# Post Your Pics & Videos of the Great Outdoors



## Tim Harrison

It'd be great if folk could post their pics of the Great Outdoors here to share with others 

I'll start things moving with just a few iPhone snaps from a woodland walk today...

Awesome aquascape inspiration





Fungi




Polytrichum sp.


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## alto

Gorgeous

Of course now I've unreasonable expectations for your new scape


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## Tim Harrison

Thanks alto, I'll do my best


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## Tim Harrison

Scaping inspiration...


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## Jayefc1

Where in Leicestershire is that Tim


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## Tim Harrison

Environs of Bradgate Park


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## PARAGUAY

Nice photos Tim the Polytrichum is fasinating shows that link between nature and mathmatics everything in perfect symetry


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## Tim Harrison

Thanks Paraguay...Fibonacci sequence?


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## PARAGUAY

looking that up Tim Think I saw something on the excellent Gardners World or Chelsea flower show. were they looked at Dahlia flowers and discussed this. Still trying to fully understand Wabi Sabi


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## zozo

Nice Topic Tim..  Worthy of a sticky..Good photo's i know how dificult it is to get the best angle to make a picture show what you see in the target.. I regularly see things like this in the old and damp little forest behind my house. It contains a lot of very old trees several always blow over crack or get ripped out of the ground about every storm that passes. Than the moss and ferns etc. take all over decaying the wood. It constantly changes with new inspirational sceneries.. Never realy took the camera with me when i do my regular stroll in there. I try not to forget next time..


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## Tim Harrison

PARAGUAY said:


> looking that up Tim Think I saw something on the excellent Gardners World or Chelsea flower show. were they looked at Dahlia flowers and discussed this. Still trying to fully understand Wabi Sabi


Or maybe Lucas Numbers...


Thanks Marcel, I just use my iPhone 8 camera. I keep edging toward buying a DSLR, but then I'm not sure it has anything more to offer than I'd use.
And the phone is always in my pocket. Usually, when I see something worth capturing it leaps out at me. I don't ever really go looking. A DSLR is really too big to carry everywhere.



zozo said:


> i know how dificult it is to get the best angle to make a picture show what you see in the target


I just take a few pictures from different angles, including wider angles to make sure I've captured the image I want. The quality of the image is so good that there is still plenty of information left after I've cropped it.



zozo said:


> Nice Topic Tim..  Worthy of a sticky..Good photo's i know how dificult it is to get the best angle to make a picture show what you see in the target.. I regularly see things like this in the old and damp little forest behind my house. It contains a lot of very old trees several always blow over crack or get ripped out of the ground about every storm that passes. Than the moss and ferns etc. take all over decaying the wood. It constantly changes with new inspirational sceneries.. Never realy took the camera with me when i do my regular stroll in there. I try not to forget next time..


I love those old places. We have Ancient Woodlands in the UK, those that have been in existence since 1600 AD. The theory is that they're most likely remnants of the original wildwood that covered the country in the wake of the retreating glaciers 10,000 years ago. Some of them can be very foreboding though.


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## zozo

Tim Harrison said:


> We have Ancient Woodlands in the UK, those that have been in existence since 1600 AD. The theory is that they're most likely remnants of the original wildwood that covered the country in the wake of the retreating glaciers 10,000 years ago. Some of them can be very foreboding though.



I bet the UK has lots more and much more intriguing ones than we do in our little frog country..  Actualy i live in the most natural area of the country, the Dutch mountains at the feet of the German Eifel and Belgium Ardennes. But unfortunately also vastly urbanized since the 1950 with here and there small forests but most are manicured.. That's why our erea is called Park City.. It used to be farmland and forests for miles and miles.. But around the 1940's they found coal, atracted vast numbers of mineworkers from all over the place and started urbanizing and exploiting. Little farmers vilages expanded into little cities and in between every little city is a little forest.. Mines are gone, ecomicaly crashed, forests what's left are devided and now to find a new identity all little dull, bankrupt and boring wanabe cities made one big Park City, so called proud to be the greenest urbanized area of the country. But economicaly 3th world region of the Netherlands, with the highest unemployment rates and not even 2 miles of straight forest strech left..  

But most forest patches left still date back to always i guess..  Very few are still left as they were, but 90% is paved, manicured and trimmed.


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## Tim Harrison

That's pretty much the same theme in the UK. WW2 was really the watershed moment. Our countryside was changed irrevocably.


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## zozo

Whats rather funny, 0.5 mile north from my place is the largets forest in a 20 mile radius. It's only 542 acre and the majority is moor land.. But there runs a zigzag path through the wood area. If you walk it you think OMG this is a forest without end i'm lost!! And when i finaly reach the end sweating beans i realize i'm only 2 miles away from home.. Now that's forest management i wonder did they consult Darren Brown for the layout?


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## Edvet

Only in existence since the nineteen fifties, before that:


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## Jayefc1

Bradgate park is a lovely place tim not been for a long time now though


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## Tim Harrison

It is, especially during the week, when there aren't many people around


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## Jayefc1

Yeah I like ashbourne too some lovely walks there


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## Tim Harrison

Bluebells in bloom...


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## Jayefc1

That is pretty


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## Tim Harrison

Somewhere in Devon...


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## Edvet

At first sight it looked like long strands of dying seaweed to me


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## Tim Harrison

Not sure what species it is but it's little clumps growing in crevices.


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## dw1305

Hi all,





Tim Harrison said:


> Somewhere in Devon...


Batham looking east towards Thurlestone?





Tim Harrison said:


> but it's little clumps growing in crevices.


The green algae is _Ulva lactuca_ ("Sea Lettuce"), and the Brown seaweed (in the near ground) is _Fucus spiralis (_"Twisted Wrack"_). 
_
I think the grooves in the rock (Old Red Sandstone) are "ripple marks" from when the rock was laid down ~400,000,000 years ago.

cheers Darrel


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## AnhBui

Tim Harrison said:


> Bluebells in bloom...



Just wondering why everyone calling it Bluebells while it’s purple


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## zozo

AnhBui said:


> Just wondering why everyone calling it Bluebells while it’s purple



I guess it's an old folk name from a region where they are dominantly blue.  But you might also find them in white even but rather seldom in pink.. In hour language in it simply called the Wild Hyacint or the Forest Hyacint, but also mainly found and dissplayed in the color blue. I also have a plant named after it's color the Nymphaea Burgundy Princess, literaly dark red waterlily but hence it flowered twice this year and both times in White with a pink hue.

I also wondered what's burgundy about a white version and or why would it actualy grow white flowers at all if it's named and nursed and distributed for its particular color?.

I think not so long ago @dw1305 posted the clue in another thread that might be related, it's the Anthocyanin in the plants leaves and the recieved light intencity that determine color changes from red to blue to yellow and all intermediate colors in between. Purple is such an intermediate color mix from red and blue.. The color of anthocyanin pigment seems to be <Ph related>
Than very likely soil acidity or alkalinity will also have effect on the flowers color development and that a Bluebelss flower tends to color more purple on a slight acidic soil and more blue on nutral or maybe alkaline soils.  But it still is a Bluebell..

My Burgundy red lily has developed white flowers and since some anthocyanines pigments degrade in higher pH the only clue i have why it turned white, is the pH in grows in is 8.5.


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## Tim Harrison

Clumber Park Nottinghamshire Monday...


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## Oldguy

zozo said:


> Than very likely soil acidity or alkalinity will also have effect on the flowers color development



Appears that way with hydrangeas. In our garden, plants sometimes change colour. We have white bluebells in some parts of the garden and blue in other parts and to the announce of the wife some of her white flowers in her white garden have gone pink. The latter are not self seeders but original plants. All makes for an interesting life.


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## Tim Harrison

Woodland Adventure, spring in my local woodland...


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## jaypeecee

Hi @Tim Harrison 

That's a stunning collection of photos that you have there!

