A FEW WILD DAYS (24/05/11)

I’ve been up on the moor getting my head around my future. It was a little rough up there both mentally and physically. The weather was pretty horrendous as were my deliberations. I’m little further forward but am still here and fighting.

The road to Kaber Moor. Not at it’s brightest and best.

Nine Standards Stones………Not a misprint, by me anyway, possibly by Ordnance Survey.

 A Meadow Pipit.

I’ll be back full time as soon as possible. I’ll leave you with a quick joke.

A Mathematical Joke

Two mathematicians in a hotel bar are arguing about how much maths the ordinary person knows. One thinks they are hopelessly ignorant; the other believes that quite a few people actually know a lot about the subject.

‘Bet you twenty pounds I’m right .’ says the first, as he heads of for the gents.

Whilst he’s gone, his colleague calls the waitress over.

‘Listen, there’s ten pounds in it for you if you come over when my friend gets back and answer a question. The answer is “One third x cubed.” Got that?’

‘Ten pounds for saying “One thirdex cue?”

‘No. One-Third x Cubed.’

‘One thir ex cubed?’

‘Yeah, that’ll do.’

The other mathematician comes back and the waitress comes over.

‘Excuse me- What’s the integral of x squared?’

‘One third x cubed.’ Said the waitress.

As she walked away, she adds, over her shoulder.

‘Plus a constant!’

This is from Professor Stewart’s Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities.

THE LAST POST (20/05/11)

I’m sorry I've been missing for a few days but I’ve fallen on straightened circumstances, that means I’ve run out of money. I'm trying to resolve the situation but it is not easy in the short term. So this could well be the last post.

  We are back on the moor………..it’s a beautiful evening. In the distance are the English Lakes.

I’m up here looking for the Merlin. I found the Golden Plover.

                 A Buzzard…………………………

               A Wheatear and finally…………………

A Skylark in silhouette. An Idle Skylark, it’s far easier to sing from the top of a tree than fly for miles up in the air.

I’ll be back as soon as I can. Have a good weekend and have fun.

STIR CRAZY (16/05/11)

The dogs have had a good run in forty mile per hour mist and rain…………..lovely it was! I fell in a bog. A nightmare of an outing. I never found the remains of Kings Pit Colliery. I did take a compass, I did take a map, I didn’t take the GPS because I really couldn’t be bothered to enter the grid reference. I also neglected to put thermals on……………was frozen when I got back from a two mile wade. The cloud cleared as we returned.       A retrospective panorama of the wonderfully named Arkengarthdale Moor. I even framed it for you today. It didn’t last long……………………….

     So wet and horrible my emulsion has run.

Sorry ……I should have written down the numbers for the sepia conversion, it’s the difference between the incompetent and the competent……..I hate PS one hit sepia so do it with colourize. I also hate not getting what I go out to find but it is horrid up here at the moment…….I’m away down the hill tomorrow. See what life is like in the valleys.

Have fun. I do.

ST VITUS (16/05/11)

It’s difficult getting pictures in this weather, drizzle, mist, half a gale blowing. This little bird was having a far worse time than I.

           That’s better………..I have no idea what it was up to. it did it twice though.

A nut case is this Pied Wagtail. I am off out looking for some old mine ruins……….in the rain.

Have a good day.

CONTRAST (15/05/11)

Yesterday was a busy day. The weather was much better but unfortunately I couldn’t take advantage of it. There is a cycle race passing Tan Hill today and I was pressed into helping fill baps…………five hundred of the blasted things! It will be a while before I can eat a sandwich.

Yesterday evening the light was quite magical………not as magical as these but I sat and admired it for an hour.

   Then gave them a good whack in Photomatix.

I’m still looking for a good Curlew shot but I did manage a bad one this morning……..worse than Woodpeckers are Curlews.

                     The Curlew………….

Have a grand Sunday. It’s raining here!

NOTHING TO POST (13/05/11)

I have nothing to post today……….Except I would like to thank all the blogger staff for sorting the problem. Despite what folk are posting of a negative nature. That must have been one hell of a crash…………Thanks for getting things back to normal or near normal. It’s a great and free service so thank you one and all. I wish you all every success in the future.

I have trouble doing this………………………………………………..

           Or this…………………………………………….

         As you can see

Sorry for these …………..it’s been diabolical has the weather.

I hope readers will raise their glasses in a toast to Blogger.

Have a grand weekend.

STRETCHING A POINT (12/05/11)

Continuous rain today, so far anyway. Todays post has a bird theme. After yesterdays Tomfoolery and your comments I thought I’d better get my sensible head on.

     This hen and what remains of her brood are safe in a corner of the Tan Hill Inn. The chicks hatched about a week ago but unfortunately some got blown away. These two were caught bowling down the road in the wind..poor mites.

  They should be fine now.

