Dragonfly

Identified by the open wings in the rest position this specimen was very accomodating allow me to photograph it fairly close with a digital SLR camera macro lens and a flashgun. 
There are some fantastic details and colours in this fabulous insect not all of them particularly pleasant to look at and not really noticable unless you have a macro lens or a very large megapixel camera that allows cropping to reveal the detail.

I have repeated this post on my other blog on wordpress for larger pictures with more detail

Eastbourne "Airbourne" air show Saturday

A sunny day with huge crowds enjoying what is always a splendid event annually. The highlight probably being the last two Lancaster bombers still flying, more on that subject Here from my friend Shrimpton and Perfect`s blog with a Spitfire and Hurricane making up a memorial flight. The Typhoon is always impressive especially on after-burners and is very very noisy. The Red Arrows made a welcome comeback (they were missing last year due to being in Russia on a goodwill visit) and put on the usual fantastic display. All pictures were taken from our beach chalet a good vantage point.

Gull number one get back in formation

The memorial flight plus the Canadian Lancaster

I believe the caption reads "The last one"

Thanks for being on standby guys

Sunshine Showers and Honey Bees

There I was taking pictures of a new rose in the garden when I noticed some really ominous dark rain clouds, scampered indoors before the heavens opened with a torrential downpour. As is often the case in a typical English summer it was followed by sunny spells and more showers, in between the showers I managed to get some pictures of several honey bees on the lavender bush.
Our local primary school Here have just installed some black bees hives on the marsh and I have attached a photo of this excellent project for you to read (probably needs to be enlarged to make reading easier) the children suitably clothed will monitor the bees.

Spider has made the rose his home

Pink after a heavy shower

An inverted reflection of the garden bench

A tiny piece of something in the raindrop, I think it looks like a man carrying something on his left shoulder while pulling a tray of cabbages, what do you think?

Honey bee taken with fill flash compare with the one below that wasn`t

West Rise black bee project

Pink fir apple great taste but weird looking potatoes

Harvest Thursday

Pink Fir Apple

We will probably give some of these to the local old folk we have a glut and we don`t like them when frozen

Nice size beetroot lovely when eaten hot

There's a bright golden haze in the meadow

The corn is as high as an elephant's eye

And it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky

Well mine is it stands about 8` 6" and at last it has tassles on the cobs I was getting worried

Holywell beach at low tide

This week has seen some fine sunny weather in Eastbourne along with most of the country and we have visited the beach chalet on a daily basis. The severe winter storms this year did some serious damage to the beach mainly by depositing rocks of all shapes and sizes on four of the main bays for bathing. It didn't seem to bother the children today so I ventured down with my little camera to grab a few shots at low tide.

It seems scarcely believable for the amount that the council charge annually for rent that so few of the chalets have been occupied in view of the splendid weather so far this summer.

Nasty rocks to negotiate

Holywell beach chalets 1 to 69 in this view there are only 7 being used

Low tide looking towards Beachy Head the beach in the photo above this one used to be as sandy

The winter storms affected the geography of the beach this area was a favourite of mine for rock pooling last year

A remnant from when the fishing boats use to tie up here in the 19th century

Concrete and angle iron hazard washed up from who knows where

Filling both Sussex trugs a plot update

After a hot stormy and muggy few days we visited the plot after a weeks absence to harvest whatever crops were ready.

We were so pleased to pick our first sweet peas a mixed variety from a £0.25P packet the scent is heavenly our absolute favourite from any flower.

Runner and french beans are now prolific and we harvested the last of the Charlotte potatoes to give our daughter a nice bag to take home.

Beetroots are ready and we picked a few to boil and skin in our usual manner and eat hot.

We only have outdoor tomatoes but they are beginning to ripen and there are plenty of them on three plants which are sited in the middle of the plot and look remarkedly healthy. (famous last words)

Peas never seem to find there way into the pot quite a few get eaten when picking, the rest take there chances depending who is doing the shelling in this case there were four of us so we decided to finish eating them raw and `save on the gas bill`

Perpetual spinach is ready and we are picking regularly

Sweetcorn will be the last to harvest probably in September

Spencer mixed sweet peas

My first ever  not quite ready outdoor tomato from the plot was always told you need a greenhouse

Bolthardy beetroot

Runner bean Enorma

French beans

Perpetual spinach

Charlotte 2nd early

There`s one missing

Eat now or cook?

spinach with a knob of butter

Beetroot cooking

                                                         Help tying in the sweet corn