JPC


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## zozo




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## Tim Harrison

jaypeecee said:


> Hi @Tim Harrison
> 
> That's a stunning collection of photos that you have there!
> 
> JPC


Thanks JPC 

It'd be great to see other folks pics and videos of the Great Outdoors too


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## Wolf6

I'll add a few phone shots I made, nothing spectacular but I like em regardles. First a pic of sunrise in late januari in the woods where I bike through to get to work (if no corona WFH situation). 



Second pic is some rocks and trees I found pretty during a vacation in France. The spikey fallen tree just stood out, imagine it covered with mosses and ferns in the future, and then imagine the whole scene in a tank  




And last but not least, some fly agaric, also in the woods here.


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## Tim Harrison

Lovely images, especially the top pic. That's one very nice commute to work


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## zozo

Tim Harrison said:


> Lovely images, especially the top pic. That's one very nice commute to work



That's what forums are all about...  Topics!...


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## Wolf6

Tim Harrison said:


> Lovely images, especially the top pic. That's one very nice commute to work


Yeah, we moved here because we wanted to be closer to the woods  We got what we wanted, lots of woods surrounding our village, which is rare here in NL. This is a few minutes walk from my home as well. Not part of the commute route though


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## zozo

Wolf6 said:


> which is rare here in NL.



Indeed... I remember working at a factory construction site with a specialized team flown in from the USA they were in Europe for the very first time. And they said, The Netherlands isn't a country, it's more like a relatively big city... It's nearly impossible to drive 2 miles without seeing some buildings... 

We are so used to it we do not realize it any longer. I live down south and going to Amsterdam is quite a long trip in my perception, not something i would do every week. Also no need to we have everything we need multiple times over and for the most within walking distance.

For those USA fellows, it was peanuts, they went every Friday afternoon after work to Amsterdam to have fun and came back Sunday evening. Week in, week out. They actually did what they are used to when home. In the USA or Canada, it's common practice for a lot of folks to drive 4 hours to get to the first shop to buy a bottle of milk.

Something i never experienced in my life. Can't even imagine it...


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## Wolf6

zozo said:


> Indeed... I remember working at a factory construction site with a specialized team flown in from the USA they were in Europe for the very first time. And they said, The Netherlands isn't a country, it's more like a relatively big city... It's nearly impossible to drive 2 miles without seeing some buildings...
> 
> We are so used to it we do not realize it any longer. I live down south and going to Amsterdam is quite a long trip in my perception, not something i would do every week. Also no need to we have everything we need multiple times over and for the most within walking distance.
> 
> For those USA fellows, it was peanuts, they went every Friday afternoon after work to Amsterdam to have fun and came back Sunday evening. Week in, week out. They actually did what they are used to when home. In the USA or Canada, it's common practice for a lot of folks to drive 4 hours to get to the first shop to buy a bottle of milk.
> 
> Something i never experienced in my life. Can't even imagine it...


True, even here I'd have a hard time finding 2 miles without any buildings, there is always a hut, farm, mansion (or castle  somewhere around  But coming from Rotterdam myself, this is already amazing. Its not as bad as in China, when I was in Bejing and Shanghai I couldnt believe being in a train for an hour!!! and still not having left the city's outskirts. If the people there wanted to enjoy a forest, or something resembling that, it would take hours to get to.


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## zozo

Relatively speaking, in terms of national forests in our country, i can not complain.  I'm from what nowadays called Park City... In the Dutch Mountains so to speak.  (Limbo).

Yet not posted any pictures, i rarely go out with a camera. But i will someday and show some when i go on a forest trip.  I'm not sure if i'm able to at the moment, with the Stay Home Corona hype they closed down the best part for tourists. Even living only 15 minutes away from it, but outside the checkpoint borders,  i'm still considered a tourist and not allowed to pass if i have no legit reason too. I try to find out if the restrictions are lifted. But that part of the country is fairly known by a lot of northern fellow countryman as Little Switzerland and go there for the holidays.

Anyway, it has quite some nice forests with some nice terrain contrasts in the valleys or on top of the hills. 💪


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## Wolf6

zozo said:


> Relatively speaking, in terms of national forests in our country, i can not complain.  I'm from what nowadays called Park City... In the Dutch Mountains so to speak.  (Limbo).
> 
> Yet not posted any pictures, i rarely go out with a camera. But i will someday and show some when i go on a forest trip.  I'm not sure if i'm able to at the moment, with the Stay Home Corona hype they closed down the best part for tourists. Even living only 15 minutes away from it, but outside the checkpoint borders,  i'm still considered a tourist and not allowed to pass if i have no legit reason too. I try to find out if the restrictions are lifted. But that part of the country is fairly known by a lot of northern fellow countryman as Little Switzerland and go there for the holidays.
> 
> Anyway, it has quite some nice forests with some nice terrain contrasts in the valleys or on top of the hills. 💪


Ah nice, looking forward to seeing them! We have a few hills here too (Utrechtse heuvelrug). Foto's dont do them justice, its a lot more then it looks (especially by bike!)


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## Onoma1

Views from near Lower Hades (yes this is a real place ) in late May and early June.  I particularly like the small pools and waterfalls that form in the moorland.


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## Georgina7

I am really impressed with these pictures and really wish to visit these places at least once in a lifetime.


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## steveno

Llyn Idwal - North Wales


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## steveno

Porth Wen Old Brick works in Anglesey


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## dw1305

Hi all, 
Brilliant, I haven't been to <"either place since the 1980s">, but the Brick works looks just the same. I want to go back to both of them (and Parys mountain) before I'm too decrepit. 

cheers Darrel


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## Tim Harrison

Nice images @steveno, it's easy to forget how varied and beautiful the British Isles are, especially during this strange time when folk aren't getting about as much as they used to.


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## mort

steveno said:


> Llyn Idwal - North Wales
> 
> View attachment 154177View attachment 154178



I was there last Thursday,  we did the carnedd horseshoe.


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## dw1305

Hi all, 





mort said:


> we did the carnedd horseshoe.


I think I'm already <"too decrepit"> for that.

cheers Darrel


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## mort

We added Yr Elen onto that exact same walk once you are up the first there's very little elevation change.


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## dw1305

Hi all,





mort said:


> Yr Elen onto that exact same walk once you are up the first there's very little elevation change


You are just rubbing it in now.

cheers Darrel


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## mort

Same valley as the above waterfall but from a different perspective and not on as nice a day. This is the Glyderau range starting with Tryfan on the right. This is a great area for a horseshow walk taking in tryfan, glyder fawr, glyder fach, y garn and elidir fawr.





and this is the top of snowdon (again not a particularly great day, the forecast was for 100% visibility, which it was when we were half way down!). It was quite crazy this time, we came up from Rhyd ddu this time as we thought it would be quieter but when we reached the top it was packed. This is probably about a quarter of the queue to the summit but it was quintessentially British, politely lining up like that. Its a holiday i will remember for dim parcio signs and road cones (but we booked it last year and stayed away from the more touristy places everyday but from this one).


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## steveno

Snowdonia is such a beautiful place, any time of the year, last year we did the sunset walk, unfortunately there was too much cloud cover on peak, walk down Snowdonia in the dark was fun...


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## steveno

Tim Harrison said:


> it's easy to forget how varied and beautiful the British Isles are,


Have to agree, so many beautiful places to visit...


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## Wolf6

This makes me want to plan next years summer holiday in Wales  but I always hear terrible things about the weather, so I still havent dared to.


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## dw1305

Hi all, 





Wolf6 said:


> but I always hear terrible things about the weather


Snowdonia is pretty wet. It is often better earlier in the year (April, May and June), but there is some really good bits of coast (Morfa Harlech) and the Lleyn peninsula and Anglesey  tend to be a bit drier.  The Southern side of Snowdonia is a lot quieter, and peaks like the <"Rhinogs"> will be really quiet even when Llanberis, Capel Curig, Betws-y-Coed etc are rammed with people.

