Rain at Last

Last night we had our first rain shower for weeks in our village in Cambridgeshire. Not enough to make much difference to the parched soil and withered plants but a start we hope. Images taken with legacy Olympus 50mm lens on my Fuji system (plus 16mm extension tube) - gives wonderfully 'soft' images yet with sharpness where in focus.

Insects in Summer Garden

I try to record the insects in the garden most days.  Even with the drought conditions, there are enough plants and flowers to support a very varied fauna. Yesterday there were Hoverflies, Greenbottle, Woolly Carder Bees, several species of Plant Bug, two species of Snail-killing Flies and Ichneumon Wasps.

Paxton Pits Birds

I was to have run a macrophotography  workshop at Paxton today but it would have been too hot out on the open areas so made an early morning visit just to see what birds are around. Very large numbers of Cormorants many in moult and just sitting around. Fewer Herons thanI expected but varied Waders - Lapwings, Green Sandpipers, Snipe etc and of course Ducks - in eclipse and difficult to distinguish. Kingfishers heard and seen briefly.

Drought Declared in East Anglia

A few images from an early walk in Toft where everything other than large trees are now the colour of straw. The Hares and Rabbits and our Golden Retriever, Ted,  matched with the environment perfectly.

Garden Insects - Devising Catalogue System

With the drastic changes to our climate that we are witnessing at the moment, I am trying to record and then systemise the insects etc in the garden. I want to have the image and its suggested ID displayed in a single image. These are using Lightroom print module to display the title field of the metadata with the image. These are the flies, bugs and beetle recorded yesterday; hymenoptera, spiders etc to follow! In retrospect, the date would be useful and perhaps location