The Pink Post

Some of my favourite pink flower photos I’ve taken over the years.    Enjoy!
                   

Pale Pink Rose  

      

Pink Cosmos  

  

Nerine

Peony

Gerbera

Rosebud

Linda xx

Introducing Eric

This is Eric the Squirrel who joins me every day for a cup of tea. Well I have the tea, Eric pilfers the wild bird seed in my home made bird feeder. I bought a big cup and saucer from a charity shop and drilled a hole through them and screwed them securely to the top of the fence post.

As you can see Eric’s got a great sense of balance. He’ll sit there quite happily for ages munching on seed and peanuts.
This is Eric looking around hidden peanuts amongst the seed.

It’s so entertaining watching him scamper along the fence to get to the tea table. I have a little chair outside just a few feet away from the fence and on sunny days we sit out there together, Eric munching and me writing or crafting. Companionable silence ensues.
You might wonder why he’s named Eric. I originally named him after an boss I had years ago (all take and no give) but as Eric has given me so much entertainment, he’s now just Eric in his own right!

Love from me ….and Eric xxxx

Tiny Jewels

I love alpine plants, to me they’re small but perfectly formed! I bought some from the local garden centre at the weekend. They had a few flowers on then, but now they’ve really taken off and are blooming their little socks off!

Saxifraga Touran Neon Rose

Aubrieta Deep Purple

Houstonia Millards Variety

I bought this little Primrose because some of colours on the blooms looked like faded denim.

Primrose Zebra Blue F1

It’s so easy to get seduced into buying loads of plants this time of year. I think for me it’s because my eyes have been starved of fresh bright colours over the winter and then suddenly there’s this whole spectrum of colour in front of me tempting me to buy. The gardening equivalent of a kid in a sweetshop!

Linda xx

Mist Again!

Thought I would go wildflower hunting at the RSPB this morning as the weather was glorious – lovely light, low Spring sun, just gorgeous. Got to the other side of the Downs and I couldn’t see 20 feet in front of me! Thick pea souper of a fog, real Jack the Ripper stuff. Forged ahead anyway as I had promised myself a pot of tea in the cafe as a treat.

Lovely trees appear really creepy in fog

AS did this quaint village church. I’ve photographed this church before with blue skies and bright flowers. What a difference the mist makes

These branches look like they are coming to get you, they wouldn’t look out of place in a Harry Potter film!

The remnants of last Autumn

This is going to be a highly desirable residence once the birds start nest building

and this is going to be a popular place to have a sit down once the warmer weather comes along. I might actually record this scene through all the seasons over the next year

And just to brighten this post here is a clutch bag that I’ve just finished making!

Linda xx

The Inimitable Mr P.

The Mr P I’m referring to is Sir Terry Pratchett author of the fantasy Discworld series and other brilliant tales.

I discovered his novels one day in my local library. They had a display of well known authors’ own favourite authors. I noted that somebody called Terry Pratchett listed Spike Milligan as his favourite. I remember thinking ‘Anyone that likes Spike Milligan can’t be bad’. (Spike Milligan’s ‘Puckoon’ is one of the funniest books in the history of writing).

So I had a forage around the library and found The Hogfather and that was it. I became one of the legion of Terry Pratchett fans.

 

I think it is his humour that does it for me, it’s not a joke a minute but clever musings from an extraordinary brain.

These are some of my favourite quotes from Sir Terry

Every procedure for getting a cat to take a pill works fine -- once. Like the Borg, they learn...

I think that sick people in Ankh-Morpork generally go to a vet. It's generally a better bet. There's more pressure on a vet to get it right. People say "it was god's will" when granny dies, but they get angry when they lose a cow.

I must confess the the activities of the UK governments for the past couple of years have been watched with frank admiration and amazement by Lord Vetinari. Outright theft as a policy had never occurred to him.

Let's see, now... in HOGFATHER there are a number of stabbings, someone's killed by a man made of knives, someone's killed by the dark, and someone just been killed by a wardrobe.
It's a book about the magic of childhood. You can tell.

Oh dear, I'm feeling political today. It's just that it's dawned on me that 'zero tolerance' only seems to mean putting extra police in poor, run-down areas, and not in the Stock Exchange.

My experience in Amsterdam is that cyclists ride where the hell they like and aim in a state of rage at all pedestrians while ringing their bell loudly, the concept of avoiding people being foreign to them.

My dream holiday would be

a) a ticket to Amsterdam

b) immunity from prosecution and

c) a baseball bat :-)

And from his Discworld novels …

"Alcohol didn't seem to go to her brain at all. It could be that it couldn't find it." - Thud!