Mid Wales and W. Pembrokeshire are drier than the N and  Aberdovey, Newquay, Aberaeron etc are now so fashionable it is where the welsh glitterati live. 

cheers Darrel


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## Wolf6

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, Snowdonia is pretty wet. It is often better earlier in the year (April, May and June), but there is some really good bits of coast (Morfa Harlech) and the Lleyn peninsula and Anglesey  tend to be a bit drier.  The Southern side of Snowdonia is a lot quieter, and peaks like the <"Rhinogs"> will be really quiet even when Llanberis, Capel Curig, Betws-y-Coed etc are rammed with people.
> 
> Mid Wales and W. Pembrokeshire are drier than the N and  Aberdovey, Newquay, Aberaeron etc are now so fashionable it is where the welsh glitterati live.
> 
> cheers Darrel


Thanks for the tips  Which part has the most ruins and castles? Thats what the kids love most of all  I'll leave this here nice rock I encountered on our Germany holiday this year.


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## dw1305

Hi all, 





Wolf6 said:


> Which part has the most ruins and castles?


The <"Welsh Marches"> (along E. border with England) and in <"N. Wales, ringing Snowdonia">. Edward I's castles are the famous ones, like Harlech,  Caernarfon etc.

Henry V was born in Monmouth and Henry VII in Pembroke. I'm English, but grew up very close to Wales,  where <"every village"> has a castle.

There are another cluster of castles in the <"S. of Pembrokeshire">, which was "English" (S. of the Landsker line), even though it is about as far west as you can get.

The bit in the middle (the <"Welsh Desert">) is pretty bleak, so nobody bothered fighting for it, and there aren't (m)any castles.

cheers Darrel


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## mort

We always go to Wales in early September when the little darlings are back at school. Tbh the weather has generally been really kind to us with only the odd day that's wet or stormy (but wet and stormy days can be some of the best for moody scenery). It's perhaps not the best time of year to go but it's always more favourable than the same time in the lake district but then we are used to the weather.


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## BarryH

Sunrise over the church of St Barnabas.
Early morning mists and a decent sunrise too. I normally have very early starts to reach venues for a sunrise within the Peak District, luckily for me, this one was less that a couple of hundred metres from my front door. Didn't even need to start the car.


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## Geoffrey Rea

Mont Blanc Massif from Cosmiques Arête circa 2013:





Some plonker in the middle of shot


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## Tim Harrison

Autumn in my local woodland, taken on a walk today. It's Ancient Woodland and a SSSI and was recorded in the Doomsday Book, so it could be a remnant of the original wildwood that grew to cover the country in the wake of the retreating glaciers around 10.000 years ago.


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## Tim Harrison

Sun setting over Leicestershire...


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## Andy Taylor

Tim Harrison said:


> Sun setting over Leicestershire...


Believe it or not, Leicestershire has some beautiful scenery.


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## LondonDragon

Regents Park


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## BarryH

Chatsworth House in Derbyshire

Two of Chatsworth's colourful Flame Trees near the James Payne bridge are well into their autumn colours. Shame it's so difficult to get to the house and grounds at the minute as every visit has to be pre-booked due to the restrictions.


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## Tim Harrison

Nice...Keep 'em coming. I think we're all going to need cheering up over the next month or so, and reminding that there is a world out there beyond our own neighbourhoods...


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## mort




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## glasscanvasart

I visited Dartmoor with my family a couple of weeks back and had half an hour taking photos along the river Dart, which is absolutely gorgeous. They’re a little of the mark on focus and exposure, but I was in a rush and cared more about composition and rushing around taking photos from different perspectives. I think as Aquascaper there is a lot to be learnt from nature photography through composition, atmosphere and an understanding of nature.















And my favourite by far,


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## SRP3006

glasscanvasart said:


> I visited Dartmoor with my family a couple of weeks back and had half an hour taking photos along the river Dart, which is absolutely gorgeous.


Stunning river and area, reminds me of the hours I spent walking/fishing along that river growing up. Can really immerse yourself in the atmosphere and trickling river,


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## SRP3006

Autumn walk around a local spot on the quantocks today, a very old forest with some of the tallest trees in England. Love Autumn colours, very foggy and eerily quiet.


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## not called Bob

not today but a latergram


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## Nico Felici

Fairy Glen, Isle of Skye.

Shame I am not a fan of Iwagumi's as this would have been an interesting inspiration!


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## BarryH

Really pleased to learn that my image of the Winter Blue Tit has won the Matlock Photographer Of The Year competition for me. The competition theme for 2020 was Derbyshire Wildlife. It's a great feeling to know that others enjoy the work that I do, makes all the early mornings and late nights worthwhile.


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## rebel

SRP3006 said:


> quantocks today


Oh Man! I haven't been to the UK but this makes me cringe due to the episode of "Quantockking" in the series Peep Show!!


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## rebel

BarryH said:


> Matlock Photographer Of The Year competition for me


Technical masterpiece! most won't realise the effort to capture such an image.


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## Wookii

BarryH said:


> Really pleased to learn that my image of the Winter Blue Tit has won the Matlock Photographer Of The Year competition for me. The competition theme for 2020 was Derbyshire Wildlife. It's a great feeling to know that others enjoy the work that I do, makes all the early mornings and late nights worthwhile.View attachment 156917



Congrats @BarryH that is a beautiful image.


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## BarryH

Rebel, Wookii, thank you both for the kind words. Really appreciated.


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## LondonDragon

BarryH said:


> Really pleased to learn that my image of the Winter Blue Tit has won the Matlock Photographer Of The Year competition for me.


 congrats, that is a stunning photo  well deserved


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## BarryH

LondonDragon said:


> congrats, that is a stunning photo  well deserved


Thank you Paulo. Really appreciate the comments.


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## Wolf6

BarryH said:


> Really pleased to learn that my image of the Winter Blue Tit has won the Matlock Photographer Of The Year competition for me. The competition theme for 2020 was Derbyshire Wildlife. It's a great feeling to know that others enjoy the work that I do, makes all the early mornings and late nights worthwhile.


Congrats! Lovely picture


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## Tim Harrison

Not particularly stunning images, but taken yesterday at a local wetland nature reserve Cossington Meadows. Don't let anyone try to tell you plants only grow like this in our aquariums...


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## dw1305

Hi all,


Tim Harrison said:


> Not particularly stunning images, but taken yesterday at a local wetland nature reserve Cossington Meadows. Don't let anyone try to tell you plants only grow like this in our aquariums...


The _Callitriche_ looks really healthy, it might be _C. hamulata, _but they are difficult to ID. The _Hydrocotyle_ isn't _H. vulgaris, _but an invasive alien, I assume that it is <"Floating Pennywort"> (_Hydrocotyle ranunculoides_) from its growth habit.

Edit: I should have said it looks a cracking reserve, and something we might see more of with more joined up flood planning etc

cheers Darrel


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## Tim Harrison

I think you're right on both counts Darrel. The floating penny wort is becoming a problem, choking up drainage ditches and growing along the margins of the river Soar.



dw1305 said:


> I should have said it looks a cracking reserve


Yes it's not bad.



dw1305 said:


> something we might see more of with more joined up flood planning etc


We can hope. Maybe the Catchment Based Approach will help.


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## Tim Harrison

Another of Columba Park, Nottm, taken today.


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## not called Bob

a latergram of the view from being on top of Kjerags boulder


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## not called Bob

Dolphins at the office,


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## foxfish

Seasonal Santa run last Sunday, we are so lucky not to have any covid inGuernsey.


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## zozo

foxfish said:


> Seasonal Santa run last Sunday, we are so lucky not to have any covid inGuernsey.
> View attachment 159078



I realy expected them to be chased by a herd of red nosed reindeers, a La Pamplona...


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## Wolf6

not called Bob said:


> Dolphins at the office,


That is just awesome  Not saying I'd want your job but I could do with that view/those visitors


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## Tim Harrison

Looks like fun.
And should I ever find myself in Guernsey in need of scaffolding, I now know who to call...😬


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## foxfish

Ha ha well, maintenance scaffolding  is not allowed in town during the summer months so we get loads of it in the winter !
Marcel, there is a large bronze  donkey statue  in amongst  that crowd as Guernsey people are affectionately known as Donkeys, so over here Santa’s sledge is traditional pulled by donkeys!

