Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

One of the few occasion when a butterfly kept still long enough to get the camera really close:



An uncropped photo taken with the Nikon Coolpix S9050

Monday Mystery

Last week's object



was soon identified by Ragged Robin, Adrian, Ellen D and Wilma as a pumice stone. Well done to all who had a go. It had, and still has, many uses such as removing hard skin, and calluses. One use, mentioned by Adrian, I had forgotten about was cleaning steps. My mother scrubbed the stone front door step every week, as did many women, when I was a nipper. I have used this one along with Swarfega to help remove stubborn paint stains from my hands.

Another full view of an object this week:



Once again, what is it used for? If you would like to have a guess please leave it in the comments. They will be revealed, with the answer, next Monday.

I am Sure I am Correct This Time

Ten years ago, when I first managed to photograph a furry fly hovering in the garden, I mis-identified a Bee Fly as being a Hummingbird Hawk Moth. Well - this time I am sure I found one. On returning from a walk-about I saw lots of bees on and near the Lavender bushes but something different caught my attention. A grey furry body with bright orange wings, a black and white 'tail' and a long proboscis. It was constantly in flight, sometimes darting about, sometimes hovering to feed on nectar. Not once did I see it land on anything.

I watched for a while then thought to fetch a camera to try for some shots. Darn near impossible. With the bright Sunlight I couldn't see anything on the cameras LCD display so I had to point and hope. Out of eight or nine shots these are about the best, though not as good as I wanted.





I also had just one chance to take a short video. This is a small crop from the original. The moth started off in a good position but ended up right at the bottom of the frame.



I will keep looking out for it and, hopefully, achieve some better results another day.

Fledgling Song Thrush

A week ago I spotted two juvenile Song Thrushes in the garden. I only managed to video one of them as I couldn't catch them close to each other.



More than a bit grainy as the video was taken at 9.30 p.m.

Monday Mstery

Pleased to say I am feeling somewhat more lively this week as I don't have to waste mental energy on chasing up the slow supply of medical items, one of which I cannot be without for more than a few minutes. Last week I showed this close view



which was correctly identified by Adrian, Wilma and Ragged Robin as part of



a bubble pack of pills. In this case capsules of Sodium Bicarbonate which were prescribed by a renal consultant to help with reducing the amount of Potassium I absorb from food. My thanks to all who made a guess.

This week I have a full view of



what? What is it and what is / was it commonly used for? If you would like to make a guess please leave it in the comments. They will be revealed, with the answer, next Monday.

Monday Mystery

Last week's close view



was correctly identified by Adrian and Ragged Robin as part of



a small battery operated vacuum cleaner. Excellent for getting at the dust in nooks and crannies, or was it crooks and nannies. One or the other. Many thanks to all who had a look and made a guess.

It's been a week or two where it is difficult to find enthusiasm for anything not just blogging. Hopefully the mood will pass soon. Anyway, I finally found a new subject for you to identify. This is a close view



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

Monday Mystery

Last wek's photo



was correctly identified by Ellen D., Ragged Robin, Wilma and Adrian as part of



a Venus Fly Trap plant. Well done to all.
The new mystery object for this week is



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