Photography with an occasional poem
Not just for Christmas,
Joy is to share all year round.
Spread thick like butter
Apologies to anyone dairy intolerant, and also to those who are tutting, and moaning about celebrating too early. Well not really, it is what it is. The light display is at Wollaton Hall (also known as Wayne Manor), and is due to be repeated this year in December.
Robin takes his aim,
Stealing riches for the poor.
Sheriff not impressed.
Nottingham is synonymous with the lads in Lincoln green, led by Robin Hood. His statue, along with a tableau of associated characters, shelters beneath the walls of Nottingham Castle. During the Great Pandemic of 2020, the council commissioned a series of painted Wise Owls, each decorated by a different artist and with a Nottingham theme. Appropriately it is the Sheriff that was sent to keep an eye on these scallywags.
Light as a feather,
Eyes twinkling, red breast puffed proud.
Grateful for the seeds.
I know I have previously posted about the robins at Attenborough Nature Reserve, but they really are very tame. When there is the chance of free food, they overcome any fear, and will happily feed until either startled, or when they have had enough,
Horses stride on poles.
Victorian favourite
For the modern age.
The grounds of Wollaton Park play home to several events each year. These can range from veteran car rallies, music festivals, and a pop up cinema through to an old-fashioned fairground. The carousel remains an eternal favourite.
A moment captured,
A fleeting show of power
As the wave explodes.
If you have been following the blog, you may recall an image of a small boy standing and waiting, to be covered by a wave coming over the promenade. If not, go back and find it, you might find some other images you like…
This was taken on the same day, as a storm hit the east coast of England. I stayed distant and dry. Luckily.
Not twelve apostles,
I counted them all myself.
So disappointing.
A few years ago we went on a short tour of eastern Australia and New Zealand. Whilst in Melbourne it was a must to visit the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles.
Originally called the Sow and Piglets, the name was changed to try and attract more tourists. As there were only ever nine, and now seven, of the stacks and as Australia is a largely secular country that makes little sense to me. So I have entitled this post Piglets.
What you looking at?
Don’t disturb me, I’m eating
A snack in the snow.
Apologies for the grammar, but I have a rules-based mind that will not allow me to deviate from a 5-7-5 sequence, so ‘what are you…’ was never going to fly. At least it wasn’t ‘Wat’chu looking at’. Or maybe that would be better?
Every winter, when the snow has fallen, these robins are keen to take seed from any source. They are not so timid and will happily hop on to your hand to be fed. That is an amazing experience, to be trusted by something so fragile, and when they land they are virtually weightless.
In a darkened wood
A stray shaft of warm sunlight
Lights a lone sapling.
A walk in spring looking for bluebells, turning a corner to find this young sapling sunbathing. I think this image possibly turned out better than the ones of the bluebells.
Chaotic and loud,
All the fun of the fairground.
Laughter guaranteed,
An annual event in Nottingham, Goose Fair is one of the largest travelling fairs in Europe, second only to Hull apparently. Over three days it attracts around half a million visitors to around 350 rides at a site just outside the city centre. As an event I am not so enthusiastic, but photographically it can be rewarding.
Finally stopped still.
An elusive dart of blue
Enjoying his catch.
Kingfishers are a nightmare. I once paid for a workshop in order to sit in a hide for two hours, never seeing a kingfisher. They were almost becoming mythical creatures in my eyes, no easier to find than a unicorn. But fortune favours those who persist, or perspire, and I was lucky enough to see this guy one morning, having just caught a newt for breakfast.
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