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Photo Hunters
2008-02-09 08:53:00
This weeks theme....HeavyHow To Join Photo Hunters Click here to see who else is playing Photohunt or checkout photohunt on Technorati.Meet Big Jeff...He is a Clydesdale Heavy horse standing at 18 hands and 3 inches, he weighs in at just over a tonne and is 9 years old.Bif Jeff is a true working horse and is owned by Phil and Linsay who run the The Heavy Horse Experience in Telford Bif Jeff and his fellow heavy horse 'Bob' are used by Phil on his small holding to carry out traditional heavy horse jobs, they are also used on awarness weekends, when you can enjoy a hands on experience with these 'Gentle Giants'.

New Age Alternative Wonder Fuel...
2008-02-08 15:07:00
With petrol reaching all time high prices around the world and with the likelihood of the price only going up, I decided I must find an alternative way of powering my car.I looked at all of the other options, such as electric hybrid, LPG, Bio fuels and hydrogen powered. I felt that they all had down points so I searched further a field to see if I could find anything else.My breakthrough came when I was chatting to three friends in the local woods. We were stood around a cauldron warming ourselves when the conversation turned to my quest to find an alternative fuel source for my car. They then went on to describe their means of transport and the benefits of using different woods for the handles of their broomsticks. Apparently Sweet Chestnut is very economic, Hazel is good for speed and Willow for manoeuvrability. They did say that a selection of these handles for the Besom would provide excellent characteristics for today’s modern car, whether in town or on the open road.I took t...
More About: Fuel , Alternative

Wednesday Wanderings
2008-02-06 18:14:00
Over this next four week period I will be showcasing more pictures on a related theme from my photographic wanderings. At the end of the four weeks I will display all four pictures for you to vote for your favourite. You can vote by leaving a comment on my blog . One lucky voter will win a A4 mounted print (400mm x 500mm mount) of their favourite picture (completely free of charge including P&P), which would normally be £35.00. I will choose the winner by putting the comments in a virtual hat and then notifying the winner via their blog.(the only time I will require an address is to be able to post the winning picture, once this has been done the address will be destroyed and will not be passed on to any 3rd party)The theme for this quartet is....WoodlandsThis picture is called...Blubell WoodThis path is one that leads you through the Bluebells that grow on The Ercall , the Ercall is situated just outside of Wellington, Shropshire and is very close to where I live. The woods ar...
More About: Wednesday

Green Thumb Sunday - The Blackthorn Blossom
2008-02-03 01:47:00
How To Join Green Thumb Sunday Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll The Blackthorn Tree BlossomMany of you might have guessed that I'm fascinated by plants and their histories. Very few plants are in flower or doing much of anything at the moment, but the first tree to blossom will be the Blackthorn tree. It is not in flower at the moment but can flower as early as February or March depending on what sort of winter we are having. The tree is mainly found in hedgerows and the flowers are creamy white in colour and quite similar to Hawthorn flowers. Leaves will appear towards the end of March along branches that have sharp spines, this is to help protect the tree from grazing animals; it also provides ideal nesting for birds.One of the main uses of the Blackthorn is its fruit. These are black and round when rip and are called sloes. The fruit is best known for flavouring sloe gin, although drinks made of fermented sloes have been concocted for centuries.As you can imagine the tree has been as...

Be Part Of A World Record Attempt.
2008-02-01 15:52:00
If you live in the West Midlands and would like to be part of a world record attempt, then read on....The Big Picture is a new project run by Arts Council England West Midlands and supported by the BBC.The idea of the project is to build a unique snapshot of the West Midlands, the people and communities you live in through your photos and stories of your life and locality.This will help build a lasting insight to the social history and fascinating lives and loves of the residents of the West Midlands.Over the next six months the project aims to collect more than 95,000 individual images, which will be then used to create a giant, world record-breaking, photomontage. Make sure your images play a starring role in the world record attempt by taking and submitting photos that show your day-to-day life, and those things that are most important to you.It doesn't matter what the subject of your picture is, as long as it is of something or someone that inspires you, from family and friends...
More About: World , World Record , Part , Record

