…hello again

Here we are, sorry for being quiet for so long! planetaye will try her best to keep wee updates going more regularly. Have a seasonal flower – jolly wee yellow winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) 🙂

Winter Aconite

Support your local Flower/Produce Show

Today I entered 6 categories and got prizes in 5! Yay!!
There were some lovely flowers, vegetables, crafts, baking and floral art and the childrens section had great collections of seeds, wild flowers, herbs, mini-gardens and vegetable animals!! Chewbacca makes a winning gingerbread character…

 

 

trying out a new camera – so far it’s birdies!

After at least 9 years wi’ my trust fuji finepix have upgraded to 16million pixels and a 22x wide zoom… not got the hang of it all yet but here a few starters.

sunlight and beech leaves, soaring cow parsley/hemlock, fuzzy young blue tit, some o’ the gang (last count 21), happy duck in the river, wee cock sparra, scavenging dunnock and lastly a jaunty chiffchaff

…oooh hello, 2013!

So where on earth did all that time go? Happy new 2013 to one and all!

Went off up the hill this morning to take a photy of  the bleak owing to the dull light and foggy conditions.  Nothing too exciting to see however but found a wee bit of colour and an unexpected primrose. In fact it looks like there will be a super bank of them later on. Cheers!

hearts ‘n’ flowery season

Yup, the next card and pressie time of year is nearly upon us so… I though I should make good use of a valentinie replicake photy by turning it into a card.

It is available to buy at Redbubble.

Some of the matching heartshaped cakes are still available in the wee planetaye Folksy shop.

this mornings creature – II

Speckled Wood butterfly, behaving exactly as described here.
Very fluttery and quick but I stalked them till they sat still for a moment. The male could be chasing another male or a female, either way they make a wee walk more fun., ‘specially the bit where you lean too far over the edge of the path and nearly slide downhill into the undergrowth… eek!

another spring (plus song)

Another spring, and despite the “smog” took a set of photys around the top of the hill. Comparing them with those from last year (about a fortnights difference), the same plants are out but there might be a bit of cross over with the primroses still in flower.
After ten years I have finally caught the fabled Duke of Argyle’s Teaplant, the winter conditions and the warm dry spring must have prompted it into flower. Or I have just wandered past it for all those years? Nahh!
The number of orange tailed bumblebees took me by surprise too. At first I was sure that only one was following me around till I came to the whins – there were more than a dozen of them! but would they sit still for me, of course not.

I have included the sign describing the castle, click on it for a large, readable version.

And here is the song Another Spring performed by Nina Simone… enjoy

I have to admit that last years photys were brighter and more colourful. Sunnier day, or sunnier photygraffer?

1. Duke of Argyll’s Teaplant
2. light colourd lilacs
3. may blossom (hawthorn)
4. dark orange wallflower
5. sinister ivy flowering
6. fern furl
7. annoyed Orange Tailed bumblebee
8. english bluebells
9. primrose, goosegrass (stickywullie), red deadnettle
10. Halton Castle sign, click to read
11. buttercup
12. dandylion

this mornings creature

Female Orange Tip butterfly, only showing the green and white pattered underwing, but how fluffy and perfect is she? Glad I left the Honesty to flower and it is already making the lovely seed “pods”.

Frodsham Crafty stall

Here is my stall all set up and rarin’ to go. Actually by the time I took the photy I had sold 2 wee bags of mixed badges, a tiny lemon meringue pie and a chick’n’pie!
A fairly good day with a steady stream of visitors as the building is right on a main street.

february flora flourishing

Spring’s Near a few pics taken whilst stumbling about the locality in the past couple of days… will caption them later 🙂