Rusty gatepost II

The other end of this gatepost featured in my 366 project a couple of months back. There's something about the combination of the blue and the rust, along with the textures of the paint and metal.   

Grinning from ear to ear

Today was a total washout & I made a spur of the moment decision to go to a local hotel's spa. Top choice! We spent 6 very happy hours relaxing by the pool & alternating between the indoor & outdoor hot tub. This was taken in the outdoor one, with the wind & rain lashing our heads & faces - wasn't too unpleasant, as you can tell!

Sitting pretty

   

Meet Albert, our garden gargoyle. The beautiful and much photographed blossom is already being blown off the tree by the strong winds and unrelenting rain of late. Albert is quite a cool dude, who sits by the pond, looking largely bored with life. I'm not sure he's too impressed with being adorned with pretty pink blossoms.

Snap!

   

I left the shot until late today as I'm feeling rubbish with tooth ache. I was searching for something to photograph when I looked across the room and saw Nic doing the same!

A welcome splash of colour on a grey day

   

Rainy horrible day outside so I looked for a splash of colour indoors and this iris fitted the bill perfectly. Just wish they lasted longer!

Nature never gets it wrong

   

A rather different take on our cherry blossom tree. These leaves have sprouted on the main tree trunk instead of on a branch and look great against the gnarled old bark.

Ladybird, ladybird - you flew away home!

Remember the pic I posted of a bug house with a "vacancies" sign (28th Mar)? Well, it looks like this ladybird has moved in! I'm not sure if he's inspecting the roof or climbing to the top in order to go base jumping!

Queen of the night

Just in case the title is confusing you... i set out to photograph the lovely purple Queen of the night tulips in our garden, but Daisy posed in front of them! I thought it was perhaps time for an update anyway. She's still having chemo but has piled loads of weight on and doesn't seem ill at all. Long may it last.

Caught in the act

I had a go at candid shots of strangers at the garden centre today. This couple caught my eye but I was rumbled straight away! He looked up at the wrong moment and you can tell he's suspicious about why I'm taking his picture!

Homemade eclairs and coffee anyone?

Abi and her daddy spend most weekends baking - Nic is sous chef. Chef Abi is easily a better baker than me! I'm simply the taster and photographer. These eclairs were awesome ("were" being the operative word!). James Martin's recipe if you want to have a go!   

Addictive Abstract

Took this whilst out shopping at the Trafford Centre (a mall) today. Anybody want to take a guess at what it is? It ISN'T... beads or lights. It might be something that you eventually ingest and can give you a boost!   

Cherry blossom is awesome!

Well here's the non abstract picture of our lovely cherry blossom. Strictly speaking it's not ours as the tree is on the pavement in front of our house, but it overhangs our garden and we've claimed ownership of it! Didn't realise until now that the leaves were spiky / hairy.

NOT sexy - just STUPID, SENSELESS & SELFISH!!!

I took this quickly with my phone today whilst out walking the dog at our beautiful local lake. It's a lovely place, with lots of wild birds, stunning views and I've enjoyed taking umpteen photographs here over the years. Why, why, why did somebody think it was clever to spray graffiti on the dock and all over nearby fallen trees??? The graffiti on the dock says "sexy" next to it - change that to uneducated, selfish, stupid and senseless.

Please don't adjust your set

Our cherry blossom is out at last! This won't be the last picture I'm sure as I adore it - the colours of the buds, the flowers and the leaves. Today's shot is an experiment and out of the norm for me - more abstract and a play with movement. let me know if you think it works or if it just looks like I forgot to focus!   

Fancy a siesta, deer?

I had a shoot with a family at Dunham Massey and I stayed on to photograph the deer. I obviously caught them at lunchtime as all their heads were down, munching grass. Finally, one by one, they sought out a shady area and settled down for a siesta. I had been there so long by then I was part of the furniture and they ignored me and let me photograph them quite up close.

Looking for a different point of view

We're always being to look for a different point of view - how's this? Any guesses as to how I got this shot?   

Fleeting Spring beauty

These beautiful snakeshead fritillary are growing in a shady spot at the bottom of my sister-in-law's garden.

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end." Sir Winston Churchill

These beautiful daffodils are growing in our garden after I finally got round to planting bulbs last Autumn. They are Narcissus Sir Winston Churchill and are simply beautiful. I felt dreadful picking some but wanted a simple background. Hopefully they won't flag or fail in their vase and will go on to the end...   

