Bench series #40

For the month of October I’m looking for a bench with someone or something sitting on it

(any kind of bench will do, but there must be at least one person, animal or object on the bench)

the 'Diana' bench
The “Diana” Bench at the Taj Mahal in India – yes there really is a bench under these ladies!

If you would like to join in with the Bench photo challenge then please take a look at my Bench Series page. No complicated rules, just a bench and a camera required 🙂

  • Create your own post and title it Bench Series: October
  • Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
  • Add the tag ‘bench series’ so everyone can find the benches easily in the WP Reader
  • Get your post in by the end of the month, as the new bench theme comes out on the first Sunday in November.

My Picks of the Week:

Isobel has some lovely benches from Camden’s Stable market and Lisa has benches with a view.  Debbie is back in London and there are more curves from Ruth in Hobart. Meanwhile Elaine has some controversial ‘benches’ – what’s your opinion? And my last pick from the metal series is a sweet bench from Dawn with unusual basket-weave.

As always there are so many delightful benches to view, I hope you will check out the other links within the comment section.

little things in life

A fellow blogger and friend has been posting some images of spring in Australia including close-ups of moss starting to sprout. It prompted me to take my new macro lens down to the river where I knew moss grows abound and where I had seen some tiny fungi growing just the other day. Unfortunately it was quite dark by the river (it is flanked by a high cliff and trees on the one side) and moss isn’t as attractive in its latter stages, but I did find the fungi and a few interesting little things to photo. They are not the sharpest of images, but as I have mentioned over on the flower blog where you will find more macro images, I am happy to record my journey with the new camera with the hope that as time goes on I will improve!

We will start with this quite small leaf covered with tiny hairs on which there were beads of moisture – from the early morning fog I imagine.

P9282194

Next a look at some fungi – note that the puff ball ones are actually very, very small, probably the size of the nail on my little finger.

Then some moss – again with the droplets – ferns and a couple of flowers. I had not realised until now how much the spores on a fern look like tiny eggs.

Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes)
Herb Robert
Spores on harts tongue / Asplenium scolopendrium
Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens)
Moss with droplets
Spores
Moss

And finally one insect (there was a spider too but the quality of that shot is far too embarrassing to post here) a bright red-brown fly. If you click on him to enlarge the image you will see the hairs on his back.

P9282211

To Autumn

SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

John Keats (1795-1821)

Cider Apples – Hereford
Blackberries ripening (September)
Elderberries
Squash
Blackberries (August)
Grapevine

Bench series #39

For the month of September I’m looking for a Metal bench

Quatrefoils
Quatrefoil bench in Autumn

If you would like to join in with the Bench photo challenge then please take a look at my Bench Series page. No complicated rules, just a bench and a camera required 🙂

  • Create your own post and title it Bench Series: September
  • Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
  • Add the tag ‘bench series’ so everyone can find the benches easily in the WP Reader
  • Get your post in by the end of the month, as the new bench theme comes out on the first Sunday in October.

This is the last week for your metal benches, next Sunday we start looking for ones with someone or something on it.

My Picks of the Week:

Kaz, another lady who lives in Sydney, took a photo of this bench some time ago, but it is metal and it is a beautiful shot so I am including it in my pick this week. Tish invites you to join her in a circular argument. Debbie is feeling chilly in Margate. Klara is back with a contemporary bench and Lori has another sculptural bench whilst Violetsky brings us something a little more normal from Scotland this time and Elaine heads back to New Orleans.

As always there are so many delightful benches to view, I hope you will check out the other links within the comment section.

This post is my 500th on this blog which is really weird because I have reached the 500th post on my flower blog too. I obviously take too many photographs! I would like to thank all my followers and readers for their likes and comments and all the wonderful conversations that occur on here. Who knew that blogging could be so much fun. Thank you all 🙂