Wednesday Wanderings - Your Chance To Win
2008-01-30 15:57:00
Over the past couple weeks I have been showcasing pictures on a related theme from my photographic wanderings. This is the fourth week , I will display the fourth picture together with all the three previous pictures for you to vote for your favourite. You can vote by leaving a comment on my blog . One lucky voter will win a A4 mounted print (400mm x 500mm mount) of their favourite picture (completely free of charge including P&P), which would normally be £35.00. I will choose the winner by putting the comments in a virtual hat and then notifying the winner via their blog. (the only time I will require an address is to be able to post the winning picture, once this has been done the address will be destroyed and will not be passed on to any 3rd party)The Theme for this quartet has been ...TextureI have covered, Wood, Stone, Plant and the final one is MetalThis picture is called ...Horse Shoe TowerThis tower has been created by the blacksmith , of a now disused smithy, piling up...
More About: Chance , Wednesday

Green Thumb Sunday - The Snowdrops Have Arrived
2008-01-27 15:06:00
How To Join Green Thumb Sunday Green Thumb Sunday BlogrollA month ago I posted about the Snowdrops coming to a place near you , well they have arrived.....Here in Shropshire they have just started coming up and bursting into flower. These were all in flower in a wood by Attingham Park .It is a place I like to visit each year as several variaties of snowdrop flower there. It's also the place where I had one of my funniest moments whilst out photographing.If you can imagine the wood...it is not massive and is bordered on two sides by a road. When driving past you can see into the wood at this time of the year. There I was taking pictures of the snowdrops, I was lying on the floor taking some close ups, the next thing I know is that a man dressed in a security guards uniform was walking over to me very quickly. I thought, here we go, I was caught in a wood that is private, oh no it wasn't that.The conversation went something like this..."Hello mate are you alright ?""Yes I'm fine tha...

Photo Hunters
2008-01-26 01:07:00
This weeks theme....Old FashionedHow To Join Photo Hunters Click here to see who else is playing Photohunt Each year ploughing matches are held all over the country. This old fashioned tractor was taking part in a ploughing match organised by the Cruckton & District Ploughing & Hedging Society who hold matches each year in a different part of Shropshire. The ploughing matches are open to everyone, and everything from heavy horse's to vintage and modern tractors take part. It is a great day out for everyone and this years match is taking place at Downton Farm, Uffington, Nr Shrewsbury on Saturday 27th September 2008.

The whales need a powerful ally in Japan – say something Canon!
2008-01-24 16:05:00
The whales need a powerful ally in Japan – say something Canon ! Posted by Irene from onboard the Esperanza Different ways of shooting whales.Canon is the world's number one digital camera company, and a major sponsor of wildlife initiatives, environmental groups, and efforts to save endangered species.The sight outside our portholes strikes me as absurd: the Nisshin Maru, two catcher boats, an Australian surveillance vessel and us on the Esperanza. This is a big remote sea - but right here it looks like rush hour. Imagine the logistics and resources spent on all these ships coming down here, only because the Japanese government refuses to end their hoax science programme in Antarctica. But there are powerful forces in Japan that could influence their government - if only they would speak up!We wrote to Canon headquarters in Japan asking their CEO to speak out against Japan's whaling programme. But Canon declined to take a stand against the killing of thousands of whales in the S...
More About: Whales , Ally , Say Something

Wednesday Wanderings
2008-01-23 11:05:00
Over this next four week period I will be showcasing more pictures on a related theme from my photographic wanderings. At the end of the four weeks I will display all four pictures for you to vote for your favourite. You can vote by leaving a comment on my blog . One lucky voter will win a A4 mounted print (400mm x 500mm mount) of their favourite picture (completely free of charge including P&P), which would normally be £35.00. I will choose the winner by putting the comments in a virtual hat and then notifying the winner via their blog.(the only time I will require an address is to be able to post the winning picture, once this has been done the address will be destroyed and will not be passed on to any 3rd party)The theme for this quartet is....Texture This picture is called...Sunflower MosaicThis amazing natural pattern and texture is created by the florets on a sunflower. It is a pattern seen many times in nature and one that constantly intrigues me each time I look at it.Y...
More About: Wednesday

