Owner: The Green Fingered Photographer URL:http://thegreenfingeredphotographer.blogspot.com Join Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 08:58:36 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The Green fingered photographer is a blog all about my favourite interests of Photography, Nature and Plants which have grown and complimented each other for a number of years Site statistics:Click here
Photo Hunters 2007-06-22 12:02:00 This weeks theme...ShinyHow To Join PhotoHunters
Photo Hunters Blogroll Sycamore LeafThis Shiny leaf caught my eye as I was walking to the paper shop one Sunday morning whilst I was at work. I luckily enough had my camera with me , the texture, colour and Shininess of it really stood out.What do you think?
Taking Recycling A Bit Further... 2007-06-28 10:27:00 Talking with my wife the other night we decided that we could recycle a bit more. We have a Bokashi Bucket, Wormery and a Composter . We also use a Drought Buster to recycle the bath water.What else could we do?????Well after going through various animal options, such as an elephant, water buffalo and hippopotamus we had to discard them due to possible lack of space, eating to much and the disruption they would cause with the neighbours.After a bit more pondering we settled on Guinea Pigs . Off we went to the local pet shop. We decided on two females, which are now called Pepsi and Cola. We thought this not only because of their colour but also you can recycle Pepsi and Cola cans. After settling in we had a chat to the pigs and explained that they were on the cutting edge of recycling and were they happy to do their part.From the amount of enthusiastic squeaking coming from them we took this to be a definite yes.They are particularly fond of broccoli leaves, calendula flowers and dande Read more:Taking
, Recycling
, Further
I'm Impressed 2007-06-27 13:13:00 My daughter may not be into photography, but she definitely enjoys her art.This piece is one of several that she has to produce for her G.C.S.E. Art exam, she has called it Proud and it is what I am. She has spent hours wrapping the raffia around the edges, platting the hair from wool and threading the beads onto it.The heads themselves were done seperately and added later to give it a sense of depth. Most of the work however has gone into getting the ideas down on paper and preparation for the final piece.All I can say is I'm impressed....
In The garden 2007-06-26 05:26:00 Whilst pottering around the garden in between showers I came across two insects that I haven't seen before. Click to enlarge The fist one was scurrying across a pile of logs I have in the garden, so I trapped it under a plant pot and went and got my camera. I got a couple of shots of it and when I had a closer look I could see loads of smaller insects climbing all over it. ( you can see some between it's left side front two legs )I initially thought they might be parasites but with a closer look I could see lots more on her underside clumped up, so I can only presume that they are her babies and she is carrying them around. As I got closer I'm sure I heard her hiss at me.The beetle is a Burying beetle and they gather around a corpse and dig a hole beneath it, eventually burying it, then the female lays her eggs nearby. They feed on the corpse and on smaller insects that are attracted to it.As far as I'm aware I don't have many animal corpses in the garden so I'm not sure where it
Bloggers For Positive Global Change Award 2007-07-02 10:04:00 Wow, I'm one of the first people to receive this new award,I have been nominated by The Alien Next Door , who is an extraordinary blogger as she is actually from Mars and is just visiting this planet. I have only recently come across the alien, who is currently visiting Canada, and found her blog to be a really interesting read. As not only is she passionate about this planets environment she is also an accomplished writer of fascinating Science Fiction stories.The award is the brain child of Climate Of Our Future to commemorate blogger's efforts around the world to share their knowledge, thoughts and inspirations in making this a better, healthier, more sustainable world.So, in keeping with the participation rules below-- I, in turn, pass this Bloggers for PositiveGlobalChangeAward
to the following 5 bloggers:1 Our Little Corner Of Paradise Who in 1990, as they were driving through a little village in Scotland, they noticed a quaint old barn with a corrugated roof, and a newly-bu
In Front Of My House 2007-07-02 08:51:00 Following on from the post What can you see from your work window I thought I would show you what I have done to an area in front of my house.When we moved here 7 years ago it was a new housing development and was pretty bare. The developer had planted trees all around the edge of a green space that was directly in front of our house and had included several tree and shrub beds, but with them all being young plants they didn't look much. The first year living here I was too involved with sorting out the house to be bothered about the island beds.However once the house was sorted I noticed that the beds were being neglected and I asked the council, who were responsible for the maintenance, if I could look after two of them. They agreed and the following pictures are what has happened to one of them.I arranged with the council for loads of mulch to be delivered and over a period of time I had mulched both beds, this made them look tidy but not visually pleasing as they were made up of y Read more:Front
