Well, another awful week. Rain, snow, mist, grey, damp, wind and a tiny bit of sun. The garden does not know what is happening
I knew exactly what I wanted to shoot this week and managed to get a couple of photos during a brief interlude of reasonable (albeit cold) weather.
Firstly, I noticed the hazel catkins have opened. Maybe spring is on the way? Interestingly, the hazel catkins appeared on the trees in October. I was so surprised I made a note of it in my blog. They were tightly closed, of course, and have remained that way until recently. At the first sign of spring, the catkins open to release their pollen, which is what they have done this week. So, here is my first. I deliberately took this into a watery sun because I wanted it backlit, but in a browser it looks very disappointing. When I open it in Paintshop, there is no banding on the background and it looks much better.
Next, I wanted to revisit the snowdrops. When I took them a few weeks ago, they were barely open. I wanted a shot of a single snowdrop that was open. I am rather dissatisfied with the shadow across the central part of the flower but there has been no opportunity to reshoot.
Now ..... oh no, not more deer shots :shake:
I was not planning any more deer shots this week, but when they spend so much time right outside the house, I can't help but photograph them. I know these photographs will never win any awards. Shooting through double glazing and in very bad light conditions does not help. But, I thought I would include them anyway because I think they are interesting.
In the summer, when I spot them, I sneak outside to try to get decent shots, but frankly it is too cold, wet and grey to do that at the moment. In addition, I don't want to scare them away because they are obviously hungry and must be running out of food in the woods to spend so much time so close to the house in broad daylight.
Firstly, I caught this guy in the act of eating my heather. He must be very hungry because they don't normally eat heather. You can also see that he is starting to moult. His fur has become very patchy.
Next, I have an apology to make to this little chap. A couple of weeks ago I called him a girl. He has now started to grow his antlers and is most definitely a boy. This is the guy who must have been caught on some barbed wire and has a huge patch of fur ripped from his back.
Finally, this one is just for fun. I mentioned the 3 Muskadeers because they hang around in this threesome - 2 boys and girl. I am not impressed with her toilet manners!
Fingers crossed for better weather next week.
Jenny