Looking For A Needle In A Haystack...
2008-01-19 15:52:00
I met up today with the Shropshire Butterfly Conservation Group, with a view of looking for the eggs of the White-letter hairstreak . It is a butterfly that I have never seen but hope to this summer.This is a picture of the butterfly and was photographed by Robert Thompson We were to meet in Ironbridge , but due to the flooding of the river Severn we moved location to Coalbrookdale, just outside of Ironbridge. The event was lead by Rob Thorne. (who is one of the butterfly recorders for Shropshire Butterfly Conservation Group) . Rob very successfully searched new Shropshire sites for White-letter Hairstreak eggs last winter and found plenty and was keen to find more. The eggs are laid onto Wych Elm ,English Elm and Small-leaved Elm. I would struggle to identify a Wych Elm so it was a good job that Rob could identify them. They are not too common due to a lot of Elm trees being destroyed by Dutch Elm disease , this is a disease that effects Elm trees worldwide. After Rob identified so...
More About: Haystack

Wednesday Wanderings
2008-01-15 21:59:00
Over this next four week period I will be showcasing more pictures on a related theme from my photographic wanderings. At the end of the four weeks I will display all four pictures for you to vote for your favourite. You can vote by leaving a comment on my blog . One lucky voter will win a A4 mounted print (400mm x 500mm mount) of their favourite picture (completely free of charge including P&P), which would normally be £35.00. I will choose the winner by putting the comments in a virtual hat and then notifying the winner via their blog.(the only time I will require an address is to be able to post the winning picture, once this has been done the address will be destroyed and will not be passed on to any 3rd party)The theme for this quartet is....Texture This picture is called....Magnificent SevenThese pebbles were jammed between Gneiss rocks on a beach on North Uist, Scotland. Gneiss is a high grade metamorphic rock. This means that it has been subjected to more heat and press...
More About: Wednesday

Green Thumb Sunday - Wildlife Garden At Harlescott Signalbox
2008-01-13 06:57:00
How To Join Green Thumb Sunday Green Thumb Sunday BlogrollI have planned to strim the wildlife garden at my signal box today, ready for this years flowering.I thought I would take this opportunity to show you a bit more about the area going back to 2005 when I first cleared the area. This was taken in April 2005 not long after I had cleared away all the rubbish and brambles that had grown in the on the bank for as long as anybody could remember. It took me several weeks to clear it , but it left me with a large area to plant up. These two pictures are in June and July of 2006 and you can already see how well the wildflowers have taken to the area.I cut down the large tree you can see in the corner of the second picture to open the area up to light a bit more. I left behind quite large pieces of the trunk and have recently ring barked to kill off the tree completely and let it naturally rot for insects and birds. This is taken from the area that I first cleared and planted up and you ...
More About: Garden , Wildlife

Photo Hunters
2008-01-11 22:53:00
This weeks theme....SkinnyHow To Join Photo Hunters Click here to see who else is playing Photohunt Compared to Dragonflies, Damselflies are skinny You can see this by comparing this newly emerged Damselfly with the flowering daises. In Britain Damselflies tend to be either Blue or Red and in some cases a mixture of both, as with this Blue tailed Damselfly. One of the ways you can tell the difference between Dragonflies and Damselflies, apart from their size, is the ability damselflies have to be able to fold their wings back along their body when they are at rest. As you can see with the Common Blue above and the Large Red below.With every species their is always one that is different to the others and in this case it is the Emerald Damselfly that is emerald green and blue. Damselflies tend to be found around ponds and still water as they are not strong fliers . Their small size makes them quite a challenge to photograph and I quite often find I have a nice sharp image of their t...