, House
Green Thumb Sunday 2007-06-30 14:32:00 How To Join GreenThumbSundayGreen Thumb
Sunday BlogrollCorncockleThis attractive tall cornfield plant has purple flowers which occur singly on the top of long stalks, the leaves are long and pointed and always grow opposite another leaf. Before the petals open, they are folded like flags. The spiky sepals project out beyond the petals; this feature may have earned the plant the local name of 'puck needles' in Sussex. Other local names include 'crown of the field' in Somerset and 'Popple' in Scotland, a name that dates from the Middle Ages.Corncockle prefers to grow in cornfields in between the farmer's crops, and although it is found in other parts of the world, it is possibly extinct in Britain. This plant produces large black seeds that used to get muddled in with the corn the farmers collected to make their bread. Unfortunately the corncockle seeds tasted horrible and the farmer's bread was disgusting! Farmers removed many corncockle plants from their fields to stop them
Photo Hunters 2007-06-29 15:05:00 This weeks theme...SweetHow to Join PhotoHunters
Photo Hunters Blogroll Dorset Horn SheepI know it might be seen as a bit strange that I have chosen a sheep for this weeks theme of Sweet. I have always liked this picture in that as much as a sheep can have a Sweet expression, this one has. I hope that you don't find this too odd....
Do They Get Named..... 2007-07-05 11:59:00 I don't know whether you have realised that I have a good working relationship with Heather at Wiggly Wigglers and count her and Farmer Phil (her husband) as good friends.About this time last year Heather thought it would be a good idea for me to produce 12 pictures all relating to what Wiggly's do. This collection became known as the Wiggly collection and has been successful and you can now purchase them from their new farm shop or on-line.Heather rang me the other day to tell me about their pigs that they had just bought and would I like to come down and photograph them.I like to go down to the farm every now and then as it's such a pleasant place to go. On arrival Farmer Phil was telling me about all the different types of butterfly he had seen in a field that he has set -aside this year. Off I went to have a look, but it started chucking it down (surprise, surprise) so I headed back, not before I took some photos of the Barley field. I really like the patterns the barley heads m
It Made Me Laugh!!!!!!! 2007-07-03 10:29:00 I heard this joke the other day and it made me laugh, I asked one of my work colleges if he could draw a cartoon to go with it. This is what he came up with.(Click picture to read joke if like me your eyes are failing) Does it make you laugh!!!!!!
Seen It But No Photo.... 2007-07-09 04:26:00 In my constant search to see insects that I haven't seen before I went to Dudmaston Hall and met up with Adrian Miles, and several other interested people. Adrian was leading the walk around the woodlands of the Dudmaston estate to see the White Admiral .The walk started off well with the first sighting of one, it is quite exiting to see a new insect, but unfortunately I didn't manage to get a photo. The woods were alive with many other insects and my favourite, dragonflies. The two pictures above are of Common darters.(Well worth clicking for a bigger image) This image of a Common Blue Damselfly is possibly one of my best images of a damselfly, as they are quite hard to get the whole insect sharp with them being so thin . Not only is this one spot on it is also eating a fly which you can see quite clearly. I'm going to look around for a competition to enter into as I think it is good. Another insect I haven't seen before is this Longhorn Beetle, it is quite a large beetle and ther Read more:Photo
Green Thumb Sunday 2007-07-07 15:39:00 How To Join GreenThumbSundayGreen Thumb
Sunday BlogrollBee OrchidEach curious flower of the Bee Orchid appears to have a bumble bee resting on it, taking nectar. In fact, the 'bee' is the beautifully marked lip of the flower, and this elaborate charade has the purpose of attracting a real bee, which will bring about pollination. However , in the case of British bee orchids, unlike other European species, this ruse is nearly always superfluous as the plants usually pollinate themselves before any bees appear on the scene.The bee orchid varies enormously in numbers from year to year. A location that produces hundreds in one year may have non the following year. The location of this one, Granville Country Park is an old colliery and provides an ideal habitat for this beautiful British orchid.
