ABOUT ME

I live in a camper van with a West Highland Terrier for company.
My passion is creating images but it is a work in progress.
I am always willing to share what knowledge I have and can be contacted through the comments on this post or e-mail ADRIAN
ALL IMAGES WILL ENLARGE WITH A LEFT CLICK

Tuesday 6 May 2014

NYCTINASTY. (06.05/14)

Apart from being stark raving mad and destined for the funny farm sooner rather than later I found a new word today. Nyctinasty….It’s a wonderful word and it describes what flowers do when they open and close. Some nyctiny and some don’t. I seem to remember there is a flower that does it at four in the afternoon. This morning we set off for a walk and the Daisies were all closed up It was around sevenish. We were out for an hour and a half and they still hadn’t fully opened at nine.

It was a good walk today. Lots of birds about but still no Wild Goats or Otters. The male Goosander is still around and I saw the female as well. The Dipper is back. Needless to say that they were all too far away. If it hadn’t been threatening to rain I’d have tied the dogs up and settled down to see what came to me.

_V0G8759    A Grey Wagtail. This is the first I’ve seen here. Adds a splash of colour.

_V0G8766    This aptly named Song Thrush was singing his heart out. I love them when they sing. They must be worn out as they can keep going for an hour or more. Little Bertha is a joy to walk with. The pictures are little better but the effort required for crap is just a fraction of that that Big Bertha demanded.

I’ve sinned…..again. I’ve dug up a wild flower and put it in a ramekin pot. It’s a very posh ramekin dish by Le Creuset . They are a small pot and a small fortune. I got mine years ago at a couple of pounds a go as John Lewis had lost their lids. I’ve told the flower I'm not going to cook it. Tomorrow morning I’m going to time lapse it opening. I reckon that a shot every ten seconds is manageable but have doubts about the battery life in the strobe. If it runs out then it will be something else I've learnt.

_MG_7399     This is Daisy. She has lost a bit of pollen but was sort of middling in maturity. The young ones seem to open more slowly and have a pink tinge. Flowers nyctinate to protect their pollen at night when there is no incest about. I’ll soon be a Botomist. I’ll be carried away kicking and screaming if I don’t get a grip and stop trying to conjugate difficult words.

I’ve been watching Daisy very closely since I transferred her to the van and she is a madam. She turns towards the light so I’m just about to set to and pop a couple of LEDs in the makeshift black box which will be her stage. Is it the black light diodes that emit UV? I bet she is particular. I bet I pick the wrong bulbs.

We will see what tomorrow brings. Any suggestions for a sound track? Assuming I get that far. I only know one Daisy song and it’s about the village bike that some bloke wanted to marry.

28 comments:

  1. Adrian ~ I have said this before ~ and you know I mean no disrespect ~ but it is time you head back to civilisation ~ or maybe you know something that the rest of us don't (as she goes back to sleep dreaming if the rat mill tomorrow)

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    1. Carol, I am a bit funny i like big vistas but when the weather closes in I look at all the little things that are around me. It's nice to be a lunatic.

      IAN DRURY

      The line is in the third verse.
      I could not go back to work. I love work but am struggling to walk for an hour or so these days. I just am happy I have the dogs and the cameras. I'm happier still that you teach 3D to kids. They just don't have the discipline to appreciate what they play with or watch. Good luck with the little buggers.

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    2. You are right A ~ we have been bevelling and extruding and filleting. Day off 3D tomorrow ~ my young game developers are using Illustrator to design their own game characters. If it is good ~ they can put it into a game next term. P.S. Have a look at Scratch ~ it is a free download. Just another piece of free software to fill up those empty days :)

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  2. :-) Nice to hear that you have had a very good day!
    I like the pics and I like too how the flower are Nyctinasting (love the word too)

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    1. Laura, I rarely have bad days. I just have to remember to look at the common stuff.

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    2. oh this is so great Adrian what you say, i would like too to be so pisitive as you

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    3. Laura, life is hard but it is better than being dead. Have a summer holiday here in the far north and paint the light. I'll cook badly and find you a Bed and Breakfast. I could clear out the spare bed in the camper. Anything to make you smile.

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  3. Can't wait for that time lapse! At what intervals will you me shooting?

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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    1. Mersad for a smooth video I will guess at ten seconds, twenty might do. I have enough memory and computer power for ten second If it runs too slowly I can always reject every other frame. I'll let you know what I used.

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    2. I just read the specifics in your video post. Thanks!

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  4. Interesting word. Never heard of it before, and certainly don't know how to pronounce it. At a quick glance it looks like niceandnasty. I like that too.

    Good luck with daisy.

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    1. Keith, I pronounce it NICKTINNASTY. It's a great word. I'll set to in the dark tomorrow to see a daisy open up.

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  5. Adrian,
    Remember this?

    I'll give you a daisy a day, Dear,
    I'll give you a daisy a day,
    I'll love you until the rivers run still,
    and I'll give you a daisy a day.
    (Jud Strunk, 1970s)

    Love the photos. Take care, McGregor

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    1. McGregor, thanks for this I'll see if i can find it on the free music site.

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  6. Adrian, I can see you're going to have lots of fun watching Daisy as she performs her crepuscular nastic exercises?...[;o)

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    1. Trevor, I've just uploaded the thick end of 900 images. There is a bit of a lighting glytch in the middle but otherwise it is looking good.

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  7. Gorgeous!!!! Nice bird shot! The Wagtail is a stunner.

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    1. Chris, they are a pretty little bird.

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  8. I've been daisy petal pickin'
    To see if she loves me
    Well I've been daisy petal pickin'
    To see what our future's gonna be
    (Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njUOXr0AGIg

    Looking forward to the time lapse - something I've had on the Round Tuit list for many a Moon.

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    1. John, it looks as if it has half worked. Thanks for the music, It will have to be under a creative common licence

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  9. Okay, I get the nasty in your new word. I'm not sure about the NYC? New York City? I don't know. I like your idea of setting up to show the daisy opening and closing.

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    1. Red, it is a proper word. Not one i'd heard before though.

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  10. Great word. Too bad it has limited application, not exactly a word you can work into everyday conversation. I look forward to the nyctinastying video.

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    1. Pauline, I'll be doing my damnedest, you can count on that.

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  11. Me encanta la primera foto ... y Daisy;)
    Un abrazo.

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    1. Laura, es un pájaro bastante pequeño.

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  12. I'm interested in knowing what set-up you used. Take advantage of it, in an urbanised area it would be harder to do.

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    1. Maria, in the end i settled for a Dorr LED ringlight on the Canon 100mm macro lens. It was all on a tripod and pointing at the flower which I put in a cardboard box lined with black cloth. I couldn't leave stuff out here for two hours and the wind would blow everything about.

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