The Watchers

Whenever we go walkabout across the cricket field we are always being closely watched:





I'm sure those nice thick woolly coats were keeping them warmer than we were in a cold breeze though they must become heavy with all the rain we have had these past two days.

Friday at the Flicks - Grey Squirrel

After Penny dispatched last year's visiting grey squirrel I hoped to be free of them. That was not to be. Recently another one has made daily visits to the bird feeders. This one is easily recognised by the bald patch in the middle of its tail:



I keep scaring it away as they are such destructive creatures. I have already had to throw away one seed feeder. That one had plastic hole covers and perches which the squirrel just chewed through to enlarge the hole. Also with Penny's hunting instinct she would go charging after it at full speed with no regard to her own safety. I don't want another large vets bill if she damages herself again.

Making the Most of the Sunshine

Spotted this seven spot ladybird making the most of a brief spell of Sunshine.
Sheltered from any cool breezes it was pleasantly warm:



Looks like we could be in for up to 36hrs of rain from midnight

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Mystery - Guess What

Quite a surprise - only one correct identification for last week's mystery photo so congratulations and a virtual Midmarsh Gold Star for Adrian and thanks to all who had a go.

 A battery operated flickering LED candle lantern:
     

I have a feeling this weeks close view may be even more difficult but here goes.
Guess What:
 

Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer next Monday.
No prizes. Just for fun and maybe a virtual Midmarsh Gold or Silver Star.

Super Denoising Revisited (Mac OS X)

Years ago I took some 35mm colour shots of various events I visited. One I stumbled on by accident when I was visiting Boston. Among the goings on was a display of birds of prey. Quite some time later I took the original film to a shop where they digitised the photos on to a CD for me. Unfortunately the process was disappointing. The results were very grainy:

 

I thought I would see how well the Mac app Super Denoising could clean them up:

 

I had to use the strongest method but as far as I am concerned the result was spectacular.
Far better than I expected:



The harder the program works the more it will tend to lose some finer detail but for me it has converted an unpleasant photo to one which is worth looking at. Super Denoising can cost up to $12.99 but sometimes drops to 99c for a few days which is the price on the Mac App Store at the time of writing.

Incy Wincy Spider

Incy Wincy spider climbing up the spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain
And Incy Wincy spider climbed up the spout again

 

 

I doubt this little spider has been anywhere near a drain pipe as it was found indoors.
I think it is some form of Amaurobius. This one was only 10mm or so across.
These are stacked photos using Zerene Stacker on hand held shots.