What sort of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter. – Going Postal

This man was so absent-mindedly clever that he could paint pictures that didn't just follow you around the room but went home with you and did the washing-up. – The Last Hero

If you trust in yourself ... and believe in your dreams...and follow your star...you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy." - Wee Free Men

I talked with Sir Terry once at a book signing hoping to get him to come and talk to my local writers’ club. He gracefully declined saying that he didn’t do that sort of talk and found that writers’ clubs were generally populated by dry, boring old men on the pull. Thinking back on his comment I think he was partly right, I do remember a few mature and eager gentlemen at my club.

The Hogfather remains my favourite book of the series, Death being the best character. All his lines are written in capital letters, very powerful, after all who can argue with DEATH?

I love Wee Free Men too, it’s sort of like Braveheart on speed. I’d love to have a Nac Mac Feegle to keep in my bag to have handy for those awkward little moments out and about with traffic wardens and jobsworths

You’re a lovely man and my hero, Mr P!

Linda xx

10 tips on how to photograph your cat

Try to envisage the shoot from the cat’s point of view. Something 10 times your size is pointing something at you that makes strange noises and flashes and for good measure some prodding and poking is also taking place. Try for some empathy and at least a few soothing words. Make your movements slow and deliberate.

Check the cat’s eyes. Quite a few cats’ eyes accumulate dirt in the corners and it’s always easier to clean the eyes first rather than spend ages cloning the dirt out in Photoshop. That goes for the nose too; I have one cat that seems to like applying the remains of her food to her nose as some sort of feline badge of honour.

Location, location, location. If puss is prefers the indoors then photograph her there, preferably as close to her favourite spot as possible. If she is an indoors/outdoors cat try to photograph her preferably outdoors. Tree branches make great posing perches. It’s all about making the cat feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible.

Look out for the yawn. If you are tuned in to your cat’s facial expressions   look out for signs of a yawn about to take place. In an anthropomorphic sense a yawn can be translated as a laugh or a roar. Previous to snapping this picture I could see that Lily was revving up to a yawn and I was able to watch for the moment.

Kittens look great photographed with various props – think of the classic kitten in a wellie/flower pot/cardboard box. Woolly pom-poms that are bigger than the kitten’s head are effective. A vase of flowers will usually get a kitten sniff. For the duration of the shoot make sure the vase hasn’t any water in it as little accidents invariably happen. Adult cats are usually better photographed in a slightly more dignified manner. A big fleecy throw is inviting and relaxes the cat. Beware of backgrounds and try not to have them too cluttered. Using a shallow depth of field will help throw the background out of focus.

Avoid the dreaded “green eye” (red eye in humans). If you are using a camera with a built-in flash make sure the red eye setting is on. Bouncing the flash off a white ceiling ensures no green eye and no strong defined shadows behind the cat.

Photograph your cat at eye-level. Cats rarely photograph well from above unless you are going for a special effect with a fisheye lens. Getting that great ‘straight down the barrel look’ captures a lot of the character of the cat. In this example I was following Poppy around the room. She eventually settled on the shelf above the computer and flipped over to a ‘come up and see’ position.

An empty crisp packet is good to use as an attention getter. However after a few times of using it cats get wise to it and end up ignoring you. I use the inside of a squeaky toy as it I can hold it in my mouth and blow through it leaving my hands free to operate the camera. Beware – do not swallow!  I have had a 100% success rate with doing a dance in front of my cats (The Time Warp works a treat); the ‘astonished’ look is priceless.

Have back up.  A second person is invaluable and lets you have your hands free to operate the camera controls. Positioning the person behind you and getting them to raise their hand above your head results in a pleasing ‘heads up’ pose from puss. They are also useful in helping applying sticking plasters in the event that puss has been un-cooperative.

If all else fails in getting puss to pay attention bait with food as a last resort. Try a couple of prawns, kitty biscuits or cheesy bits - whatever your cat is used to as a treat. You may end up smelling like Billingsgate Fish Market but at least you should have your shot and Tiddles have her modelling fee.

Linda xx

Ten things to remember when you adopt a kitten

 

You will be 'conned' by your kitten time and time again
Knitting and kittens do not mix

Kittens are faster than the speed of light
Never wear beads
If things go quiet then it's time to worry
Kittens can hide in very small places
Sofas make great scratching posts
Kittens love to help with pruning your houseplants

Curtains are more fun to climb than ladders
Always carry tissues as you will be laughing a lot
Linda xx