WHERE TO BEGIN PART [B] (31/08/11)

Here we go, you’ll probably get these posts in the wrong order but it makes little difference what order balderdash comes in………….the quantity of it is relevant however so feel free to skip one or the other. Be too late if you get to the end of the other!     Half the Lime Kiln with Rose Bay Willow Herb or Fireweed ( same stuff, not me hedging my bets) growing in it. I posted this last week on my visit but re shot it in HDR for this one. If you click on ‘last week’ You’ll see it and some other stuff.

     A different perspective of the wooden barn.

     Smardale Bridge. The Gill flows towards us and I assumed it’s source to be in the Howgills. I’ve had a good look at the map and now I’m not so sure………….nothing new there then!

Monday I walked the full length of the reserve to the railway viaduct carrying the Settle to Carlisle railway. This one still has trains running on it. I’ll investigate further but it seems almost impossible to get a good view of it for the trees. There is a path but it says NO DOGS-----NO GUNS------PEOPLE WILL BE SUFFERED BUT NOT GLADLY------THAT APPLIES TO YOU!!!! YOU WANTING A SNAP OF THE VIADUCT!…… I’ll drop Cumbria Nature an e-mail for permission before my next visit. Usually works a treat. A fiver might help if the e-mail fails.

This is an awful picture of I know not what. I’d like to as it seemed rare. I only noticed two clumps of it. Suspect one of you will know.

This is Eyebright but ten times bigger than the Tan Hill Eyebright I focus stacked the other day. We are seven hundred feet lower so that could account for the latter being vertically challenged, ( not dwarf, I’ve swallowed a politically correct pill, I’ll try and remember to keep taking them). The leaves on this are more delicate so it’s most likely a variation. We are at or about eight hundred feet here which surprised me. I thought we were much lower.

             Another perm one from three job but I’m going for Common Century. Not so common round here, these are the only two I found.

This is getting silly or sillier. Greater Birds Foot Trefoil………….again a ‘but’. This is climbing up something like Hogweed…….it’s only climbed a foot though. So a small hogweed if that is what it be. You can see it’s wee tendrils. One clutching at thin air……Don’t I just know how it feels!

Hare Bells I really like the way they sway so elegantly in the slightest breeze.

And something I’ve never seen before, White Hare Bells…………No! I haven’t Photoshopped the colour. These were the only ones I found though.

I am hoping that this is an older one of these………………………………………………..

Not the Bumble Bee! Knapweed! You must think I’m daft! There seem to be many different Knapweeds…………..getting above myself a bit…….getting into varieties…………..not to mention totally out of my depth.

I’ll leave you with this. Knapweed again but all ‘Arty Farty’ this time.

I really love spending time here. Thanks again Phil for posting on it at CABINET OF CURIOSITIES. For those that don’t know his blog have a gander………..he knows his Trefoils from his Buttercups and in a year or so has made my wanders far less strenuous and immeasurably more interesting. A double whammy I believe the term is…….or was. Ta Phil.

I’ve loads more don’t knows but I’ll share them some other time.

All the very best and enjoy whatever it is you are engaged in or on!

WHERE TO BEGIN PART [A] (31/08/11)

I moved from Tan Hill back down to Newbiggin-on-Lune first thing Monday morning. I’ve walked up Smardale twice and have so many pictures that it’s difficult to know where to start.

It is a beautiful place…………as usual all images will enlarge and my identification will leave much to be desired. I’ll do my best.

The walk takes us up the old Darlington to Teebay railway………..it  must have been a wonderful journey. The couple of miles that I walk has now reverted to a wild flower and Butterfly paradise.

   These  are a flock of predominately juvenile Goldfinch……….they were an amazing sight. There are two distinct flocks that are separated by about a mile or two. Quite how proper birders count them I can’t fathom. There are fifteen or so in the last picture there were at least three times as many in this Hawthorne and three more of the adjacent bushes were full…add the seventeen that were scattered around nearby fences……….and there are a hundred and fifty two in this flock. Exactly! There, that’s how I do it. The racket they were making was tremendous which is more than can be said for the light it was awful.

I cheated a bit here and e-mailed a picture of one to Keith at HOLDING MOMENTS. He kindly confirmed my guess. He didn’t confirm the quantity, he confirmed the Goldfinch bit. Even a birder of his renown would have difficulty assessing numbers from a picture of one sitting on a twig.

Now it’s out with the wild flower book for some serious perming of one from another.