Late Christmas Present
2008-01-10 10:43:00
I am often asked what type of camera and lenses do I use. Well the answer is that I use a Canon 400D .I have used this camera for about a year now having upgraded from the 350D and found it to do everything I want it to do.The camera comes with a Canon 18-55mm zoom lens, a lens I have found to be a very good all round lens. It has it's limitations and I have to use other lenses if I want to do other things. The next lens I bought to add to my range was a Canon 75-300mm Zoom lens. This was to help me get close up pictures of Dragon and Damselflies, as they have a distance that they will allow you to come to.If you get to close they will just fly away. I then wanted to photograph other insects and flowers at a much closer distance, to be able to do this I used a Canon 60mm macro lens. I am able to get fantastic macro images with this lens. I do find though that I have to use a tripod when I am using this lens as any movement can blur the picture. The 60mm macro was fine for flowers a...
More About: Christmas , Present , Late

Wednesday Wanderings
2008-01-09 01:09:00
Over this next four week period I will be showcasing more pictures on a related theme from my photographic wanderings. At the end of the four weeks I will display all four pictures for you to vote for your favourite. You can vote by leaving a comment on my blog . One lucky voter will win a A4 mounted print (400mm x 500mm mount) of their favourite picture (completely free of charge including P&P), which would normally be £35.00. I will choose the winner by putting the comments in a virtual hat and then notifying the winner via their blog.(the only time I will require an address is to be able to post the winning picture, once this has been done the address will be destroyed and will not be passed on to any 3rd party)The theme for this quartet is....TextureThis picture is called...Shed Door I came across this shed totally by accident whilst wandering around the Shropshire hills. The shed itself is just about standing up and as you can see it looks like it has been patched many tim...
More About: Wednesday

And The Winner For The Second Wednesday Wanderings Is...
2008-01-07 12:05:00
Congratulations Go To....Garten Impressionenas the winner of the secondWho chose the picture...Poppy Field The mounted picture will be on its way in the next few days . Wednesday Wanderings starts all over again this Wednesday, so watch out for the next quartet of pictures .As I have had such a good response to the feature I thought it would be a good idea to offer the Wednesday Wandering's mounted pictures at a reduced price of £25.00 . You can place your order through my Web site by clicking on the drop down menu underneath the images in the Wednesday Wandering gallery. Payment can be made through PayPal or if you wish my can E-mail me.
More About: Winner

Cuan House - Wildlife Rescue
2008-01-06 17:26:00
Through chatting with one of my neighbours an opportunity arose for me to go and visit Cuan House a Wildlife Rescue Center, which is not far from where I live.Cuan House Wildlife Rescue is the only animal rescue charity centre in Shropshire open 24/7, 365 days a year and is run by its founder Megan Morris-Jones. It takes in sick, injured and orphaned wild animals, with the aim of nursing them back to health. On arrival, casualties are given First Aid in the form of Pain relief, Fluid therapy, Warmth, Treatment for Shock and treatment by a qualified Veterinary Surgeon, as appropriate. Once fully recovered, great emphasis is placed on returning them to the wild, usually back to the area from which they came so that they are in familiar territory. This time of year is relatively quiet for Megan and her team, saying that there was still quite a selection on sick and injured animals being cared for. These included, hedgehogs, a badger, a heron, a young robin, a goldfinch, buzzards, a spa...

Photo Hunters
2008-01-04 20:12:00
This weeks theme....DeliciousHow To Join Photo Hunters Click here to see who else is playing Photohunt What could be more delicious than a load of Jelly Beans. Not only do they look good but they are very tasty when you need that all important sugar rush.They also look delicious as your desk top background. So if you would like either of these two images as your background, just click on the images and save the larger picture as your background. I must warn you though, not to lick your screen as excessive licking may damage it.Enjoy...