Also the steps in that picture, lead up to the market square and as a general rule only women who wish to get pregnant will walk up the middle !
I joke you not that even in this modern world folklore is still payed attention too and the majority of guernsey girls will only walk up the sides and not the centre!


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## zozo

foxfish said:


> Marcel, there is a large bronze donkey statue in amongst that crowd as Guernsey people are affectionately known as Donkeys,


Are you serious?..  We must have some distant family ties with Guernsey!?

This is our municipal mascotte Donkey standing since 1922 in the village centre square.


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## foxfish

Ha that is a good one !
We have a few dotted around and there is talk just at this moment about commissioning  a really big new one !


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## not called Bob

Start of a farm between Anglesey and Liverpool a few years back.


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## PARAGUAY




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## PARAGUAY

Winter walk


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## PARAGUAY




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## PARAGUAY

Tandlehill Country Park views over Lancashire


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## not called Bob

Frost on an overgrown meadow


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## Fred Dulley

During a cold winter walk this Christmas. Spring in the middle of a field. Enters from the left and exists on the right.


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## Tim Harrison

Nature Reserve, Leicestershire...





Cropston Reservoir, Leicestershire...


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## Kezzab

Near Orton.


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## Kalum

Few pics from a local walk earlier today


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## Kezzab

One from today's march.


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## Libba

Cradle Mountain, Tasmania


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## not called Bob

A walk in an interesting local wet wood, looks like it had been heavily coppiced at some point, but this must have ceased a fair while back and now a nature reserve.


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## PARAGUAY

I saw something on YT about a amazing local landscape in Asia as the inspiration for a scape. Would be nice to see some pictures of the great outdoors from members in other countrys on here to


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## Tim Harrison

That time of year again. Bluebells (_Hyacinthoides non-scripta)_ in Sheet Hedges Wood SSSI, Leicestershire.





Sunset over Cropston Reservoir back in late February.


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## BarryH

How about this in one of your tanks? This is Robin Hood's Stride near the village of Winster in Derbyshire. Legend has it that the outlaw Robin Hood often stood astride the two main rocks looking out over the landscape.


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## Ady34

Me and the Mrs went for a much overdue short break to Bowness, Lake Windermere Lake District. The area seemingly utilising some of Adam Paszczelas finest frodo stones……





And more from Bowness and Windermere….


























More recently walking the dog in our local town, Newton Aycliffe. Put a lovely blue sky behind and everywhere looks nice …..much like a blue lightscreen behind an aquascape











Cheerio
Ady.


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## philljoynes

Inspiration from the New Forest


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## philljoynes

Trees over a brook



Trees over a forest path




Some moss in the forest


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## Scouseboyblue

Day out to Pistyll Rhaeadr been coming here since I was a kid I now drag my kids up to the top . Stunning views from the top and bottom 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Stu Worrall

River Llugwy near Betws-y-Coed


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## mort

Beautiful picture Stu. Lovely area around there. We went on a school trip up to swallow falls and then were invited to jump off the main bridge in Betws-y-coed, surprisingly there were quite a few of us that did and I still remember just how cold it was.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,
We have had a long term study of <"green hay strewing"> as a meadow establishment method on the old landfill at <"Carymoor Environmental Centre">. We collected the hay from a <"Somerset Wildlife Trust meadow at Babcary"> back in 2001 and I did the "20 years" survey at Babcary last week. 

This is the meadow and it just looked fantastic, with loads of insects and singing Yellowhammers, as well as all the plants.





cheers Darrel


----------



## Tim Harrison

That's fantastic and a sight for sore eyes. There aren't too many of. those left.


----------



## BarryH

Not sure if there are any Oasis fans on here but this is a shot of The Old Waiting Room at Cromford Railway Station in Derbyshire. It was featured on the cover of their first hit single, Some Might Say. The building fell into a bit of a state but was recently refurbished and it's now a holiday cottage let that's regularly visited by the band's fans.


----------



## not called Bob

Bumped from today's flight so been walking around Norwich


----------



## mort

@not called Bob  I walked passed the plantation gardens for years but have never been in. Worth having a look?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


dw1305 said:


> meadow establishment method on the old landfill at <"Carymoor Environmental Centre">


This is the Carymoor picture from 2021, not quite the same, or anything like as flowery, but some of the plots are showing promise.

cheers Darrel


----------



## not called Bob

mort said:


> @not called Bob  I walked passed the plantation gardens for years but have never been in. Worth having a look?


well for £2 it was ok, it was free from people, so I was fine for my joining PCR and time off shore.


----------



## BarryH

This one's from the tiny village of Pilsley on the Chatsworth House Estate here in Derbyshire.


----------



## BarryH

It's great to see the farmers creating wildflower strips in the fields around Chesterfield in Derbyshire. It's really good for the pollinators too.


----------



## Gill

Had the park to ourselves this morning.


----------



## BarryH

Trying to get an image of Whitby Abbey without people in the shot is far from easy. This one was taken just after the grounds opened to visitors and it was still busy.
If the people didn't stay in one position for too long, it was just about possible with the help of a 10 stop filter. This was a two minute exposure.


----------



## DeepMetropolis

Went on a hike with the family last wednesday and took some pictures.


----------



## BarryH

Early morning at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.


----------



## foxfish

Saumarez park  is my favourite  local park, I love the history that goes with it.
The house and grounds once belonged to Lord Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez.
Most of you wont be familiar with that name but, James was a true action hero, he was around at the same time as Lord Nelson and basically took over when Nelson was killed!
However unlike  Nelson, James was not an attention seeker and preferred a quite reclusive life regardless of his amazing achievements and long term service as Admiral of the fleet in a time when Britaina ruled the waves.

Anyway he was gifted the park land as a wedding present and built a nice but not OTT house, he  also landscaped the area with rare and interesting trees.
That was around 1790 and in around the 1930s the whole property was given over to our island and has been run by our government ever since.
Unfortunately  the grounds could not be maintained to the original standard of the once extremely wealthy Lord and his decedents but they are still keep clean and tidy by a small team of gardeners.
When I was younger say 45 years ago the park had many more magnificent trees and architectural  features that have been since deemed un safe!!!
I find it has lost much of its magic and has become more of a well used community park with kids playground and a lot of dog mess.
Still a beautiful spot ….

The second picture show one of those kangeroo nightshade things that are popping up everywhere on the island!
fourth picture shows a magnificent  and ancient fig tree. Picture seven is a new community project to replace the old Japanese  fisherman's hut.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


foxfish said:


> kangeroo nightshade things that are popping up everywhere on the island!


Kangaroo Apple_ (Solanum laciniatum), _I think may have a seen a <"Guernsey based one"> before?

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

We can spot them all over the island now, I saw one that must be 10’ high and as thick as my arm, there are at least two more in my garden.


----------



## foxfish

Phone pics from last evening waiting for the green flash that did not appear as the sun sets, not calm enough for the effect this time but a passing yacht race adds a bit of interest.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,
Ullock Pike, looking towards Skiddaw. Not every-one was fully engaged with the scenery.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> Ullock Pike, looking towards Skiddaw. Not every-one was fully engaged with the scenery.
> 
> Cheers Darrel



Nice area? It's one place I've not really done in the lake district and just found a walk that goes up Ullock pike and onto Skiddaw via long side and Carl side. Trying to tick off as many wainwrights as I can whilst I'm still able.


----------



## foxfish

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> Ullock Pike, looking towards Skiddaw. Not every-one was fully engaged with the scenery.
> 
> Cheers Darrel


I did not realise you were so young!


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> Nice area? It's one place I've not really done in the lake district and just found a walk that goes up Ullock pike and onto Skiddaw via long side and Carl side. Trying to tick off as many wainwrights as I can whilst I'm still able.