I haven’t a clue. I’ve been through the white section in my book twice and can find nothing that gets even reasonably close.

This to me looks similar but it’s leaves aren’t all feathery……..so it is something different.

Oxeye Daisy…….spot on.

Wild Angelica….two in a row?

This looks like Meadow Cranesbill but is smaller and the leaves aren’t the same……..another pretty something else.

This is a Hawkweed……there are many different ones………this is the Few Leaved Hairy Stemmed Hawkweed.

The sunny pictures were shot on Monday and the dull ones yesterday. I only just made it back before the rain. Only just is fine with me………….I’ll post this and start on part ‘B’.

I must be on form today as I’ve tagged the ones I’ve posted……….with little stars not by name……..that would be worse than useless. See you again in a while.

THE END OF SUMMER (28/08/11)

Yesterday Tan Hill was invaded by the Irish…………all we needed on a busy Bank Holiday……….Everything I needed, they saved the day. Tan hill is heaving. A slight problem with the stage lighting meant the bands were lit from behind and in front but no light on the band. My skill with a camera is limited but I’d defy David Bailey to get a shot in that light.

    If the Irish are a little strange there are plenty of English out of their trees……………

  And many, many more…………..These were shot at dusk so monster ISO but it is an image of Britain's highest pub doing what pubs should………….it’s like a Tardis it absorbs folk…………..Italians. Lithuanians, Afro Caribbean  and for all I know Gaddafi. He’d be welcome……..we like nutters here. So long as they are harmless loonies.

Six thousand four hundred ISO……..took me ten minutes to find ISO in the thousands on the camera. Also as official photographer I did expect a chair to stand on or at least a beer crate……….Official photographers are expected  to bring their own………….busy it is, standing room only. This is a support band twenty shots messing about with spot metering and locking it. This was the best I got.

A monster flash unit and an assistant to work it is what is required………..Or a decent camera man and I’ll hold the flash. A waste of time my continuing but one lives and learns.

Step back half an hour. Back to sanity.

The road is thronged……………. there are people. It’s pouring with rain, cold but we are waiting for a charity ride from the highest pub in Ireland to the Highest pub in England.

Some of the Irish contingent…………..Now I’ve left this photo as it is but the bloke on the right is duplicated, most odd, water in the works………I hope not. It’s also a little odd to dress teenage twins in the same outfits. A wonderful thing is the variation in cultures.

Irelands highest pub the Top of the COOM. Ritchie spelt it wrong……………when I told him he altered it………..Not my fault he said…… If the buggers could speak English I’d have spelt it proper. I’s sure they said CROOMB on the PHRONE. He got the ‘R’ rubbed out just in time.

Well…. Half rubbed out. This was supposed to be an electric assisted push bike run. Somewhere along the way they collected a few Harleys and a load of Honda Fifties.

What an achievement……………….I’m here.

And so is he………….don’t think much to his girl friend.

This image I love. Two bikers from Biker……………….Biker is an area of Newcastle. Their pronunciation is unintelligible to folk four miles away.  The Irish lad couldn’t understand a word so they commandeered his bike for a photo. It was almost dark this is the best and last of eight goes. He is still bemused. The lass on the left looks like butter wouldn’t melt………….said or I think she said. ‘ It’s fair pissing down Jus Tek us pikture’. It’s not coffee in the flask tops it’s vodka and cider…………..strawberry flavoured cider! So a good evening in the end.

I’m fine, this snapping can be hard work. So a  clear head. Odd how life transpires. I go out for a quick pint and end up crawling home………….go out for a serious booze up and come back sober……………..life is mysterious and to be honest a bit beyond me.

Two days of holiday to go, enjoy them.

THE SKIES HAVE IT (27/08/11)

Another wet night………….another wet morning. There were moments of clarity and here are four for your delectation………….feel free to slag them off if you don’t like them. I’ll just delete the negative comments. This blog tries to reflect the positive side of life.

Here we go…………………………

    A scene looking north from Tan Hill……………nothing special about this sky and I wasn’t close enough to get the inversion drifting up the A66 from Brough. It’s on the left just below the horizon.

     Looking  westish.

      Pointing south and the road to Keld.

     The moor looking south.

There is a Grouse shoot this morning. The dogs thought it was wonderful with a score of Springer Spaniels to chat to. I have mixed feelings………..on the one hand shooting Red Grouse seems a little strange in this day and age. On the other the money generated provides much needed income and the land management has certainly made a perfect breeding environment for Lapwing,  Golden Plover and the Black Grouse that are colonizing the lower altitudes of the moor. They also benefit from the control of Tics and other diseases as they eat the medicated grit the keepers supply to the grouse. I’ll not sit on the fence nor sit in the heather………………I am in favour of the Grouse industry.