Wednesday Wanderings - Your Chance To Win
2008-01-02 13:39:00
Over the past couple weeks I have been showcasing pictures on a related theme from my photographic wanderings. This is the fourth week .I will display the fourth picture together with all the three previous pictures for you to vote for your favourite. You can vote by leaving a comment on my blog . One lucky voter will win a A4 mounted print (400mm x 500mm mount) of their favourite picture (completely free of charge including P&P), which would normally be £35.00. I will choose the winner by putting the comments in a virtual hat and then notifying the winner via their blog. The theme for this quartet has been...Shropshire LandscapesThis picture is called...Ironbridge On A Spring DayIt was at Ironbridge, Shropshire, that first large scale production of cast iron was developed using a process pioneered by Abraham Darby. Items made in Ironbridge were shipped all over the world. Here in 1779 the worlds first cast iron bridge was built spanning the River Severn - beautifully construct...
More About: Chance , Wednesday

Green Thumb Sunday - Snowdrops
2007-12-30 14:44:00
Coming to a place near you soon...depending where you liveHow To Join Green Thumb Sunday Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll One of the more vivid local names for the snowdrop is the ‘snow piercer’, for this exactly describes how the familiar early spring flower pushes its head above the snow or earth to brighten the gloomy Winter woodlands. A small leaf like spathe, or protective sheath, covers the tip of the flowering stem and enables the snowdrop flower to force its way up through the snow.The snowdrop provides an early feast for bees which in turn pollinate the flowers. Nectar is secreted by the green spotted inner petals of the snowdrops and as the bee forages, it brushes onto the female stigma, some of the pollen adhering to its body after visits to other flowers.In the past, the snowdrop, sometimes confused with the similar but later flowering Summer snowflake, was also known as ‘the fair maid of February’. This refers to an old custom connected with the Feast of Purification ...

Photo Hunters
2007-12-29 11:42:00
This weeks theme....MessyHow To Join Photo Hunters Click here to see who else is playing Photohunt This Highland cow had rather a Messy hairdo and was obviously having a bad hair day. I would recommend a good shampoo and heavy duty straighteners to sort out the mess.I have recently signed up to . It is a way of promoting your blog by using your feed. You can view my page here and if you don't mind, bump me up the rankings by voting for me. It is very easy to do just click on Bump It ,verify the code and that is it. You can also do it by clicking on the icon in the right hand column. Why not add your feed and promote your blog....so I can come and bump you.

The Ironmen And The Severn Gilders
2007-12-27 21:05:00
"It's not easy to dance with a man with the worlds bounciest boobs".... If you are ever stuck for something to do on New Years Day, a trip down to Ironbridge is a must. If you turn up around midday you are likely to come across a group of strangely dressed men, some even dressed as women, dancing around waving and banging large wooden sticks. These men are in fact The Ironmen who dance what could be described as a unique and exuberant style of morris, which dates back to at least the 17th century. You are also likely to see ladies dressed in black pinafores and red shirts, which symbolise the coal and fire of the Industrial Revolution which had its roots in the part of Shropshire where they are based. These ladies are The Severn Gilders who together with The Ironmen are two separate but very closely associated teams of Morris Dancers based in the historic town of Ironbridge in Shropshire. The men fore go their traditional outfits and on Boxing day and New Years Day opt for Fancy d...

Wednesday Wanderings
2007-12-26 12:08:00
Over the next four week period I will be showcasing more pictures on a related theme from my photographic wanderings. At the end of the four weeks I will display all four pictures for you to vote for your favourite. You can vote by leaving a comment on my blog . One lucky voter will win a A4 mounted print (400mm x 500mm mount) of their favourite picture (completely free of charge including P&P), which would normally be £35.00. I will choose the winner by putting the comments in a virtual hat and then notifying the winner via their blog.(the only time I will require an address is to be able to post the winning picture, once this has been done the address will be destroyed and will not be passed on to any 3rd party)The theme for this quartet is....Shropshire Landscapes This picture is called....Morning Mist Quite often I look at the weather where I live and decide if it is worth going somewhere. I should get out of this habit, as more often and not the weather where I am going is...
More About: Wednesday

Merry Christmas Everyone....
2007-12-24 13:50:00
Merry Christmas Everyone.... Wherever you areIf you want track Santa's progress as he delivers his presents, you can view it by clicking here
More About: Merry Christmas , Merry