A bird of a different feather……………………………………

  A Riley Gamecock……………I hope!!

Sorry about that. At least it kept me out of Photoshop.

I’ll get out later if it stops raining and see what I can find.

Have a good day.

FROM BAD TO WORSE (11/05/11)

We are back at Tan Hill primarily to look for Curlew. The weather is not conducive. Heavy showers, windy and sunny periods…………..not many of the latter.

  The camper and Tan Hill Inn basking in a sunny period.

Now I’m not totally to blame for what follows. George Mahoney at MOORLANDS AND PEAK Left a link in my comments bit to a friend of his who does all sorts of amazing things. You can see what can be achieved by going to GRAHAM JEFFREY. He’s a real artist. So am I but it has little to do with visual arts.

Here we go……………I start with some computer generated smoke.

                                                Then I made a simple kaleidoscope……………………………………..

       Then a more difficulter one……………………………………….

       Finally…………..the final straw…………………………………….

     It’s not quite symmetrical but it’s hard to get exact in Photoshop Elements…….one can only nudge vertically and horizontally not rotationally………….if anyone knows a way then please let me know.

As I say, it’s not my fault. It’s the weather, George and Graham.

Have a good day whatever you are up to.

.

WHAT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR (09/05/11)

It’s a glorious morning, barely a cloud in the sky, cool and fresh after the rain………hard to better it.

See………perfect!

I was up at just turned five…………made sure the camera was all Dippity Doo, the window was open, and a new element, a towel hanging up to shield me from view……………………..and……………..BINGO!!

     The female Great Spotted Woodpecker………….you can tell because the male has a wee red cap on his head….like the Pope or is his white? No matter!

       She appeared more interested in the feeder lid than the peanuts…………..were those cheap peanuts I wonder?

       Isn’t she just drop dead gorgeous?

     What’s that clicking I can hear?…………She was on the feeder twice for a few minutes at a time. The dogs towel did the trick………plus cable release………….Whey Hey! I’m brighter than a Woodpecker.

By now the dogs had decided to join in the fun………….not at all helpful so out we went for a walk.

       We walked a different route this morning and found this grand little spiders web it’s on a fungus called Dryads Saddle. Polyporus squamosas…………it’s growing right at the base of what I hope is a Sycamore. The largest one is about eighteen inches across and in perfect condition.

Here’s another view standing up…….it’s me standing up you understand………..the Dryads Saddles can’t move.

Now I should really stop whilst ahead but ……………………………………………….

A two second exposure vertically panned in the woods…………..it’s been done thousands of times but not by me………..I was a virgin perpendicular panner.

 I decided to get ambitious and add a little squiggle………….hope you like it.

Thunder storms are forecast for later so I’ll have a go at those………….I've not done thunder storms before either. I should have said lightening………..thunder doesn’t register on cameras.

Tomorrow we are off up into the high country………….where I was going several days ago but this is an interesting place, pity there are no Red Squirrels but one can’t have everything.

All this before seven thirty……..I can feel a siesta coming on.

Have a good week.

DOWN AND DIRTY (08/05/11)

Another wet and humid night. I was up at dawn and the rain was still teeming down. The skies are wonderful to behold, unfortunately I’m stuck in a wood so it’s difficult to illustrate just how wonderful………I could always climb a tree………..NO! I couldn’t.

                    I had just begun to open the blinds when I noticed Mr Woody. Gently does it, I was even slower opening the window achieved that but didn’t dare zoom in.

   I managed just two frames whilst sliding the window open………..those are my fingers on the right………..called keeping my hand in. The feeder took another beating during the night. It’s all straight again now. I leave the camera set up when I’m in the van but had zoomed out . Bother, bother, blow!

We were out at six but it was still raining, warm though and today, after yesterday, I took a jacket, I may be a slow learner but learn I do….. eventually!

Back out after breakfast to get some macro shots.

A grand morning. I did compose this with the tree on the right……..I now think it is distracting. This is a three shot exposure blend with the distracting tree selected and lightened a bit. Don’t ask me!………… I’m only the photographist.

We got to the site of the Bog Beacons……..many, many thanks to Phil at CABINET OF CURIOSITIES for yet again educating the ignorant.

Bog Beacon…………Mitrula paludosa. These are around an inch tall and grow in a bog. it’s a matter of getting dressed for the job, or undressed and lying down with the camera tripod mounted and the tripod flat to the ground. My tripod is a pain in this respect and I’ll change it for one with a reversible centre column. Christmas next I suspect.

Grand little fungi.

   Interesting and varied wee things. All images will enlarge with a click.

In retrospect I would have done less damage had I just collected half a dozen and brought them back to the van to have their pictures taken. I would also be considerably cleaner! So would the camera, lens and tripod.

I have a map reference for the location of these……..if you would like it then just e-mail.

Have a good week.