Photo Hunters 2007-07-06 11:55:00 This weeks theme.....FAKEHow To Join PhotoHunters
Photo Hunters BlogrollCoco is not what she seems, she is in fact a Fake.This is because she is really a poodle and is borrowing a fur coat. You can tell this, because it is to big for her, resulting in a rather wrinkled appearance.
Photo Hunters 2007-07-13 18:00:00 This weeks theme...Shadow(s)How To Join PhotoHunters
Photo Hunters Blogroll Holy Trinity church in Uffington Village, Shrewsbury. Built in 1856 by Carol Thickins.This is a church that I go past regularly on my way to work, occasionally at night time they light up the outside of the church resulting in the grave stones casting Shadows onto the church
Facebook 2007-07-12 04:24:00 I have recently joined Facebook
and have found it to be another good way of communicating with people and friends. It is quite easy to do, so why not give it a go, just Click here or use the badge in the sidebar, and it will take you to a register screen. Or if you are already using it why not link together.See you there...
The Learning Curve...Vegetable Patch Update 2007-07-11 02:42:00 Over the last few weeks life in the vegetable patch has had it's ups and downs. The major up has been eating the Broccoli within 10 minutes of picking it. It was soooo tasty.The major downs have all been due to the appalling weather we have had recently. I won't go on about this though, as this patch is only for fun and the few inconveniences to it are nothing compared to what many people have been through. One of the funny things about this vegetable growing malarkey is that I keep forgetting how small the plot is and how bad my memory is getting. The two are linked. I was getting into growing the veggies so much that I sowed loads of seeds into pots, they included, swede, turnip, sprouts and leeks. The good news is that they all sprouted the bad news is that I thought I would remember which is which but alas this has not been the case.From the picture above you can see that the broccoli has been removed and replaced by ... something. I guess we will find out at some point, I just h Read more:Learning
, Curve
, Vegetable
, Patch
, Update
I Have The Power...... 2007-07-10 09:06:00 I have been given this award from Ruth who is someone who I have been blogging with since I first started 3 months ago. I really enjoy Ruths blog Me, My Life, My Garden but she does have several more and I would say she sums up a Schmoozer.I quote:-Schmoozing is the natural ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogsphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship".So here we go, the good bit...Several blogs spring to mind who sum up a schmoozer, see what you think.Jenn at Something to say: About life in the NetherlandsMoi at Not by a long s
Cutting Edge Of Art.... 2007-07-16 08:18:00 Whilst at work yesterday I decided to go and have a look around the wildlife garden ,during a break in the rain. It was looking a bit battered from the recent heavy rain with many of the flowers just drooping due to the weight of the water.I did however notice that White and Brown-lipped banded snails were everywhere and this gave me an idea. I rounded up loads of the colourful snails from small patch and arranged them into a rough square shape. (disclaimer- no snails were hurt or injured during this photo shoot) I think you will agree that the patterns and the colours have made a really good picture and all I could think about is that if Damien Hirst can use nature in many of his works why can't I. What interested me with the snails, was that after a short while they all started to move away, this then created constantly changing new art. This work will never be seen again as the snails are refusing to gather again unless I provide several lettuces in advance....that's artists for y Read more:Cutting
Green Thumb Sunday 2007-07-14 18:16:00 How To Join GreenThumbSundayGreen Thumb
Sunday BlogrollEach May and June Painted Ladies migrate to Britain from south-west Europe and North Africa, a distance of more than 800 miles.The painted lady cannot survive the cold and humid British winter in any of its stages - egg,caterpillar,chrysalis or butterfly - but early migrants lay eggs on a wide variety of British wild flowers, giving rise to a second generation of butterflies in September and October. These then die when the cold weather arrives. I do not know how this will change in the coming years, with the milder Winters we have been having.According to the 17th century herbalist Nicholas Culpeper, greater knapweed 'is good for those who are bruised by any fall,blows, or otherwise, by drinking a decoction of the herb roots in wine, and applying the same outwardly to the place'. For years the plant was used to treat wounds, ruptures,bruises, sores, scabs and sore throats.The medical properties of the plant partly explain its