The loop up to Skiddaw doesn't add a lot, but the walk around Ullock Pike, Longside and Carl Side and back down via Dodd was a good walk.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


foxfish said:


> I did not realise you were so young!


Not for the last 40 years.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

I found a whole forest of the things lurking in the depths of my untidy corner!


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> Ullock Pike, looking towards Skiddaw. Not every-one was fully engaged with the scenery.
> 
> Cheers Darrel


Another view of Skiddaw (with the clouds) this time from Binsey.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Nice shot!


----------



## not called Bob

Kids and some adults riding up with the neighbouring farmer in York, during harvesting over the weekend, before rain stopped play


----------



## LondonDragon

not called Bob said:


> View attachment 173209
> Kids and some adults riding up with the neighbouring farmer in York, during harvesting over the weekend, before rain stopped play


Thought you had been chasing Jeremy Clarkson!


----------



## Garuf




----------



## MichaelJ

@Garuf ... nice. Is that from Dyrehaven outside of Copehagen?

Cheers,
Michael


----------



## Garuf

Yes indeedy. It’s where I collect my wood. Don’t tell the queen.


----------



## MichaelJ

Garuf said:


> Yes indeedy. It’s where I collect my wood. Don’t tell the queen.


Thought so. Those Red Deer stags are huge!


----------



## Garuf

They're also extremely "friendly", I've gotten close enough to pat them more than once, the trick is looking like you might have dinner.


----------



## MichaelJ

Garuf said:


> They're also extremely "friendly", I've gotten close enough to pat them more than once, the trick is looking like you might have dinner.


Yes, they are _almost_ domesticated with all the humans around them all the time. I probably wouldn't want to approach them during the rut. 🤣


----------



## Tyko_N

A few photos from the local creek, but I have loads more if anyone is interested.


----------



## Tyko_N

Another batch:


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


Tyko_N said:


> Another batch:


The Pike (_Esox lucius_) is a great photo. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## Tyko_N

dw1305 said:


> The Pike (_Esox lucius_) is a great photo.


Thank you! The juvenile pikes and mid sized perch are my favourites to photograph. The pikes because they just try to hide by staying completely still, while the perch is more curious or just not bothered. Although there are not a lot of other species to chose from here, apart from the schools of small roach this is pretty much all the larger creatures we regularly see:


----------



## Wolf6

Some vacation shots. A hillstream:




Praying mantis:





Dont know the english name but translated dutch name is heroes woodbeetle or something (heldenboktor)





 Vista of the elzas seen from atop a ruined castle, with a lizard on the corner of the tower:



Butt-rock:



And a stoney face in some overgrown ruïnes:


----------



## Tyko_N

Found one more set of (mainly) underwater pictures, and not likely to get any new ones with the cooler weather we have here now.


----------



## Paul Willi

Privet hawk moth caterpillar nearly got squashed when in the garden today. A really stunning caterpillar


----------



## Gavin3171




----------



## Wolf6

Gavin3171 said:


> View attachment 174186


Lovely picture! Random something I once heard is that the word butterfly came from 'flutter by'. What is this one called in english? Still hoping to see one in my garden someday.


----------



## PARAGUAY

Its aSwallowtail according to my insect book. Its  a very old book and says it mainly in Norfolk . Cant be sure how accurate this is but its a respected book Oxford Book of Insects


----------



## Gill

Lovely walk around Swale Lake this morning.
Ruined a bit by Calcifer catching a fledgling and subsequently devouring the poor Robin.


----------



## sparkyweasel

The butterfly looks like a swallowtail, but not the British species that now lives only in the Norfolk broads. As @Gavin3171 is in Essex, it could be a visitor from Europe. It looks similar to the Citrus Swallowtail, but that one is American.


----------



## PARAGUAY

sparkyweasel said:


> The butterfly looks like a swallowtail, but not the British species that now lives only in the Norfolk broads. As @Gavin3171 is in Essex, it could be a visitor from Europe. It looks similar to the Citrus Swallowtail, but that one is American.


You could be right but @Gavin3171 picture shows strong colouration and the book says the European species are very pale in comparison .It says attempt to reintroduce to the fens in Cambridgeshire was underway in 1968 , so right next to Essex .? European species make their way across apparantly attracted by root crop growing in Southern England. Surprising were this hobby sends you. Great picture by Gavin


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


sparkyweasel said:


> It looks similar to the Citrus Swallowtail, but that one is American.


<"Yes it does">, a very widespread (originally African?) species that is a "pest" of Citrus orchards.  The plant it is on looks like <"_Asclepias curassavica_">_, _so I'd guess it is in a Butterfly House, rather than the wild.

They are easy to rear, so they may be released at weddings etc.

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Almost chestnut time, two more weeks I would say…..


----------



## not called Bob

Gavin3171 said:


> View attachment 174184


she looks familiar, wonder what she’s doing as the off looks quite mature


----------



## mort

Elterwater looking towards the Langdales





River Rothay


----------



## Chriswhite

Taken just off the summit of Penygader South Snowdonia.


----------



## foxfish

Is that where the military jets train?


----------



## mort

foxfish said:


> Is that where the military jets train?



Yes the mach loop is around there.


----------



## not called Bob

Our gangway watch keeper last night


----------



## foxfish

A Boxing Day stroll around our deserted town, taking in a few of the back streets and fine houses.


----------



## foxfish

Sarah took these pics out of the car window on her phone while I was driving early this morning, the island in the background on the left is called Herm the one on the right is Jethou.


----------



## foxfish

Splendid winter sunset from our upstairs window!
The tower is an old flour mill that the occupying  German forces added a huge concrete extension to the top.
During the war It was disguised as a working mill with fake sails but in fact contained deadly anti aircraft guns!


----------



## foxfish

Some more early morning delight….


----------



## PARAGUAY

Beautiful and atmospheric🙂


----------



## Yugang

The former Crown Colony.


----------



## foxfish

It is just possible to see five of the Channel Islands in the middle picture.
Left is Herm, then in the background there are in fact two islands, Sark and Brecqhou, then Jethou and then  in the distance on the right is Jersey.
Brecqhou is where billionaires, the Barkley twins, have built their castle!


----------



## PARAGUAY

I haven't had the paint brush and watercolours out since lockdown but    those photos giving the urge


----------



## Karmicnull

I got my worst ever sunburn on Herm. Have had freckled shoulders ever since!


----------



## foxfish

Karmicnull said:


> I got my worst ever sunburn on Herm. Have had freckled shoulders ever since!


Sun trap for sure, cold water, beautiful beaches, nice pub!


----------



## MirandaB

Visitor to the garden this morning.not the best of photos as I had to zoom in a fair bit


----------



## LondonDragon

MirandaB said:


> Visitor to the garden this morning.not the best of photos as I had to zoom in a fair bit


that is stunning!


----------



## Geoffrey Rea

Walk along the Formby coastline:


----------



## BarryH

Most years, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire host an exhibition of sculpture from famous artists the World over. This years exhibition comes all the way from the Arizona desert and is called Radical Horizons - The Art of Burning Man. To give an idea of how big the statues are, the lady in the photo is one of the models from the Press Day and compared to the others in the exhibition, this statue is probably mid-sized. 








						The artists and sculptures of Burning Man
					

Find out more about the artists and sculptures featured in our Burning Man exhibition




					www.chatsworth.org


----------



## foxfish

Amongst the Monterey Pines (dead and alive !) on our North East facing clifftop.
looking at the Island of Herm in the centre but Alderney, France and Sark are also visible on the horizon

.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,
I was in the Lakes a few days ago (during the warm weather). This was the Pasture Beck valley, looking S.E towards Threshthwaite Cove.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

We went to see the bluebells this afternoon, there are far more wild garlic and Spanish bluebells appearing each year. I find it a shame as the wood was once a mass of blue, although the Spanish ones will come up in a few weeks time, so the effect is for longer just not so dense.
We also spotted a couple of Green lizards, one was a  splendidly  large specimen with a perfect tail, he was a good 12-14“ long with tail.