A church for all ages

Today we scattered Nic's mum's ashes next to his dad's plot in the pretty memorial garden at their local church. Nic's dad is pictured on the poster under the last "h" in "a church for all ages" and it was nice to remember him and think of them both at rest in such a beautiful and peaceful church and village that meant a lot to both of them over many decades.

Shelly the pig

I hope it's not just me that thinks this shell looks like a pig running! I had started off trying to do some sort of abstract, arty arrangement of shells from our holiday in Cape Verde, but spotted the piggy resemblance and couldn't resist posting it!

Dudettes at the diner

There's so much technically wrong with this shot but I love it! I love the hats, the toys on the table, the moment the girls are sharing - they were interviewing each other. I really like the diner-esque dated feel too.
I took this with my phone using an app called Retro Camera and I've had a lot of fun with it!

A picture a day keeps the doctor away

Well, it's been keeping me sane and highly motivated anyway! Can't believe it's day 100 - that feels like an amazing milestone. Hope you like my little tribute!

I'm not fat, I'm just short for my weight!

I was going to post an Easter shot today but then this little guy perched on a branch near me and posed beautifully. It's the first time I've ever managed to get so close up to a robin and get a picture in focus as well. He does look a bit like he's eaten all the Easter eggs doesn't he!

Sharing a joke

I love this kind of portrait rather than the posed, stilted ones. Nic was jigging Abi around trying to get her to miss her mouth with her ice cream.  

Saw it, wanted it...

This toad resides in the pond of a very upmarket hotel in the Cheshire countryside, but was unfortunate enough to be spotted by a hord of marauding kids on an Easter egg hunt.

I was initially going to title this "no fear" but I think the subtext works better!

Untitled

I have no idea what to say about this nor what to call it! I was simply struck by the colours, textures and shape of the wood and the blue sky. Then I noticed that planes were going over every 5 minutes (under the flight path to Manchester airport) and I thought it would be fun to get a plane in the frame!   

Take MY picture!

Playing around with the lens baby again today. I needed a subject and Abi had just had her hair cut. She looks pretty pleased with herself!

25% complete

That's if my maths is correct - never was much good at fractions and percentages but I'm pretty sure Jan-Feb-Mar = 3/12 = 25%.  Or one quarter of a way through the 366 project! Sounds good to me however it's expressed. And it feels even better because I know I've got this far without missing a single day - each and every photo was taken on the day it was posted, despite life having a nasty habit of doing its best to sabotage my efforts. I resorted to a picture of medicine from the sofa one day and left it till pretty late on a couple of others (guess which ones - they were both shot in the dark!), but I've never resorted to "fillers" - it's surprising how many people do on the international forum where I post my daily photograph The 365 Project.

I've learned over the last three months that you never stop learning! I'm increasingly exploring different photographic subjects and techniques, often to elicit comments and to be "faved" (selected as a favourite shot) by fellow 365ers. I've tried with varying degrees of success to shoot the starry night sky and daffodils caught in car headlights. I find myself looking for more unusual shots - abstract patterns, unusual light, different angles and I followed a theme of feet and footwear for a while. I've been rewarded with lots of great comments and twice achieved the dizzying heights of the "Popular" page on the 365 Project web site - once with reflections and ripples on water and once with my shamrock tribute to St Patrick's Day.

March has been an amazing month, with Spring arriving in force (lots of flower shots) and some unseasonably warm weather (lots of sunny outdoor shots). It was also a month which started very sadly, with the passing of Nic's mum, then his great aunt Brenda and then our poor Daisy being diagnosed with canine lymphoma. One month on and things are looking and feeling much better (apart from my very persistent toothache!). The weather has taken a turn for the worse, of course, as the Easter holidays begin, but no doubt April will also bring some great opportunities for my daily pics!

Spokes

I dug the lens baby out today and had a play. It's bloomin hard to use - it's one of the original ones where you have to hold it at the right angle to get the "sweet spot" in focus and press the shutter at the same time. I'll have a few more goes over the next week and see if it gets any easier.

Go on. just a little kissy wissy - you know you want to!

First day of the Easter holidays, kids at tennis camp and good old British weather kicks in - cold and wet! Oh well, some things look better in the rain - like this handsome devil!

You gotta be kidding me!

This goat looks like he's talking and if I were to take a guess at what he's saying, it might be, "Don't these people know it's bad for your health to live under pylons!"