Green Thumb Sunday - Give Us A Kiss!!!!!
2007-12-23 11:50:00
How To Join Green Thumb Sunday Green Thumb Sunday BlogrollOver the past couple of weeks I have put up post's about traditional Christmas plants, Holly and Ivy. Which means that there can only be one left...MistletoeEvery time a man kisses a girl under the mistletoe, he is perpetuating a magic ritual that has gone on for thousands of years (a good excuse ). With the centuries, the ritual keeps changing its form. In the early 19Th century , for instance, each young man given the privilege of a kiss had to pluck a berry from the twig, and once all the berries had gone there were no kisses for latecomers.According to Pliny the Elder, writing 1,900 years ago, the Druids of Britain would cut down mistletoe with a golden sickle for use in their sacred rites. It was made to fall on to a white robe,as contact with the earth would have drained away the magic powers of this air-borne plant; and two white bulls were then sacrificed to ensure the potency of the magic. Pliny added that the plant ...
More About: Kiss , Give

Photo Hunters
2007-12-22 12:36:00
This weeks theme....LightHow To Join Photo Hunters Click here to see who else is playing Photohunt(don't forget to click on the images if you want to see them bigger)As a keen nature photographer Light is very important to me. I quite often spend ages waiting just for the right moment when, such as a break in the clouds , allowing the sun to shine just before a heavy downpour.The light catching an insect just right, to show their colours just that bit better.The light highlighting these foxgloves in a woodOr even making the rain drops on these grapes stand out making the picture that bit more interesting. As you can see light is important but you can also have some fun without it.

Leave Some For Wildlife...Don't Tidy Your Garden
2007-12-20 17:38:00
I went to visit Heather down at Wiggly Wigglers on Tuesday and one the things we talked about was the future plans I have for the Wildlife area in front of my house. The one thing I want to add is a small Orchard. I don't want the fruit trees be only for human consumption , but I want some to be for insects and animals.With this thought I went to see Rob at Forestart as he is the man who knows his trees. Forestart is based just outside Shrewsbury in the small village of Hadnall. They are housed in an old farm house with loads of out buildings, for all of the production of trees and wildflowers seeds. Rob and his team harvest all of their seed from local flower meadows and from trees whose provenance has been proven. Two recent additions are a pair of the most beautiful dogs you will ever see. They are Winston and Ozzy, who are rough haired labradoodles . They are really fun dogs who don't bark to much and display a great deal of joy. Inside one of the outbuildings is all the machi...
More About: Garden , Leave

Wednesday Wanderings
2007-12-19 11:53:00
Over the next four week period I will be showcasing more pictures on a related theme from my photographic wanderings. At the end of the four weeks I will display all four pictures for you to vote for your favourite. You can vote by leaving a comment on my blog . One lucky voter will win a A4 mounted print (400mm x 500mm mount) of their favourite picture (completely free of charge including P&P), which would normally be £35.00. I will choose the winner by putting the comments in a virtual hat and then notifying the winner via their blog.(the only time I will require an address is to be able to post the winning picture, once this has been done the address will be destroyed and will not be passed on to any 3rd party)The theme for this quartet is....Shropshire Landscapes This Picture Is Called...Underneath The OakThis picture was taken this Spring at Atcham, which is just outside of Shrewsbury. The field forms part of the river Severn's natural flood plain and as you can see it ha...
More About: Wednesday

Green Thumb Sunday - Serenaded From The Lampost
2007-12-16 01:42:00
How To Join Green Thumb Sunday Green Thumb Sunday BlogrollRobin Red Breast Robins are one of Britain’s favourite garden birds. They are such a familiar sight, with their bright red breast, especially around Christmas time. They do however spend the whole year here. Males and females look identical; the young have no red breast and are spotted with golden brown markings.Robins sing all year round with a distinctive beautiful song, and due to light pollution, they can become confused and you will often hear them singing at night time, perched on a lit street lamp.Despite their cute appearance, they are extremely aggressive birds, defending their territories and driving away all other birds, either by flying at them or by attacking them with their beaks. I have often witnessed this type of behaviour at the feeding table at my work place.You will rarely see two robins together in the same area except when it come to mating time, when you will see several males perusing a female or mayb...