----------



## Geoffrey Rea

A few shots from the Yorkshire Dales Way walk last week (Ilkley to Lake Windermere) :


----------



## foxfish

@Geoffrey Rea , When I was a late teenager I had a friend who lived in Bradford, I went over to visit him on my motorbike a few times.
Our favorite haunt was Ilkley collage for girls! In fact we saw the Buzzcocks playing there one Sat night before they became famous.
I seem yo remember there were about  200 female students and as it was so remount, only a few guys would visit it on a sat night.!!!
I remember speeding through the village where Emerdale  was filmed and being stopped by the police but they got so confused anout my numberplate (Guernsey reg ) and license they let me go…
This was around 1980 and I had my very first Indian curry experience … hot hot hot but addictive …..
I would like to go back one day to see all the sites again from a different perspective!


----------



## Tim Harrison

foxfish said:


> Our favorite haunt was Ilkley collage for girls! In fact we saw the Buzzcocks playing there one Sat night before they became famous.


Buzzcocks, crikey that’s funny. They were my favourite band back in the day. Shame we lost Pete Shelly 2018. Those were the days.


----------



## Geoffrey Rea

Love it @foxfish . Sounds like quite the adventure. 

You may be surprised by how much money has moved into Ilkley now, certainly was a surprise this time since last visiting over twenty years ago. Still a beautiful town though and can assure you the beer on tap remains most excellent 🍻 Can’t guarantee there’ll be 200 female students knocking about though… 😂 



foxfish said:


> When I was a late teenager I had a friend who lived in Bradford, I went over to visit him on my motorbike a few times.



Of course you rode a motorbike across the country for adventure as a teenager, you beautiful mythical beast you @foxfish 😂


----------



## Tim Harrison

Geoffrey Rea said:


> You may be surprised by how much money has moved into Ilkley now,


We were looking to buy there a few years back. It’s very expensive but also very desirable. The high street reflects that. Either way it’s a beautiful part of the world and I guess that’s the point.


----------



## Geoffrey Rea

Tim Harrison said:


> We were looking to buy there a few years back. It’s very expensive but also very desirable. The high street reflects that. Either way it’s a beautiful part of the world and I guess that’s the point.



Tis’ very picturesque:


----------



## PARAGUAY




----------



## PARAGUAY

Walks round Holmfirth


----------



## foxfish

Yesterday our island celebrated 77 years of liberation from the German invaders during the second world war.
We watched a 100 vehicle parade of vintage cars, bikes and  military  vehicles that come right past my front  garden.


----------



## Ginkgo

I don't really like these man made pine forests, but even they can be quite beautiful at times.


----------



## Hufsa

Took the dog out for a hike to check on my tap water supply. I think theres still enough for a couple more water changes


----------



## castle

A collection from my "hardscape" walks..


----------



## The Miniaturist

What a beautiful, peaceful place. Where is it?


----------



## castle

The Miniaturist said:


> What a beautiful, peaceful place. Where is it?



A splattering of places, once you're out of the central belt of Scotland it's a lot of this. This is from Renfrewshire, honestly, every river/stream/brook looks like this.


----------



## foxfish

The jap weed  is in full growth and spreading out into the bay …..


----------



## foxfish

Nice South coast walk,  surprising  what plants can be found along the cliff tops.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> Nice South coast walk,  surprising  what plants can be found along the cliff tops.


Datura sanguinea, bizarre. Humming-bird pollinated, so I'm not sure it will spread any further.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Hi Darrel, I dont have your knowledge of latin names, I call that plant Red angels trumpet.
I was surprised to see it too but there are many large gardens that back up to the cliff paths so I suspect it has been planted. In any case it is a big spread of foliage with hundreds of flowers, I think they are toxic to wildlife and maybe even humans…. Looks like one should pick a few flowers and stuff them with feta cheese and fry them like a courgette flower!!


----------



## sparkyweasel

foxfish said:


> I think they are toxic to wildlife and maybe even humans…


Yes, very.


foxfish said:


> Looks like one should pick a few flowers and stuff them with feta cheese and fry them like a courgette flower!!


Better not then


----------



## sparkyweasel

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,Datura sanguinea, bizarre. Humming-bird pollinated, so I'm not sure it will spread any further.
> 
> Cheers Darrel


Species with pendulous flowers and smooth fruits are now _Brugmansia_. The ones with upright flowers and spiny fruit are still _Datura_.
Normally pollinated by hummingbirds, but I wouldn't be surprised if bees or moths could do the job; however, natural seed dispersal is believed to have been by long-extinct megafauna so they are now only found in cultivation, - or escapes. Listed as extinct in the wild.
IUCN
Very interesting and beautiful.


----------



## Hanuman

In South America we have a drug called by locals: "burundanga". It's in fact Scopolamine produced by Hyoscyamus albus / Datura stramonium or more commonly known as the Devil's Breath. It can be turned into a powerful drug, which among other effects will remove your free will. We all know what that can lead to.
I personally know people who got druged by criminals with a simple handshake. The drug will be absorbed cutaneously. The victims then went on to empty their bank accounts willingly and also inviting the criminals to their house etc, without anyone around ever noticing that anything was wrong. Scary.


----------



## mort

They are also surprisingly hardy for an exotic looking species (we don't have that one but a couple of others that survived near zero before they came in) and very easy from cuttings.


----------



## Lemonhands

These are a few photos i took on a camping trip to Pewsey last weekend. I  off to Lake District in the very enar future so sure I will have more to share soon


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> The jap weed  is in full growth and spreading out into the bay …..
> View attachment 189083


Sargassum muticum, plenty of it in Pembrokeshire as well.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

foxfish said:


> The jap weed  is in full growth and spreading out into the bay …..



It appears seagrass can get quite big if it's given time









						World's biggest plant discovered off Australian coast
					

The seagrass is roughly 4,500 years old and three times the size of Manhattan, researchers say.



					www.bbc.co.uk
				




Edit. I see Kelvin has already posted the link in another thread.


----------



## foxfish

The Jap weed is in vertually evey bay around our island, our government waged war against it for many year but the Jap weed won! 
30 years ago is was just in a few isolated bays but now it forms almost impenetrable  barriers at low tide.
The good side is that the weed attracts Bass and offers sanctuary  for them, we can still hunt the bass with a speargun in the weed at this time of year, but in the next few weeks it will become too dense  to swim through.


----------



## foxfish

A good year for field roses, they are a nightmare if you walk off the path wearing  beach shoes!
We are approaching drought conditions in Guernsey with no substantial rain for three months now! 
It has beed crazy humid but for some bazar reason, any rain is skipping past us time and time again…..
Right at this minute  the other channel islands  are being drenched but we are dry!


----------



## foxfish

Well we are outdoors again and it did in fact rain last night!
@Tim Harrison you like this chap….he is back after three years in France.


----------



## mort

If you have seen springwatch this year then you may know what this is. I found it in my garden last year and didn't realise how cool (if you like creepy carrion burying citters) or how rare they are. For those that don't know its a buying beetle and you'd be surprised just how impressive their burying skills are.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> then you may know what this is.


Did you give it a sniff? They smell "interesting".

They aren't actually that uncommon in moth traps, that is the only place where I've seen any carrion beetle.

The most common ones are the (all black) _Nicrophorus humator_ and _Necrodes littoralis, _but you get the black and orange species as well.

You can tell whether you have _Nicrophorus vespilloides. N. vespillo , N. interruptus _or _N. investigator _by the shape of the orange markings ("Rhino" or "scotty dog"), and whether they have orange antennal clubs. Yours has orange antennal clubs and the rear stripe has a "scotty dog "profile, so I think that makes it <"_N. interruptus_">, and a rare find_._

cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

Thanks Darrel, I didn't think to sniff it tbh and I had thought it was N. vespillo because I didn't know about the Scotty dog markings. I'd forgotten all about it until the programme and hadn't registered the siting yet like they asked luckily.