It’s a three band night at Tan Hill …………….I’ll get some pictures………….I’ll no doubt get tired and emotional. I’ll definitely have a sore head tomorrow.

You all have a great Bank Holiday weekend.

LITTLE AND LARGER (26/08/11)

A nasty wet day so I’ve been stacking macros with mixed success. I’ll start with larger as it’s the worst. I also know what it is………………..It’s a Thistle………. a very prickly one. This is thirty images combined in Helicon Focus.

Yesterday or maybe the day before I promised Heather so here it is……………..

Far fewer images went into this as the depth of field was much less. About ten…………I like this one. I also like the next but don’t know what it is.

I thought it may be a very small Eyebright The pound coin is 7/8ths of an inch diameter or about 22mm. If you rub Eyebright in your eyes it dilates the pupils……..why anyone would want to I’m not sure. If it isn’t Eyebright it’ll either do nothing or blind you.

Have a good weekend whatever you are up to.

I’M A ‘RUM UN’ (25/08/11)

We are back at Tan Hill. I promised heather…….I was duplicitous it is flowering but no good light on it so you are in for a view north in HDR.

      Nothing special to you but I love this place…………….It has beer, weather and goes as far as I can see. I decided, after trying for star trails last night, cloud kept blowing in and despite an hour and a half, plus half an hour remembering how to set the camera up. To really give it the works today, I am happy with what follows.

    Ten images in two sets……………..Tone blended and then focussed stacked. Only two were stacked! It’s better but not worth it…The rain was a serious soaking……………..Am I the only anorak to look at images for hours? If I find something out of place or focus, unless the latter is  intentional, I couldn’t live with the picture…….. Why most of mine are binned!

   This one was done the same way. I risk being called a.perfectionist by at least one reader but when I shot the ten frames for this it was going to be the star of my show. I need to think again.

      The bestest…………….HDR with moving sheep, I can see for eternity. The sheep add foreground interest i suppose. I did tell the dogs ‘To Lay!’ It is impressive what Photoshop can do. Stop sheep moving……….Really impressed I am.

As usual a quick click enlarges and CTRL or Command, plus the (+) will enlarge even more biggerer. Don’t go two far. Even God isn’t perfect…………..he rushed our world in seven days but perchance he was busy somewhere else.

I’ll leave with the best joke from the last month………………….I went to buy a spoon on Amazon, they wanted an Eight Character Password. First thing I thought of of………………………..Snow White and the Seven Dwarves!… Boom Boom!……Gotcha!…It doesn’t fit………….BUGGER!

Have fun I will.

THE SILLY SEASON (24/08/11)

It is still dry here but not for long looking at the clouds rolling in. We were out for sunrise but it was not very impressive. I was totally underwhelmed.

    This is a panorama looking south over the Howgills…………The highest bump is Green Bell. The view east over the North Yorkshire Moors was even more depressing.

     We had a long chat with this friendly and sociable Grey………….I only just managed to dissuade it from following us through the gate………………It is the same colour as the dogs so thought it had acquired two new friends. This view looks a little strange but the only way I could fit it in was on the slant……….A handsome lad, I’ll take him an apple later.

I was out again at half past nine but it was too cold for butterflies so we walked down into Newbiggin-on-Lune to investigate some ponds I’d noticed on the map……………turned out they were a trout farm so of little interest to me. This image I shot in HDR it’s not a bad day as you can see. Probably just me not being in the mood. I’m not sad just not in the right frame of mind for photographs. I cheered up when I found a dozen of these…………………………

   Shaggy Ink-cap also known as Lawyers Wig. It’s Ink cap omelette for lunch. I only took the one so more egg than lawyer………..These and Giant Puffballs are my favourite fungi.

     This one is mine……………….if you pick one it has to be eaten within an hour or two and be picked young. this one is six or seven inches tall.

       These are Stump Puff Balls………………….edible like all Puff balls but only when they are white inside. These are a long way too old. They are purported to cure cancer. The spores are a styptic so should you cut yourself shaving then a quick squeeze your chin will be covered in black dust and you will stop bleeding………..useful things.

Tomorrow I have to go shopping then it’s on to Tan Hill. I have booked in here again on Monday so I’ll get back up Smardale next week.

That’s all for today.