To the Vets and a Look Round Alford

Yesterday morning it was an early visit to the vets for Penny.  Her gums are still giving trouble so we came away with another dose of antibiotics. Penny doesn't care what the reason is for a trip out. She would happily jump in any car or van which has an open door. She is the perfect passenger sprawling out on the back seat and usually dozing throughout the journey.

After lunch I decided on another trip. This time to Alford to drop off some items at the Greyhound Rescue shop:



There she got plenty of fuss, a bite to eat and spent her pocket money on a new cuddly toy. I decided we would have a bit of a walk round and bought some dog food and dried mealworms for the Hedgehog from one of the market stalls, it being market day in Alford:



After dropping the shopping back in the car we then went for a walkabout to look at the old manor house, an old two storey building with a thatched roof. It houses a museum which I have looked round in the past:





Walking round the side of the Manor House I spotted the original chimney work was leaning though this has been altered a couple of times to straighten it up as can be seen by the different size and shape of bricks:

   

Further round is an outdoor display of old farm implements, mainly ploughs from the days when they had a horse in front and a man behind to keep things on a straight path:









Also spotted was this old millstone, possibly from the windmill which still stands on the outskirts of the town and is kept in working order:



On the way back to the car park we detoured past the parish church which is built on land which is higher than all the surrounding town:





The tower has been used from time to time for abseiling, usually to raise money. I was almost tempted one year but with my vertigo I don't think I would have been able to step out over the top. I took these photos many years ago:

     

After a last look round we went back to the car and Penny sprawled out and dozed all the way home where she was re-united with her new cuddly toy:

Tuesday Twister - Guess What

Last week's twisted photo didn't give any problems for Ragged Robin, Wilma, Keith, Adrian and TexWisGirl who get my congratulations and their virtual gold stars for identifying the slug:

   

I wonder whether this one will stump people. Maybe this will be the first time I manage to keep all the virtual gold starts to myself.

Guess What:


Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Tuesday.
No prizes, Just for fun and a virtual gold star.

I Dare You to Try Running Away

Last night eagle eyes had spotted something in the gloom:



As soon as I got the back door open Penny went rushing out to investigate:





Although they often visit it is ages since I have actually seen a Hedgehog close up. This one was fairly large, possibly a male. Years ago a dog getting that close to a Hedgehog would have got covered in fleas but these days it doesn't seem to be a problem.



After a quick look and a few photos I took Penny indoors so Spiky could disappear under the fence in peace. Though she doesn't attack them if they stay still she will chase them if they try to run away.

More Lapsed Clouds

As the Apple cameras are such wide angle I decided to order a 2x add on telephoto lens. It arrived yesterday. The lens is magnetic so if the phone body is made from a  suitable metal it will stick in place. If the body is another material then self adhesive metal rings are provided. That is what I had to use with the iPod:



Being magnetic it is fast and easy to attach / detach.

I set things up with the Lapse It app set to take a photo every 3 seconds. Just over an hour and 1475 frames later it was showing a low battery warning. Those were saved at 1080p, transferred to the MacBook. Title added in iMovie along with a soundtrack created with Garage Band and saved at 720p to cut down upload file size:



Not too bad for a £5 add on lens, and that included p&p!

In the evening I set things up on a tabletop tripod in the conservatory for a Sunset time lapse, this time with just 2 seconds between frames.  No other processing this time. 720p as processed by the Lapse It app. The small orange dot which remains isn't a stuck pixel but a street lamp in the distance:



Once again this was processed in app using 'vivid colours'.

Friday at the Flicks - Minibeasts + Sunset

When I was teaching I think my favourite lessons were those where we could get out of the classroom and explore nature, especially investigating the small creatures (minibeasts) which inhabit the dark places under stones and rotting wood.

A couple of days ago I was tidying up a flower bed where some of the wooden surround had collapsed. Under one plank was the inevitable ants nest along with wood lice and slugs. As I had the Nikon in my shirt pocket I took some short video clips. The ants may look as though I speeded up the video but all was recorded in real time:



For a long time one subject I have wanted to video in time lapse is a Sunset. The iOS app Lapse It has given me that opportunity. My first attempt was useless as the auto exposure did its best to keep an equal brightness all through. By chance I found that there was a menu which allowed me to fix the exposure. This was a bit tricky as the iPod had to be pointed at a suitable area the pick an exposure, then fixed. This is not a spectacular Sunset, just an experiment. The app allows some processing before the final time lapse video is saved. This shows the same even twice, first a normal process followed by choosing 'vivid colours':



The movement does look a bit jerky with the chosen 5 second time lapse. I'll try 2 or 3 second lapses another time.

AURORA

It is always difficult to forecast aurora as much depends just how the Sun's emissions hit the Earth's magnetic field but some forecasters seem to think there is a good chance of auroras tonight as two events are impacting the Earth very close together. We can only hope for a clear sky to get a chance to see whether they are right. If it turns out as well as they hope then an aurora should be visible down to mid latitudes.

Darting About

I think I have seen more dragonflies this year than ever before but most of the time they have been on the move. Finally yesterday I managed to see a couple resting and soaking up the Sunshine.

I think these are both Common Darters, the first two of a female and the final two of a male.





The male amused me. The closer I got the camera the more it arched its body and spread its wings as though to make itself look larger in the presence of danger:

A Harrowing Time

The harvest has been gathered in. The field ploughed.



Now it's the time of year to hook up the disc harrow which has been waiting at the side of the field to finally break up the ground ready for sowing the next crop.





Waiting at the far end of the field is the usual gathering of gulls ready to feast on worms, grubs and anything else edible turned up by the harrow.