Fish and Chips

Paid my regular visit to the Wagon and Horses in South Reston to meet up with D.
It was more than a bit breezy while driving there.
Twice I had to manoeuvre round fallen branches on the narrow back roads.



 

As always it was for a glass of J2O orange and a fish and chip lunch.



As ever the haddock was cooked to perfection in a light batter and accompanied by home made chips. Neither of us like mushy peas but with the fish overhanging the plate it was a very filling meal. An enjoyable way to meet and exchange news and gossip.

Hot Lips

A month or so ago I first spotted a pretty plant on our early morning walk-about.
It has unusual small white flowers with bright red lips.
I've tried several times to photograph it without success.

After a search or two I found out what it is:
A Salvia with the common name 'Hot Lips'.
I thought to myself, 'That is a must have.'

A search of eBay brought up some plug plants from my favourite plug plant seller;

The original listing on eBay:

 

Today they arrived:

 

When we returned from our mid-afternoon walk I set about potting them up:



They are classed as half hardy but should be able to survive all but the harshest winters.
For now they are in the greenhouse while they get established.

Bird Photography in Comfort

Left to right - top to bottom:

Set up a video camera to watch some bird feeders I had moved closer to greenery at the bottom of the garden.

Watch for any visitors on a monitor whilst listening to the radio.

Camera, set up in the kitchen, focussed on the feeders with wireless shutter control fitted. Sit in comfy chair in the warmth ready to press the button on the transmitter if and when anything comes to feed.

Monday Montage

Last week's WidsMob Montage modified photo was



which started out as



Wilma correctly saying it was a seed head with Adrian, Bettina, ragged Robin and The Weaver of grass identifying it as a dandelion. Sometimes known as a dandelion clock.



For your puzzlement this week I present a montage photo of



what?

If you would like to have  guess please leave it in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the original photo, next Monday.

All That Glows ....

.... isn't necessarily on fire:



This is a thermal view of my air conditioning unit acting as a heat pump to extract heat from the outside air (presently at 9.3C) and keeping the room nice and warm. So, not a photo of a heating element glowing but showing the temperature of the warm air being blown out by the unit. This time I have set the Seek thermal camera to give a spot temperature reading.

There are many times I prefer to use the air-con for heating rather than the gas fire. It has thermostatic control and can be remotely controlled unlike the gas fire. It only needs to be on its low setting and the maximum energy used is around 500W, averaging about 300W.

A Sleeping Hot Dog

First play with my new toy





A thermal imaging camera which plugs in iPhone or iPod



Resolution is 206 x 158 pixels. Temperature detection range -40C to 626C

Determined Magpie

Three sides of the bird table have 2 inch metal mesh.
The fourth side has two wooden bars.



The idea was to keep out the larger birds and give the smaller ones a chance to feed.