The Scalewizard 2007-07-17 07:52:00 For the past 9 months I have been using a product that I think will benefit many people , especially those who live in hard water areas.The ScalewizardIt took me about 30 minutes to fit the devise and I can that since fitting it we replaced our kettle for a Eco Kettle and we have had no lime scale build up in it.It is difficult to say how effective it is within the rest of the household pipes, but I can say the amount of powdery residue around the sinks, bath and shower are noticeable less.How does it work ?The Scalewizard is a small, electronic unit which is easily connected to the rising main and a suitable power source. Once connected, it emits a computer modulated signal which actually changes the properties of the calcium crystals which normally form scale.The electronic disturbance of these crystals stops build up of scale by preventing them from adhering to each other. Water solubility is increased and therefore, existing scale dissolves back into the water and is gradually remo
Photo Hunters 2007-07-20 18:23:00 This weeks theme...TinyHow To Join PhotoHunters
Photo Hunters Blogroll This Tiny Red Weevil (4mm from head to toe) favours the Rumex group of plants, e.g. docks and sorrels, and this one was found on the back of a Broad-leafed dock, next to the railway at Harlescott crossing , Shrewsbury, where I work.For those of you that can remember the Clangers I think this is one of the characters that has escaped......Look out for the Soup DragonAs I am so fed up with all the rain I am off in search of sunshine, so its au revoir from me for a bit ...OOOLALA
Silver-Studded Blue Butterfly 2007-07-20 07:10:00 In Shropshire we are lucky enough to have at least four species of insects that are found nowhere else in the Midlands. These are the White Faced Darter and the Large Heath Butterfly
both found at Whixall Moss the Keeled Skimmer found at Crammer Gutter near Clun and the Silver
Studded Blue Butterfly, which is found at Prees Heath, just south of Whitchurch. The site has been recently purchased by Butterfly Conservation in an effort to protect the site and the species. I like to visit each year and tend to visit around the middle of June, however due to poor weather and other reasons I wasn't able to visit then, but I did manage it yesterday. The site is quite flat and has a wooded area running down the centre, the pyramid orchid was growing just to the edge of the wood. Gorse and heather abound the site, these plants are some of the reasons why the butterfly survives here along with a couple of other reasons. One of them is the large rabbit population, they keep the grass short and all
Bokashi And The Wormery 2007-07-19 12:47:00 The first Bokashi bucket has been fermenting for the past two weeks and it is time to add it to the wormery.It doesn't matter where you add the bokashi, you can add it to your compost bin like Ann has, or straight into the ground, if you have the space. As you can see it doesn't look much like conventional compost and if anything it looks like nothing has changed to the waste you have put in. The clue that something has happened is the strong vinegary smell. This shows that it has pickled the waste. The juice from the bucket I add to the water butt that I store bath water in. This helps to keep down the smell but also acts as a feed when I water the garden....Not that I have had to for several weeks . I have used an original wormery from Original Organics for the past 7 years and have found it extremely easy to use. It takes about a year for the bin to fill up before I have to empty it, but during this time I tap off worm tea from the reservoir at the bottom of the wormery, and I als
Il ne pleut pas 2007-07-23 14:10:00 Hurray we are here, after driving a 1000 miles over 3 days we have arrived at our destination. The gite, Mode d' Artiste is in Couiza, which is situated in the Aude region of southern France. Carcasson is the nearest large town and is about 30km away. The journey went quite smoothly, but I will add one piece of advise. If you are travelling on the chunnel from Folkestone and you have never been before and you think it would be a good idea to find where it is from the hotel you are staying in....beware if you get to close there is no way of turning around and you have to ask very meekly from the check in booth "can you let us out please, as we have only come to see where it is and are not travelling until tomorrow". You will find then that the check in person takes a deep breath, sighs deeply and prints you off a special ticket that allows you to escape through a special road that had 'plonkers this way' written on it. A lot of the houses have shuttered windows and the one next door
Meet The Neighbours 2007-07-24 14:25:00 Enjoyed a lazy day today, whilst sat out on the terrace enjoying a cup of tea, we were joined by some of the local inhabitants, who also came out to enjoy the sun. These lizards enjoyed the other locals so much that they started eating them. I'm not sure whether the lizards were two different kinds, but the markings on these two was different from the one above. Their is a large bush of some kind on the terrace and it seems to act as a nectar bar, it was packed throughout most of the day with all sorts of different insects from bees,wasps and flies. Many of these I do not recognise which only adds to the interest. With the Gite being close to the river their are loads of house martin type birds flying along the river catching insects so they can feed the young. Most houses have several nest just under the roof in the eaves. The roof tiles are undulating and act as a perfect place for the birds to build their mud nests. Only a few of the nests have chicks in them and this one chirps aw Read more:Neighbours
