I Didn't Jinx It, Honest

I decided to visit the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway on a steam running day. The idea was the get there in time to travel on the 11:45 run. I though I had timed things so I could video the train arriving back from its 10:45 run. At first there was no sign of the train so I waited on the North platform to get a clear view of it arriving. Eventually it slowly came in view, very slowly, but before it reached the platform it come to a stop.



There it stayed as a few of the staff went to see what was happening. After some time there was an announcement that a diesel shunter would be started up and sent to the rescue. While we waited for that I watched a combine in the field next to the platform doing its job on the Oilseed Rape.



Lots of people on the South platform waiting for their ride on a steam train.



Eventually the diesel shunter came in view and went to the rescue.
Sorry about the wind noise on this video:



As all this had taken so long the 11:45 was cancelled, the next being at 12:45.
Once the train was back at the South platform I was able to have a look inside the cab:





Not much room for the driver in those small locos.
I waited patiently for the 12:45 to set off and took this piece of video:



This train was well and truly full with passengers and I decided to postpone my train journey for another visit. The 10:45 train was only half full so I'll arrive in time for that one next time. I still enjoyed the visit though. The weather was just right. Plenty of Sunshine but not too hot for standing around.

Harvest Time

Well, for Oilseed Rape anyway.
In spite of some recent high winds and occasional heavy showers it was still standing.



One of the fields at the end of our lane was harvested a few days ago.
Today when we went walkabout mid afternoon I could hear the combine was working very close by.
It was working on the field right next to the lane end:



This is the first time I have used the Nikon at full 1080p resolution.
Hand held as I do most times. A bit of stabilization done in iMovie.
As usual you may have to force YouTube to show it in HD.

As it was blustery and the video ended up with loud wind noise I replaced the soundtrack.
Music - God's Reminding.

Monday Montage

Seems like it was another difficult one last week.
Congratulations to Adrian who worked out that:



was a WidsMob Montage modified version of



a bulrush.

I do think you shouldn't have many problems with this one:



If you think you know what the original photo was please leave you guess in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the original photo, next Monday.

Not Just a Fly Catcher

As one of the traps opened this morning I could see that my Venus Fly Trap had caught a small moth:



What annoying weather conditions we have had recently. The night before the 'Blood Moon' there were perfect views of the Moon. They night after, once again perfectly clear views. The night of the Lunar eclipse - thick cloud, heavy rain and thunder storms!

Boom

A rude awakening this morning about 5 a.m.  Woken by several loud booms, just like the sound a heavily laden artic makes driving over an uneven road surface. It didn't sound anything like thunder I had heard before but that's what it must have been as it heralded the arrival of a band of storms which stretched from London through to the east of Lincolnshire. We were on the edge of it and so far have only had 5mm of rain in three short outbursts.

Needless to say we didn't get our usual early morning walk. Penny was in her safe space as she hates thunder. It will be at least a couple of hours after the last thunder heard, even if it is miles away, before she will show her nose outdoors. The passage in my home has no windows, no natural light except some light spilling from the kitchen at one end so she goes to the far end in the darkest part.

Looking at the Blitzortung live lightning site it showed in excess of 20,000 strikes mainly over the UK in two hours. Things should be clearing out to the North Sea soon so we will get a break from storms until the next batch which seem to be forecast for 6 p.m. onwards today.

To end on a brighter note, Yucca flowers seen in a local front garden:

Hoping For a Good Show

My Hibiscus bush used to produce an abundance of flowers every year. Last year was a great disappointment with very few blooms. That was a shame as it can attract all sorts of insect life. I think it was the result of a sudden change in lighting conditions when I cut down a couple of evergreens which sheltered it from the midday sun. Fortunately it seems to have recovered. This year it is absolutely covered in new buds and the first one has opened:



I hope it attracts some butterflies as they have been far and few between round here this year. I put that down to loss of habitat on the cricket field. There were several wild areas, mainly nettles and thistles, around the edges of the field but most have been cut down for the past couple of years.

Monday Montage

I nearly fooled everyone with last week's WidsMob Montage picture:



Well done to Ragged Robin who correctly said it was a:



photograph of a moth.

I wonder whether this one will be easier to identify:



My thanks to those who had a go last week. If you would like to have try this week please leave your guess in the comments. They will be revealed, along with the original photo, next Monday.