flower

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Well, he’s definitely not a stamp

Posted in response to the Daily Post weekly photo challenge. This week’s theme ‘From Every Angle – take photographs of the same stationary subject from three different angles’

Found this little chap on my Clematis just now.  He proved a perfect, uncomplaining model for this challenge!  I’m not sure exactly what type of bug he is, he could be a green shield bug* but doesn’t seem quite so ‘shield’ shaped as others I’ve found in the garden in the past. Perhaps he’s just a rugged individualist!  Anyhoo, I think he’s a cutie pie and could he look any more like a bit of leaf if he tried?

* this has reminded me – my mum used to collect green shield stamps from the grocers when i was a kid.  If you spent a gazillion pounds and collected about 200 hundred bookfuls of them you could exchange them for a toaster or something.  Happy days! 🙂

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Beelove

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Posted in response to the Daily Post weekly photo challenge.  This weeks theme ‘Close Up

I’m glad to say we have gazillions of bees in our garden at the mo’ and they particularly like my lavender.  There are several different types, and lets face it, at first glance they all look the same, but with the help of a Friends of the Earth identification guide, I’m slowly beginning to recognise the differences. This one is a Common Carder Bumblebee (I think) which you can tell by his bouffant yellow ‘do’ and the yellow stripes that go right down to his bottom.

I’ve always rather fancied keeping a few hives, but really, having plenty of flowers in the garden has bought enough buzzy visitors in to satisfy my bee love.

You can find out about the FOE BEE CAUSE and get your own Bee Saver Kit by clicking here.

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All tucked up

Posted in response to the Daily Post weekly photo challenge – this weeks theme ‘Enveloped’

This is a bud of an Allium.  Sorry, I can’t remember the name of this particular type of Allium, but its little individual flowers will soon burst out of this wrapper and in no time at all look like a brilliant blue firework.

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A little bit of springtime

Well, it’s a really miserable day here. No sign of the torrential rain stopping, so I’ve been looking through a few of last year’s spring photo’s to cheer me up.  Thought I’d share ’em!  By the way, that’s a teeny tiny spider on a miniature daffodil taken with a long ‘ol lens – well, you didn’t think I’d get close up now, did you? 🙂

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The first signs….

Despite the downpours and the freezing gale force wind today (that really, really, hasn’t been helpful while I was outside with my camera), there is evidence in my garden that the plants are waking up and that it’s not too long until spring.

As the ancient Chinese proverb says:

‘Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men.’   It certainly seems so today!