It's amazing what turns up in a garden. I do try and make it as inviting for as many things as possible but I must miss all but a tiny fraction.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> I had thought it was N. vespillo because I didn't know about the Scotty dog markings


The only reason I know is that I belong to a FB group <"Moth Trap Intruders UK">, which has been really useful and I've got ID's for Beetles and Caddis etc. which I just used to ignore.

Last week I was in Pembrokeshire  and I went to Skomer.  I've never been before, but the Puffins were amazing (and amazingly numerous). You will have to take my word for it because I must be the only person who has been to Skomer (at the right time of year) and not taken any photos of Puffins, but here is a view of the W. of the island, looking towards the mainland.





cheers Darrel


----------



## sparkyweasel

mort said:


> It's amazing what turns up in a garden.


My late father knew Jenny Owen, who identified (with the help of her university colleagues) 2204 species of insect in her (not huge) garden, including 60 not previously recorded in Britain and six that were new to science. And lots of other creatures too.
She wrote a book, _Wildlife Of A Garden: A Thirty-Year Study_, but second-hand copies are going for over £100.


----------



## NatalieHurrell

dw1305 said:


> Last week I was in Pembrokeshire and I went to Skomer. I've never been before, but the Puffins were amazing (and amazingly numerous). You will have to take my word for it because I must be the only person who has been to Skomer (at the right time of year) and not taken any photos of Puffins


I agree.  Skomer is amazing for puffins.  Went a few years ago and some literally sat on me whilst I was photographing.  It was mega windy though and they were having to land by coming in backwards half the time.  We were supposed to stay two nights, but a big storm was due in that would have meant staying up to a week and we had to go back to work on the Monday.  Still worth it for a day trip though. Shameless puffin spamming coming up...


----------



## Hanuman

Spectacular pictures @NatalieHurrell !!


----------



## Garuf

I’m a lardarse so the single speed got taken for a spin this evening. 
Saw a fish and a deer and a sign saying don’t bother hand sized deers.


----------



## Garuf

It could also be don’t karate chop deers… 
It’s not a very useful illustration.


----------



## Lemonhands

Got back from my camping holiday in the Lake District yesterday evening, thought i would share some of the pictures here


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


Lemonhands said:


> Got back from my camping holiday in the Lake District yesterday evening, thought i would share some of the pictures here


Nice.
I can identify some of the plants and insects. The  little Longhorn moth is _Nemophora degeerella_, the Stonecrop is "English Stonecrop "_Sedum anglicum_, the caterpillar is a "Drinker", I can't tell you which Lamprey it is.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Sark is one of the most interesting, unusual and beautiful spots in this World …. Well I think anyway and I would encourage anyone who loves the outdoors to visit if they ever get a chance……


----------



## Tim Harrison

Wetland in the parkland of Wollaton Hall, Notts. It's closed to the public and minimally managed. A truly magical place that's supposed to be home to  fair folk


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> For those that don't know its a buying beetle and you'd be surprised just how impressive their burying skills are.


I had one of these the other day in the moth trap, a different one from @mort's and apparently this one is <"_Nicrophorus vespillo_">_, _because it has curved tibia.





I also had some-one look at @mort 's photo and apparently I gave you the wrong ID and it is <"_Nicrophorus investigator_">, because the anterior orange markings meet.

cheers Darrel


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,
A few moths, all from the BSU Newton Park  campus over the last couple of days.

Buff Arches (_Habrosyne pyritoides_)





Drinker (_Euthrix potatoria_)





and a relatively recent arrival from the continent, the  European Corn-borer (_Ostrinia nubilalis_)*




* I won't tell Priti Patel

cheers Darrel


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


dw1305 said:


> A few moths, all from the BSU Newton Park campus over the last couple of days.


In the unlikely  event of people wanting more moth photos, there are plenty more on my <"iNaturalist account">.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Garuf

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> In the unlikely  event of people wanting more moth photos, there are plenty more on my <"iNaturalist account">.
> 
> cheers Darrel


A good archive of everything that will be totally extinct in the next 10 years.


----------



## Nont

Some plants I’ve found almost a week ago near Krabi limestone pool.

The water is very hard, I’m quite surprised that Nepenthes didn’t die.


----------



## Garuf

Nont said:


> Some plants I’ve found almost a week ago near Krabi limestone pool.
> 
> The water is very hard, I’m quite surprised that Nepenthes didn’t die.
> 
> View attachment 191119
> View attachment 191120
> 
> View attachment 191121View attachment 191116


I have krabi moss, it’s meant to be from there, it loves my water so it makes sense if where it’s from is rock!


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## MirandaB

Thought I'd share a photo of one of my fish shed residents.....a Tegenaria parietina aka Cardinal spider


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## Lemonhands

Had 20+ of these turn up in my garden today, made an insane amount of noise fighting over this food and the bird table


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## mort

We used to get flocks of starlings when I was a kid but relatively few now. Nice to see they are breeding somewhere.


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## Lemonhands

mort said:


> We used to get flocks of starlings when I was a kid but relatively few now. Nice to see they are breeding somewhere.


Other people I have sent it to seem to think they are song thrushes, i'm not really sure personally as not very knowledgable on birds though. But yea there was a lot of them


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## mort

Lemonhands said:


> Other people I have sent it to seem to think they are song thrushes, i'm not really sure personally as not very knowledgable on birds though. But yea there was a lot of them



Don't know if I've ever seen a baby song thrush. I was just going by the starry patch on the top picture.


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## Lemonhands

mort said:


> Don't know if I've ever seen a baby song thrush. I was just going by the starry patch on the top picture.



After mentioning starlings to them they have now reconsidered too 😅, i think youre right though, starlings seem far more likely to bicker and be greedy in their groups


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## Geoffrey Rea

blahblahblahblah end of nowhere on a plateau in Switzerland.

No wind. No sound. If you held your breath you could hear your heartbeat thumping away like a kick drum in that moment:





Something special about complete silence in desolate places. We’re noisy creatures.

Decent view of the Matterhorn behind:


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## MirandaB

Speckled bush cricket


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## Tim Harrison

Wild untamed wetland


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## Nont

Huge colocasia in a polluted waterway next to my family’s house.


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## sparkyweasel

Common Hawkers (edit; probably Migrant Hawkers, - thanks Darrel) having a good time. 



The lock keeper tending his garden.


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## Tim Harrison

Swithland reservoir, Charnwood Leicestershire, a few days ago. It's been a dry summer. The water level is approximately 2.3 metres lower than optimum.


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## foxfish

Guernsey in the distance, taken from Sark.


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## dw1305

Hi all, 


sparkyweasel said:


> Common Hawkers having a good time


That is a fantastic photo, I think they are <"Migrant Hawkers">, but I've never actually seen a Common Hawker, they aren't very common in S. Britain.

cheers Darrel


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## dw1305

Hi all, 
This is a less fantastic photo, but we have some Hares that live on the campus and they are less wary than normal. 

This was one catching some rays outside the lab. this evening.





cheers Darrel


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## castle

Unrelated but today I _saved_ the family crossword attempt with “leveret” the name for a young hare 👍


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## sparkyweasel

dw1305 said:


> I think they are <"Migrant Hawkers">,


Thanks, I think you're right. 
The pic doesn't show the tell-tale markings on the dorsal surface which would make the ID easy. 
I _had _been told that the Common Hawker was actually common in these parts, but looking for more identifying features I've found that's not the case. We have Southern Hawkers, and the Migrant Hawker has recently become "fairly frequent" in Leicestershire.


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## foxfish

I dont want to flood the thread but I have a few summer pictures to show you….
Sunrise and full moon on the same day taken  from our bedroom window!


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## NotoriousENG

A few random shots I've had buried on my phone for a while.












Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk


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## foxfish

During the mid to late 1800s Sark was mined for silver, this was a very interesting time full of drama  and  tragedy.   
The Cornish miners also found a particularly pretty form of Amethyst that was marketed as Sark Stone.
Most of the Amethyst was found at over 400‘ deep and over 100’ below sea level but there was also smaller mines that produced the gem stone.
We went on a trip to try and find one of the old excavations that was made in the back of a sea cave ….


