Ladybirds in November

On a nice sunny afternoon a few days ago I ambled round to the churchyard and rested on a sunlit bench to take in some much needed fresh air. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a ladybird running around on one of the arms of the bench:



Then another appeared, but a different variety:



Then to my astonishment a third variety arrived:



In fact I saw four different types of ladybird all rushing about on the same arm. Unfortunately it was too fast for me to take a clear photo. Obviously I wasn't the only life force taking advantage of a sunny, relatively warm corner of the churchyard.

Spotted in the Churchyard

As we walked through the back of the village churchyard something caught my attention:



Someone had placed a very neatly painted peddle in the shape of a ladybird on one of the gravestones.



Lovely to see. It is quite a while since I saw a painted pebble in the village. A sign that things are getting back to 'old normal'.

The Sport of Greyhounds

They say horse racing is the sport of kings.
I reckon rabbit spotting and chasing is the sport of greyhounds.

It really makes Penny's day when she spots one or two when we walk through the churchyard.





They usually disappear as soon as they spot us but this time I was able to stay reasonably hidden while I took a couple of shots. Once they spotted Penny they hurtled back to the safety of waste land next to the churchyard.

Church of St Leonard, South Cockerington

I have been meaning to visit the Church of St. Leonard, South Cockerington, Lincolnshire for a while and wanting to try out the Canon M5 mirror-less camera gave me the incentive. I took the camera fitted with a Canon EFS 17-85mm zoom lens and a Speedlight flash gun to use inside. As the church is at the end of a long, narrow, winding lane I was very relieved at not meeting any traffic coming in the opposite direction.

car video clip


There was just enough room to park one car off the lane by the entrance to the church.

First view of the early 14thC, late 15thC and 19thC restored church



The only gargoyles I noticed were near the top of the tower



Inside the North entrance porch with its plank door

    

Once inside we see the font



The view looking to the East where the 15thC screen can be seen



Restored in the 19thC



To the right of the screen is a large alabaster monument to Sir Adrian Scrope who died in 1623.
The figure rests on a tomb chest of white and pink streaked marble on which are panels depicting two kneeling daughters and six sons







Taking a peek through the screen the choir stalls and altar can be seen



In the walls either side of the altar are small niches



Returning to the West end of the church we see the small chamber organ.



This has memories and a small connection with my family.
My father played the organ at several of the local churches. Many years ago the S. Cockerington parish decided they would like an organ, the church not having one at that time. This one was in a church which had dropped out of use and permission was given to move it to St. Leonards. My father and I were asked for advice on how to dismantle and move it safely so one weekend we went along and helped. The firm advice given was in the handling of the pipes. Many have a high lead content which gives them the traditional sound. Consequently the metal is very soft and easily damaged. A group of us carefully dismantled the organ, labelling all the pipes and where they fitted, transported it and re-assembled it in its new home. After that a professional organ tuner was engaged to finish the job of retuning it. He complimented us on the care we had taken when moving the organ.

By the way, all the windows are fitted with plain clear glass so no stained glass to photograph this time.

Back outside to have a look round.
The West entrance at the bottom of the tower



A view of the South side



A couple of grave stones



The oldest one I spotted



The inscription reads:
"Here lies the body of George and Eliz
Son and daughter of George and Rebecca Dunham
Both departed July the 7th 1759
He in the 19 she in 17 year of their ages
They're pluck'd like roses not full blown
(the next line is well worn or scratched out)
(It appears to read 'As you a bove may see')
To heavn I hope they both are gone
To reign eternally"

A view from the far end of the spacious graveyard



The only other visitors I saw

  

About ten common darter dragonflies



Then the drive back home along that same narrow, winding lane.

All photos were taken in RAW, batch converted to virtually lossless jpgs with Preview. Some were cropped or tweaked slightly with Affinity Photo on a Macbook. I found the M5 fairly difficult to hold with the extra weight of a zoom lens and Speedlight. Also I found it too easy to accidentally press the video button when holding the camera in portrait mode. Otherwise I am pleased with the results. It was very useful at times to tap the touch screen to choose where I wanted it to focus.

Manby Church

As our Post Ofice was closed years ago and the remaining village shop is closed for about three months while extensive alterations are made I had to go to the next village to do a bit of shopping. As it was beautifully sunny, though with a bitter wind, I decided to take a look round the outside of their church.

The tower from the west end:


and from the north side:


A closer view of the entrance porch:


Around the top of the tower are the inevitable gargoyles:






A close view of one of the spire pinnacles which stand atop each corner of the tower:
 

Taking photos with a camera with a decent power of zoom lens is one of few ways to get a decent view of intricate carvings which are so high up.

A few of the grave markers:






Don't often see any this shape.
Difficult to tell from the photo that both taper along their length:


Another day I must have a look round inside.

Full Spectrum Church

Though bitterly cold, Tuesday morning was really bright with a lovely blue sky. Just the right lighting conditions for taking the D1200, modified for 'full spectrum' photography, on our mid morning walkabout. First job with cameras modified to take near IR and UV along with the visible spectrum is to set the white balance as this changes a lot as lighting conditions alter. Recommended is to take a shot of green foliage, grass in this case, and set the white balance to that:



Now, after a bit of post processing, most colours will be somewhat near to true though green foliage will end up nearer browns.

A look at the village church and a few grave markers:

From the nearby estate:


East window from the public footpath:


From the old part of the graveyard:




One of the old gravestones (1860 something):


One of several old crosses:


The newer part of the graveyard:


Finally the lych gate:


A lovely morning walk unlike the afternoon when we were caught in a heavy hail shower.

The Covers Come Off

It was in July last year when I wrote about the covers being erected over the village church roof as extensive repairs were about to begin. This morning I see they are finally being removed and the tons of scaffolding being dismantled:





That reminded me it was about time I had a look in the churchyard to see whether the Snowdrops and Winter Aconite had survived all the activity:





No problems there. In fact the Winter Aconite is looking better than it has for several years.