Monday Mystery

Last week's close view



was correctly identified as part of



a Horse Chestnut seed case (conker) by Adrian, the Veg Artist and Ragged Robin.
Well done.


Here is a clue to one of today's chores



What was I doing?

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

Vibrance

A couple of recent photos where I have increased the vibrance to bring out the colours.

A rainbow:



Bumble bee on red Sunflower:



On a different subject - the latest proof that the world is gripped by total madness.
Found on social media:

“Full stop is 'intimidating' to young people who interpret it as a sign of anger, linguists say.”

As one person commented:

For goodness sake... no one show them an exclamation mark!

Bye Bye Storm Francis

This is what the storm looked like from NOAA 15 the evening before landfall:



I couldn't get a picture on the day as my weather satellite receiving aerial isn't totally waterproof.

Statistics recorded by my weather station:



First the rain arrived. When that stopped it was followed by the strong gusty wind. As that started to die down more rain followed. I recorded about 0.9 inches of rain in total. Not too bad. I've known far worse.

Penny spent much of the day asking to go in the garden, poking her head out of the back door, turning straight round and going back to bed to cross her legs.

Did manage our two walks. The morning one during a lull in the rain. After tea it was dry so we went down the lane. As the wind was howling straight along the lane, funnelled between buildings and hedges, it was a case of heads down and lean into the wind on the way back.

Minimal damage here. My plastic garden table was flipped upside down. Better that being blown away. Unfortunately I lost my tallest Sunflower. It had grown over 7 ft high and looked sturdy but a gust snapped the stem at ground level.

Not had to chance to look round the village as yet.

Monday Mystery

Last week's photo



was a bit trickier to identify.

It was a close view of



a roll of kitchen towels / tissues.
Spot on was The Veg Artist - well done.

Maybe this week's close view will be easier to identify:



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

An Elephant on the Path

On our morning walkies I spotted a movement on the footpath



The larva of an Elephant Hawkmoth.



Surprisingly large at about 70mm long when fully extended.

Monday Mystery

Another good set of guesses for last week's mystery object



which was part of



my favourite Summer footwear.
Well done to Adrian, Dave, the Veg Artist, Traveller, Ellen D, Kris and Ragged Robin.
I think that shoe was listed as a moccasin though boat shoe or loafer would be a better description.

This week's may take a bit more thinking about



This is a microscopic view of ...... what?

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

Down the Lane

Most days we go walkies down to the end of the lane after our tea time meal. Usually this time of year there are several dragonflies darting about. This year they seem quite scarce but yesterday I spotted a movement along the top of the thorn hedge. 

Difficult to get a decent photograph as it was high up. 

 

I think it was a female Common Darter. It didn't stay in view long enough for a good shot. 

 Continuing on to the end of the lane we could see the crop looks to be in decent condition. 

 

Fortunately we haven't had any really heavy rain or strong wind to flatten it, so far.

A Mixed Bag

 A few evenings ago I tried several times to photograph the Sunbeams poking out above some dark clouds. They weren't very bright so this is best I managed.

 

Lovely Sunny day here. A cooling breeze from the coast is helping to keep the temperature down to reasonable levels. This was the NOAA 18 weather satellite picture from just before midday local time. 

 

The red Sunflower is facing away from the Sun so it looked really spectacular with the Sunlight glowing through its petals

  

Finally the Hibiscus is in flower and attracting lots of bees 

 

The Sunflower is attracting bumble bees but, unusually, they are too shy to be photographed.

Monday Mystery

A full house of correct guesses for last week's close up 

 

of

a child's windmill / pinwheel I spotted on a child's grave in the churchyard.

Well done Adrian, the Veg Artist, the Weaver of Grass, Kris, Ellen D, Dave and Bettina Groh.

Will this week's mystery object be as easy to identify?

Please leave any guesses in the comments.

They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Warming Up

 Picture from NOAA 15 weather satellite at 9 a.m. local time.

   

Already 24C here and looks to be around 27C in the SE corner of England.

Smaller Than Expected

The Sunflower bud I showed a couple of Mondays ago has finally opened.

I had expected a 'giant Sunflower' to have a giant flower but no. This one is about 5 inches (130mm) across. On the plus side I do like the red colour and there are another six buds on the plant. I wonder what colour the other large one next to it will turn out to be.

Mind Where You're Walking

I always have to keep my eyes peeled for any life in the long grass





This frog obliged by keeping still while I poked the Nikon within a few inches.
It was quite large so several years old. Haven't seen any froglets yet this year in the garden.

Pond Life

Went out a few days ago to catch a ladybird to look at through the LCD microscope. Needless to say, search as I might, there wasn't one to be found. Dozens around the previous day but someone must have warned them to stay out of sight.

I did happen to notice a few wriggly things in the pool of water at the top of the old pond waterfall so I nipped indoors and grabbed a plastic pipette to suck up a couple.



Size is about 10mm long.
I thought they would probably be mosquito larvae but they would have a number of hairs behind the head. Further research showed these seem to match the next stage in their life cycle - mosquito pupa.

The second part of the video is at half speed.

Monday Mystery

Last week's flower bud



was identified as belonging to



a Sunflower plant (next to a three foot high fence)



by Ellen D, the Veg Artist and Ragged Robin. Well done.
My thanks to all who had a go.

This time a close view of something I spotted on one of our walkabouts



What was it?

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