Carcassonne Citadel 2007-07-27 14:22:00 With only being 30km away from Carcassonne Citadel
it is a must place to go. I was happy to go as long as we could check out a wildlife site not far from the gite, at a place called Rennes-les-Bains . There is a river running through the small village, which is also home to a Spa.The river was full of wildflowers,butterflies and of course dragonflies. After a quick mooch it was time to head off the Carcassonne. As you approach the city you are greeted with an amazing site of the citadel, it is a real WOW view and one I'm sure people don't tire from. The towers and turrets are almost fairytale like in appearance and are certainly impressive. You can walk around the battlements and get some great views of the surrounding country side.The inside is another matter, it is jammed packed with souvenir shops, restaurants and other shops that bore the pants off me. But as I had agreed to go as long, so I could go to the wildlife area, I bore the boredom stoically. I did however enjoy a Cassou
Trip To Gorges De Galamus 2007-07-26 14:34:00 One thing that has amazed me since being in southern France is the amount of wildlife and flowers that are about. Some things I can recognise but many are completely new to me and this I find exciting. On the way to the Gorge de Galamus we stopped to have lunch, the site we stopped at was a small exposed cliff face surrounded by wildflowers. While wife and daughter were eating their lunch I went for a wonder.I was so pleased that I did because it was full of bees and butterflies.The first bee that I saw was this huge black one, whose wings were iridescent blue. The main flower that was covering the site also seemed to be the main food source for a lot of the insects, I'm not sure what it is, but it looks familiar, perhaps a Sedum of some sort.The blue butterfly is very similar to a common blue, both in size and colour and could quite well be one. As well as the blue there were butterflies similar to gate keepers,meadow brown, pearl bordered fritillaries, and brimstone. The one that lo
Chateau Montsegur And Insects 2007-07-30 04:18:00 The region of Languedoc Roussillon is one of the most fascinating areas in France. It borders the Mediterranean sea to the east and the Pyrenees mountains to the south. It benefits from an exceptional climate and is rich in wildlife,(which has pleased me no end). There are many historical ancient towns together with cathedrals , chateaux and castles notably the famous mountain fortresses popularly known as Cathar Castles.Chateau
Montsegur is one of these mountain fortresses and as you can see from the picture it is in an amazing location and it is difficult to imagine how the materials to build it would have been taken up. The Chateau is also famous as being the site in 1244 where several hundred Cathars were burned alive. People still leave flowers there. I took the picture from the road that passes by the chateau and whilst doing so I noticed a pink flower that looked interesting next to a large log in a meadow. I went over to have a look. On this log were all sorts of insects, crick Read more:Insects
Green Thumb Sunday 2007-07-29 04:25:00 How To Join GreenThumbSundayGreen Thumb
Sunday Blogroll In my quest for natural Snail Art , imagine my surprise at finding a collection of Brown-lipped banded snails waiting for me on a path in the village of Nebias in southern France. I must assume that word has go out that I am on a quest to photograph snails, where ever they may be. I was surprised though, when I whispered garlic butter to them how quickly they scarpered. Snails....so tempremental!!!
John Wayne Eat Your Heart Out 2007-08-02 12:17:00 Today I tried something that I have never done before........What could this be I hear you murmur....well it was horse riding. For as long as I can remember I have had a fear of horses but while we were here, we decided it would be a good idea for us to go.We found a stables not far from our gite,which had the added benefit of Veronique the owner speaking English, albeit with a strong American accent.Veronique runs various trail rides for all levels throughout the summer, ranging from a 2hr ride up to a 4 day ride. After giving my mount for the ride "Mengion" a brush, I donned my hat and chaps and got onto her, at this point I heard a strange noise coming from the stable area, looking around I could see it was one of the other horses having a good old horsey laugh..... Unperturbed by this I started walking around the arena, getting use to Mengion. I found her extremely reassuring and I started to relax. After the rest of the group had got onto their horses, Veronique told us the rest o Read more:Wayne
, Heart
, John Wayne
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