May 2004 :: 10 entries

Lizards at Charterhouse

In real life, these lizards are exquisite in detail. They are quite small, about a handslength from nose to tailtip and, to the naked eye, their nostril appears as a barely visible pinprick.

Vanilla (detail)

Vanilla (detail)

Gooseberry

Gooseberry

Gooseberry (detail)

Gooseberry (detail)

Blackcurrant (detail)

Blackcurrant (detail)

Draycott Sleights

An extremely clear day, time to get up on to the Mendips and shoot some more landscapes.

Draycott Sleights

Draycott Sleights

Lynchcombe View

Although it had been one of those crystal-clear April days, some weather blew up just as the sun started to drop down to the west. We waited for about an hour while large rainclouds drifted over our heads. We could see an approaching gap in the cloud, so we got set up. However, instead of a substantial gap there were these occasional shafts of sunlight.

Lynchcombe SW View 04

Lynchcombe SW View 04

Dandelion field

Last spring I spotted this field of dandelions just over to the east. At that time, I was a week or two late for this shot, so we slotted it into the schedule.

Field of dandelions

Field of dandelions

Field of dandelions 35mm

Field of dandelions 35mm

Kilve Manor from the coast path

The house is marked "court house" in ye-olde-style lettering on the OS map but we've decided to call it "Kilve Manor" out of sheer bloody-minded ignorance.

Kilve Manor

Kilve Manor

Deer Leap towards Glastonbury Tor

The view from Deer Leap on an exceptionally clear day stretches beyond the county boundary. Past the Tor lies the town of Yeovil, concealed in a convenient dip. Past Yeovil is Devon. Just past the other side of the farthest hills on the skyline is the Devon coast, about 50 miles away. It's an absorbing panorama when viewed through a pair of 10x50s.

Glastonbury Tor

Glastonbury Tor

Priddy Mineries

Dramatic sky and a gnarled pine - a bit nippy up here too...

Priddy Mineries

Priddy Mineries

Life in the small - part 1.

Our Minolta digital has a macro facility which can, on occasion, produce some delightful images of life in the small. This morning we were on the foot of Mendips where the summer profusion of wildflowers is getting under way. At the moment, speedwell is speckling the slopes with a variety of delicate shades of blue, complemented by the rich yellow of the birdsfoot trefoil.

Beetle in buttercup

Beetle in buttercup

Speedwell

Speedwell

Speedwell and Birdsfoot trefoil

Speedwell and Birdsfoot trefoil

Common Blue on Birdsfoot trefoil

Common Blue on Birdsfoot trefoil

Spring flowers at G.B. Gruffy ground

Although the bluebells down at sea level have mostly finished flowering, conditions on the top of the Mendips are significantly cooler, so they have lasted longer.

Bluebells and Orchids

Bluebells and Orchids

Bluebells in late sun

Bluebells in late sun

Life in the small - part 2.

Charterhouse again. There's always something to attract our interest. Our original intention was to try and re-photograph the black lizard but he wasn't in - he was possibly out for lunch, there is a population of adders up there. Instead, we came back with these:

Green Dock Leaf beetles

Green Dock Leaf beetles

Small Copper butterfly

Small Copper butterfly