after several uses. In the end I went back to using metal whistling kettles to heat up on the gas cooker.

Another close view for this week



Can you identify what it is?
If you would like to have a guess please leave it in the comments.
Any will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Hover Fly

Not anything of note going on round here this week. Yesterday's storms passed us by. Looks like being a wet day today.  Earlier in the week I was sorting out a problem with the pump on the water feature when a persistent hover fly kept getting in the way. They seem to be one of the most inquisitive insects, often hovering a few inched from my face. Maybe they can't quite believe what they are seeing.  This one kept landing on the plastic box of screws I was trying to use.



No matter how many times I shooed it away it returned to the same spot to give its eyes a thorough wash and brush up.

Seeing Red

At long last the first flowers are opening on the Callistemon (bottle brush plant).



The first of nearly fifty flowers showing this year.

Having survived two winters the Salvia Hot Lips are putting on a good show



When they finished flowering last Autumn I cut them down to about one third their height.
Without pruning they could become too leggy with long bare hardwood stems.

Monday Mystery

Many correct guesses for last week's mystery object:



Congratulations to Adrian. the Veg Artist, Kev Scott, Rachel Phillips (welcome), Ellen D, and Kris who sussed out it was the end view of



a remote control. This one is for a radio.

Many thanks to all who had a go.

A close view of an object for you to identify this week:



If you would like to have a guess please leave it in the comments.
They, along with the answer, will be revealed next Monday.

Nearly There

The pitcher plant has been losing a lot of pitchers recently. I think the main cause was it becoming pot bound so yesterday I re-potted it in a larger container with new compost designed for insectivorous plants. The plant appears to have a main growing 'crown' with two smaller ones. It is the pitchers from the smaller growth areas which have been drying out.

Anyway the flower bud looks about ready to open up fully in the near future:



As well as new compost I am putting the plant outside when the weather is suitable. A bit of direct sunlight may help restore it to full health along with having a better chance of attracting more flies.

Welcome Visitors

Recently there have been a couple of juvenile Blue Tits making fleeting visits to the bird feeders:



I wonder whether they were from the nestbox behind the shed.

Also nice to see are the occasional visits from Goldfinches:




There was a time when I could see up to a dozen visit but there seem to be far less of them about now.

Bathing Black and White Blackbird

My water feature using the old waterfall from my pond is still under construction. I had to replace the filter unit as the old one was leaking. At somewhere near twenty years old I couldn't find any spare parts for it. I didn't like the solid wood background so I replaced that with a couple of layers of greenhouse sun shading material. Not that the birds are bothered whether it is a finished product or not as long as there is water to drink or bathe in.



This blackbird is easy to recognise as it has a few white feathers.

Still Growing

The flower spike on the pitcher plant continues to grow quite rapidly.

Photos taken seven days apart.

Monday Mystery

Last week's mystery was difficult to identify exactly



Most people could see it was a buckle, but of what?
Dave hedged his bets but did include the right answer



part of a watch strap.
My thanks to all who had a go.

This time I have a full picture of the mystery object but from an unusual angle.



Whatever can it be?

If you would like to make a guess please leave it in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

I Spy With My Little Eye

I was having a close look at my large pitcher plant as some of the newer pitchers were beginning the shrivel up. Normally it is the oldest ones which dry out and turn brown. Then, right in the centre, I spotted something different ....



What appears to be the beginnings of a flower spike. I had been wondering how they reproduced and on searching t'internet I found out they do flower once they reach three to five years old. Now it is a waiting game to find out what the flowers will look like.

Tiny Flower - macro

This may not be the world's smallest flower but it is the smallest I have.

The plant:
Adromischus cooperi



produces a disproportionately long flower stem



with tiny flowers which open gradually along the stem



Just the subject for some macro focus stacking.

The M5 fitted with a Raynox MSN-202 25 diopter macro conversion lens



The result of 35 focus stacked photos processed with Helicon Focus



The set up used was described HERE.

Monday Mystery

Nothing much has been going on this last week apart from rain, hail, rain, thunder and more rain.

Hopefully this week will be better, starting with last weeks mystery photo:



Congratulations to Adrian, Kev Scott, the Veg Artist, Thelma, Podo of Wood End, Dave, Ellen D and Bettina Groh who all worked out it was part of



a spirit level.

A new close up for the next mystery photo



which is part of ...... what?

If you would like to hazard a guess please leave it in the comments.
Any will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Monday Mystery

Last week's 'mystery' object



was correctly identified as



a litter / trash bin by Adrian, Dave, Ellen D, Ragged Robin and Kev. Well done.

How well will you get on with identifing this close view

 

of what?

Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.