Dog's Tooth Violet...

Monday 30th May 2011

Macro Monday

Dog's Tooth Violet otherwise known as Erythronium and this variety is the beautiful yellow "Pagoda" one of my favourite varieties...

These plants were photographed in my mum's garden...

Beautiful recurved petals with long elegant stamens.

A beautiful clump forming perennial growing from long pointed bulbs.

It flowers in Spring with yellow pendant flowers on slender upright stems.

Broad elliptic dark green leaves marbled with bronze...

In mum's garden she has them growing beneath her Viburnum Bodnatense Dawn.

Gorgeous elegant sulphur yellow blossoms...

Horses on Cavehill...

29th May 2011

Straight out of the Camera Sunday

For SOOC Sunday this week I am using a series of photographs I took on 23rd April 2011.  

Now and again when I am walking on the Cavehill I see the horses in the field...

There are more photographs in this series than I intended but the horses were just so cool to photograph that I just got a little carried away...

Initially my eye was caught by the horses nibbling mountain grass with the lovely view of North Belfast in the background...

They were very relaxed...

Then I noticed this rather naughty horse pawing at his friend who was lying down relaxing in the sunshine...   

"I'm bored... let's go over there..."

"No, go away, I'm snoozing"

"Pleeeeeease"... with a naughty nip...

"Go away... NOW"

"Nope... get up.... I'm bored"

"Ouch... what are you doing... don't nip me"

"Is it comfy down there, maybe I'll join you?"

"Don't bother... go away... pleeeeease..."

"Hmm... this isn't bad..."  

"Good, maybe you will let me get back to my nap now?"

"Ooooooh... this does feel rather good."

"What are you doing now,  why can't you just relax?"

"Mmm, can't... you know me."

"Ooooooh, itchy spot.... just have a quick roll"

"Good grief... now what?"

"Oh this is so nice... why didn't you just say how nice it was down here... lying in the sun..."

"Honestly!!!!! why can't you be like everyone else?"

"So nice.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

Woodpile...

Friday 27th May 2011

When I was visiting Kent last week I found myself wandering around the large garden...

I photographed the large fresh pile of logs near the front entrance... neatly piled... 

Ready to be used in the log burner during next winter...

Paul had recently cut a dead tree and part of a felled blackthorn thicket into logs...

I liked the texture on the surface of his cutting block where the hatchet left its mark...

His chopping block with another large pile of logs in the paddock...

Beautiful texture on the sides of the chopping block...

The surface is peeling off...

Pieces of wood waiting to be cut smaller and/or split...

The large pile of wood that Paul was working on in the paddock...

For replenishing the woodpile by the side of the house...

Ziggy Swimming in the River...

Wednesday 25th May 2011

Watery Wednesday

I don't know where the last month has gone.  Literally.  The first 10 days went in a blur of forcing myself to continue.  Making terrible phone calls.  Greeting people.  Serving biscuits.  Making smalltalk.  While my mind was swirling in a benumbed haze.   Then we were organising for the Memorial Service booking the ferry journey, driving over a 1000 miles, to be with family and loved ones...
and now I am back home...

A month ago today, my brother Paul, drowned in an accident at his lake in Brittany, and for a while I never thought I would be able to bear looking at water again...  it was an agony sitting on the ferry looking at the grey murky water as we travelled from Belfast to Stranraer...

Then we started taking Ziggy for walks... and her favourite destination was the river...  

Ziggy was Paul's dog...

She is a year and 1 month old...  just a big fluffy silly puppy...

His wife Steffi bought her for him after his beloved German Shepherd Roxy died...

For a while, he and Ziggy struggled to bond...  all the grumbles he had about Roxy... became grumbles because Ziggy did not possess these qwerks of personality...

My brother Paul was born on 12th July 1967 with the music of the local Orange Band getting ready to march for the 12th July celebrations (they were starting that year next door from us)...

Paul was a typical Cancerian... and always loved water and was drawn to it as a child... it didn't matter if it was an ocean, a lake, a pond, a rock pool or a puddle... he would find pleasure in the water...

Ziggy also finds immense pleasure in going for a swim and cooling down...

She is a beautiful dog...

With a vibrant, warm, caring personality...

She was the last living creature with my brother...

As they walked around the lake together...  a month ago... 

and this is why she is featured today for my Watery Wednesday...  as I think about him...

And Ziggy has a new life with Paul's gorgeous daughters and his wife Steffi...

"Who's a Scaredy Cat?"

11 May 2011

For Watery Wednesday this week is another series of wet dog photos...  I find that dogs seem to appear in my photographs very regularly these days...

Shell beach (as I nicknamed it) was surprisingly busy with people and dogs...  

And then out of nowhere appeared this pair of little beauties...  Flying along the beach...

"Last one into the water is a scaredy cat..."

"I'm no scaredy cat..."

"I won...  No you didn't...  Who won?  Woz it a draw?"

"Uh... not sure... hey Fred... which of us won?"