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## PARAGUAY

Looking at those man made openings and the tools they would have used then guess there were a few tragic events. Awesome scenery


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## foxfish

Yes some horrendous events happened during the mining years, many  life  changing injuries and  tragedies  occurred. 
I can write more derails if anyone is interested …..


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## dw1305

Hi all,


MirandaB said:


> Speckled bush cricket


Oak Bush-cricket, I get a few of these (and Speckled Bush-crickets) in the moth trap or on the security lights, but I've never seen one otherwise





cheers Darrel


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## dw1305

Hi all,
......... and a few recent moths, "Green Carpet", "Pink-barred Sallow", "Frosted Orange" and "Centre-barred Sallow".

cheers Darrel


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## mort

We saw this on Anglesey


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## mort

and since we have had some mining pics, this is Pary's mountain, also on Anglesey

Unfortunately it was a dull day when we got there but the colours were intense. Quite a strange but interesting place.


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## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> We saw this on Anglesey


I think that one is either the "Meadow Grasshopper" (_Chorthippus paralellus_) or "Lesser Marsh Grasshopper" (_Chorthippus albomarginatus), _ but you need to see the markings on the back of the thorax.


mort said:


> Pary's mountain, also on Anglesey
> 
> Unfortunately it was a dull day when we got there but the colours were intense. Quite a strange but interesting place.


Parys Mountain gets a <"mention elsewhere">  in this thread. Probably the <"strangest place I've ever been">.

cheers Darrel


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## PARAGUAY

foxfish said:


> Yes some horrendous events happened during the mining years, many  life  changing injuries and  tragedies  occurred.
> I can write more derails if anyone is interested …..


I find it interesting how hard previous generations had to work and overcome their situations. I remember a few years ago holiday on the North York moors we took a visit to Bridlington there's a small history museum on the sea front.Brid is famed for it's fishing history. There was the story in there of a fishing boat (no health and safety in 1800s) were miles out to sea the skipper had a bad  accident one of his arms completely ripped off . The crew so traumatized by the horror he had to steer the boat back to harbour with one arm.  Old photos were up l seem to remember he survived and pictures of him back at sea


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## foxfish

Many companys  of the era including mining, were managed in a similar fashion to the army or navy……you did what you were told and did not complain …..  mostly a very tough life with very few benefits outside of survival.


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## mort

It's probably the strangest place I've been as well. My brother has been to rainbow canyon in Arizona's Death valley and he thought the colours were much more striking at Pary's mountain. It had been on our list for a few years and it has the trifecta of things we like, interesting, quiet and free.


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## mort

We did a mine tour at the Llechwedd mine near Blaenau Ffestiniog a few years ago and the life of those workers didn't seem fun. I remember you had to buy everything from the company that you needed, including candles, so they lined up where they were going to hand drill and blew out the candle for the next few hours.


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## foxfish

The worst story I have heard was about a three person team in the Sarks Hope mine, 600’ deep and 200’ out to sea.
The father, brother and son team were boring a 1.5” hole in the ganite with timed blows of a 9lb hammer while the boring rod was twisted by the young 16 year old son. This was just before dynamite was invented so gun powder was used but the hole size needed to be  quite large to work effectively.
The team used candles to light the up the work space but as you can imagine the conditions were dire and a miss placed strike from the fathers hammer struck the son in the head and killed hime outright!
There were other deaths related to flooding and drowning plus's uncountable  maimings  and loss of  digits  etc….  and all this happened in just a few years of the working mine!


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## mort

That reminded me foxface of another thing the Llechwedd miners had to buy, fuses. Apparently because they were quite expensive they would try and cut them as short as possible to save money and you can imagine the consequences of doing so in a pitch black cavern.


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## NotoriousENG

All this talk about mining inspired me to dig up a picture I took of a mine lake in Minnesota. These lakes occured due strip mining in the Cuyuna Iron range. There are many pit lakes, but the deepest is reported at over 450 ft. Now a days these lakes are popular with local dive clubs, anglers, and the surrounding are is an excellent mountian biking park.




Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk


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## castle

On the hunt for hardscape










It’s an old, unmanaged woodland. Everything is rotten, but there is a couple of lumps that look usable in there.


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## castle

Went deeper, found a pond


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## Nont

Went to national park today. There are many interesting plants, but sadly only one Cryptocoryne crispatula was found.


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## foxfish

Here is another video from the summer when we went to find an old silver mine.


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## Fiske

Short trip to a nearby forest a week ago






















Seems like I need to resize every single image, which sets a natural limit for post spamming


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## Tim Harrison

Room with a view. Elveden Forest, Suffolk.




Lakenheath Warren SSSI, Suffolk, Inland sand dunes.


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## Tim Harrison

An emerald jewel within the heart of Charnwood Forest.


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## Fiske

Bidstrup Forest 20th October.


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## Fiske

For some reason some wouldn't attach as images. What is the size requirements? Max 6000 pixels and 20MB right? I have several getting an error despite being smaller than that,,,
View attachment IMG_9679.JPG
View attachment IMG_9665.JPG
View attachment IMG_9672.JPG


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## foxfish

Candie Gardens, very late fall.


Candie Gardens


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## dw1305

Hi all, 


foxfish said:


> Candie Gardens, very late fall.


Ginkgo's are just great. I remember <"this one from 2020">.

cheers Darrel


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## mort

Salthouse, North Norfolk on a pretty manky day.


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## mort




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## mort

Be thankful pictures don't smell, the native goats of the Great Orme


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## foxfish

Great picture, I used to look after a billy goat, he was really good fun.
He had been castrated and did not smell to bad but those two look like real fine specimens!


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## mort

You can easily smell them from half a mile away if the wind isn't kind to you. They have quite an interesting history 









						Llandudno Goats - The Great Orme - Kashmiri Goats - Llandudno.com
					

Read about the origin of Llandudno's renowned goats, where they come from and how they live on "Llandudno's Mountain" The Great Orme.




					www.llandudno.com
				




Snowdonia seems to have a few populations, there are similar goats I've seen at the top of Tryfan and we saw some very  impressive different ones, with the biggest handlebars I've seen on a goat, wandering around the Dinorwic quarry.


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## Nont

I was in Trang province down southern Thailand for a vacation. We went to the restaurant with sea view this afternoon, these Cryptocoryne ciliata is also beside the place. Some plant are over 40 cm tall!
I managed to collect some of it, although I got strange look from every people inside the place


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## foxfish

I came across this outdoor, upside down, jade plant, it was hanging outside what was a pottery shop where they made and sold the upside down plant pots.
The pottery closed 15 years ago so I guess this plant has remained unattended for that long!


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## hypnogogia

foxfish said:


> The pottery closed 15 years ago so I guess this plant has remained unattended for that long!


Interesting.  How does the pant access water?  Are there holes in the top (bottom) of the upside down plant pot?


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## foxfish

The top and bottom are open ended, I did have one myself but I planted an elm tree seedling in it, not surprisingly the actual plant roots split the pot.
However I still use the idea and have tried  various  plants just for fun.


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## mort

My apologies that its not alive but its an interesting animal that doesn't appear very often on our coasts. We found this on new years day.





It's a Mola mola sun fish and there is more here which I saw this morning.









						Norfolk sunfish find important for research - expert
					

Studying the deaths of tropical fish washed up on Norfolk beaches is helping climate change research.



					www.bbc.co.uk


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## foxfish

That is going to smell in a day or so!
Such strange looking creatures, I cant say I have ever seen one washed up on the beach but they are quite common in the sea.
Most are pretty small but I have seen a few huge ones, I am not sure how it stands with fishing records nowadays as at one time they were not considered catchable due to their diet but somebody caught a 150lb one on a rod last year!


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## PARAGUAY

Moss looked good in the wood today


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