Marathon Charities

As usual, there were lots of runners supporting various charities - the largest contingent was from Alzheimer's Research UK. The ladies with the toilets were raising money to replace outdated school facilities in Newport. Not sure about the Chicken or the Glitterball.

Cambridge Marathon Main Runners

15,000 people took part in the Cambridge Half Marathon on Sunday in very overcast conditions. Here a few shots of the leading group (Nick, 2nd here, was the final winner) and then as the runners come up the Barton Road from Cambridge - a real stream of humanity.

Botanic Gardens Cambridge

I concentrated on multiexposures and focus-stacked closeups during a visit to the Gardens this morning.

Toft Wagtail, Insects and Lichens

A  cold wind but warm sunshine brought out a few insects and helped photographing the lichens in the churchyard - an ongoing project. I include 4 that are distinctive enough to identify with good certainty. The Pied Wagtail was busy displaying on the Village Hall roof.

Toft Garden Wildlife

While pruning the conifer hedge, I found this old Goldcrest nest - a beautiful small cup completely lined with feathers and one very small (old) egg. The other images show what flowers are out at the moment, a couple of birds already setting up territories and the only insect (other than honey bees) active (Scathophaga stercoraria)