Tag: Photo

Baby Coot

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At least I think it’s a Coot dabbling away at the water. I always get Coots and Moorhens mixed up. One sort has a white patch on its head, the other a red patch. They look very similar except that Moorhens are slightly smaller? The weird thing about the chicks is that the have a slightly red patch of feathers above their beaks. The parent (not sure if it’s male of female) certainly seems to be keeping an eye on the chick.

Photo taken at Westport lake a couple of weeks ago during a walk round the nature reserve.

Pool at Dorothy Clive Garden.

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The one thing that did disappoint me today was the pool, usually there are mounds and shapes of lots of different plants, but with the cold wet May we had things haven’t grown yet. Hopefully on our next visit it will be burgeoning with flowers and foliage.

Still we think we saw a couple of newts in the pond, together with goldfish and dark carp. The waterlilies are growing up and starting to spread. All in all it was a lovely early Summer day out.

Blue sky

warm water

goldfish swim lazily

mayfly dart across the surface

waterlilies open pale petals slowly

the world is calm

clouds float in an azure sky

contemplate

and relax.

Jodrell bank

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I was pleased to find this picture of the Jodrell Bank Observatory in my Facebook memories recently. I think it’s from about 2012.

Jodrell Bank radio telescope was built on the Cheshire plain in the 1950’s near Holmes Chapel. It was built there because it was far enough away from the radio noise given out by big cities like Manchester and Liverpool.

The radio telescope is a large dish shaped telescope, supported by a massive superstructure. Part of it was made from two gun turrets from world war two battleships that act as the pivots for it. The dish can rotate around its axis and from horizontal to vertical so it can scan most of the northern hemisphere.

It’s worth a visit for the day (covid safely). There is an arboretum, the radio telescope, a discovery centre and other interesting exhibits. Check their website for details at https://www.jodrellbank.net

Archaeological dog walking?

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Not with those soles!

This was a patch of concrete or cement on the pavement next to a telecommunications box. Maybe someone in forensics could date these soles, their size, the weight of the person? The dog print looks like it’s a large dog, big claws on it. And the crack, did that happen because there are tree roots below it? Why stand on this? I wonder if it was deliberate.

Broken cat flap!

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Crash! Smash! Clatter!

The big outside cat who now comes in has finally broken the cat flap! It was cracked in two yesterday, but with both parts still in place, but today? When we came home from my studio the cat flap was broken with two side pieces twisted away from each other and a pizza wedge shaped piece on the ground outside. The outdoor cat was inside and my female inside cat was staring through the cat flap from the outside! I opened the door and let her in. But how to try and fix this? Glue and wide clear tape. I tried gluing the edges, but I was just making a sticky mess. Next I dabbed glue on the flat surfaces and stuck the clear tape to them like a bandage. Next I slid the wedge shape up between the sides and wrapped another lot of tape and glue around the bottom of the flap. Finally I supported the flap on our toilet roll holder so it’s inside the door and horizontal. Why? Because it’s raining heavily and it would soon be soaking wet if I shut it. The door is also open to keep it out of the rain. I’m relying on the door between the kitchen and the backdoor staying shut to keep the cats in (and out).

Fingers crossed x