Winter Beauty?

Just down the lane there is a wall topped with fancy blocks. Always trying to escape though the holes is one particular plant which flowers at this time of year. Photos a tad grainy as I took them as the Sun was setting.





As far as I can ascertain this is a Clematis 'Winter Beauty'. A vigorous perennial evergreen variety. Why does it keep trying to grow on the outside of the wall? The outside faces South so catches the Sunlight throughout the day.

I've just ordered one as it will make a useful addition to the Virginia Creepers growing up the old tree stump. Add a bit of colour while the creeper is leafless during the Winter.

Spring Not Too Far Away

Most of the 100+ spring bulbs I planted last year are poking through but have a way to go before I see any colour. One dwarf iris in an old planter decided it was time to put on a show:





Lovely the way one flower can cheer up an otherwise dull Friday.

Blood Pressure and Frosty Ice Crystals

Bit of a rush first thing. This morning Penny had her blood pressure checked. We were booked in for 9.10 a.m. so I left here about 8.30 and took the main roads for a change. Mainly as they were more likely to be ice free and they were. It took a while for the vet to get a reliable BP result while I sat in the car outside twiddling my thumbs. Result - all back to normal levels so we continue with the four tablets every day. Fortunately they are all taken in one session. As they are very small they are easily hidden in her favourite food. Next BP check will be in three months time.

When we returned I could see there was plenty of frost in the areas where the Sun doesn't reach this time of year so I put some under the microscope. A couple of shots:





This time I not only remembered to choose the finest resolution but also chose a 2 second delay between pressing the button and the photo being taken. That gives any vibration time to settle down.

Ice Bubbles

I noticed a plantpot saucer I had left outside had what appeared to be interesting thin ice crystals in the frozen water,



Just the subject for another session with the LCD microscope







This time I remembered that the pixel size for photographs needs setting every time the microscope is switched on.

On further thought these appear to be air bubbles frozen in the ice. The bubbles form as air which is dissolved in the water is released as the temperature drops and gets surrounded by frozen water.

On Reflection

After recent rain and once today's slushy snow had melted there was plenty of surface water along the lane. Not much of a Sunset today but the effect with it reflected in the water caught my attention.



iPhone 6s with Camera+2 app.

A Frosty Microscope

It seems yonks since I set up the LCD microscope for a session.



As a frost was forecast for this morning I thought it would be different to see the frost close up instead of pretty photos of frosty plants. To have the longest possible time to adjust the microscope focus before any frosty object thawed I set things up in the unheated greenhouse. The microscope being powered by a 5V power bank. Even so the crystals started to melt almost immediately. Anyway here are a few captures at varied magnification:







There were a few crystal spikes but they melted too fast to get a decent photo.

Sunrise

First colourful Sunrise for quite a while:

Sunset

Another lovely, though very short lived, Sunset this evening:

Ready for Winter, Preparing for Spring

Winter can be trial for humans and wildlife. For the birds I have bought three coconuts filled with suet, insects and mealworms:



After a night of freezing temperatures, rain and then light snow the footpaths and untreated lanes were a skating rink as Penny found out when she did her impersonation of Bambi on the frozen lake. I was safe as I had dug out the old pair of shoes I keep fitted with ice spikes:



It won't be too long before birds start investigating nesting places. This year I am trying out a WoodStone nestbox:



Although I knew it was made with a mixture of concrete and wood (sawdust?) it is a lot heavier than I expected. A good job it comes complete with a hefty screw in hook to hang it on.

Exhausted

It really is exhausting being sprawled out on the back seat of the car all the way to the vets and back again. A girl needs to relax and recover.



We had been for the one hour booked slot at the vets for Penny to have her blood pressure checked. Last time she got too wound up for them to obtain an accurate reading. This longer slot was to give her time to calm down. As it happened she had a different vet and was as 'good as gold'. All done in less than a quarter of an hour. Her BP is still a little raised but much better than it was before she started her medication. The next check-up will be towards the end of the month.

Come On Slowcoach

A rare view of the boss and her companion