Shadow Shot Sunday: Bench on a cold Saturday

Last week I showed you the shadow of a bench in the snow. This Saturday there was no snow but in spite of a strong sun it was bitterly cold and the shadows were sharp.

More shadows at Shadow Shot Sunday.

Wreaths outside the White Lion

My contribution to ABC Wednesday this week is a photograph of these wreaths on sale at just £3.95 a time (same price as last year) on the market ground outside the White Lion.

An advent wreath hung on the door is a tradition that several of my neighbours continue to observe.

Please visit Best of Hyde 2012 and vote for your favourite photos.

Lavender & Green

I was surprised to spot these clover-like flowers yesterday at Squantum Park.  I would have thought last week's frost would have done them in.   I like the abstract way they look here with a little post processing.

Police No Entry

Two days after the murder of Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes, Ashworth Lane is still blocked off while hundreds of police guard the area and forensic teams comb the scene.

Floral tributes have been laid at the side of the road. More tributes have been laid at a makeshift shrine on the other side of the cordoned off area - see Hyde DP Xtra for more information and photographs.

An online book of condolences is on the Greater Manchester Police website.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Town Hall and Flowers

Toruń comes alive in the summer with an array of dazzling colours. I know summer is pretty much near an end now...but Toruń is still very much alive. This photo taken in the morning shows the town hall tower. Lamps are currently decorated around town with hanging flower baskets.

Red flowers in Clarendon Place

On Sunday I posted a view of September shadows featuring the planters on Clarendon Place.

Today's view is from a different angle looking down the street as a Stagecoach 201 bus from Manchester to Hattersley comes round the corner.

For Ruby Tuesday.

September shadows across Clarendon Place

They say the wettest ever summer for years is now over (summer that is not the wet) but on the first day of September the sun casts shadows across the end of Clarendon Place and onto the shutters of the long closed-down former Gift Shop.

For Shadow Shot Sunday.

Lace Show

Queen Ann's Lace is making quite a show these days.  I like the pastel blue sky in the background.

Busy Bee

Greenhouse Emissions

This hothouse, on the property of the Adams National Historic Site, is venting some warm air from our recent heatwave.

ABC Wednesday: A is for Arnold Hill Well

Arnold Hill Well is first stop on the annual Gee Cross Well Dressing Procession.

Although well-dressing is a custom mostly confined to Derbyshire, it can be seen in adjacent counties too. Well dressing celebrations were held regularly in Gee Cross from the 1820s until 1878. The custom was revived by the local Women's Institute in 2000.

Arnold Hill Well was dressed by the children of Holy Trinity School. The children looked at inspiring people and stories from the history of the Olympic Games. They have been reflecting on Olympic values such as respect, excellence, friendship, courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

You can view 16 photographs from the 2012 Well Dressing at Gee Cross Well Dressing 2012.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Rose

The Rose Family

The rose is a rose,

And was always a rose.

But the theory now goes

That the apple's a rose,

And the pear is, and so's

The plum, I suppose.

The dear only knows

What will next prove a rose.

You, of course, are a rose -

But were always a rose. 

Robert Frost

A weed is just a flower in the wrong place

There is fine show of yellow flowers around the fence at the caravan storage area on Reynard Street. Were they planted or did they just grow? I don't know.

I'm reliably informed that the yellow flowers are Senecio Brachyglottis- greyi, a kind of New Zealand aster. They have very similar flowers to Ragwort but the foliage is quite different.

For Mellow Yellow Monday.

Sweet White Beach Blossom

This is the flower of the sweet scented Rose Hip plant found along the shores of Quincy.  I gave this one a cutout effect in post processing.  I hope you like it's silkscreened look.  These flowers also come in a pink variety.

day 127 - that doesn't look like three men in a hot tub

Something really cool happened today. We went geocaching in Cambridge and came across something I have never seen in my life - a real life trillium. Thousands of them.



The kids were excited that the adults were excited and I was fearful that one of my kids was going to pick one and I would end up in jail. Thankfully that didn't happen.

It was a great day for a picnic in the park and while wandering in the woods we met a fellow geocacher, named Zeke. Or at least that's his alias in the stealthy and inconspicuous world of geocaching.

We're about as stealthy as a herd of elephants running through the woods.






Here's a little know fact. We saw several pink trillium in our travels today. When trillium turn pink it's a sign they are close to wilting.



And another little known fact? They look nothing like three men in a hot tub in real life.

Memorial Day, 2012

Take a moment to remember the soldiers who died while serving their country.

Dowson Road Daisy

A close view of one of the daisies in the clump of dandelions, daisies and daffodils off Dowson Road which you can see on Hyde DP Xtra.

The name "daisy" is usually considered a corruption of "day's eye", because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning.

Whether this is the common daisy (Bellis perennis) - Bellis is Latin for "in time of war" and perennis is Latin for "everlasting" - or an ox-eye, dog or moon daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) I couldn't say.

A contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday.

"Second Sunday In May"

One hundred years ago, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day".   She was specific about the location of the apostrophe; it was to be a singular possessive, for each family to honor their mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world.

This is also the spelling used by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in the law making official the holiday in the United States.  No matter how you spell it, it's the sentiment that matters on this special day. 

Conjoined Twins

I recently spotted this fluke of nature in my yard; these two daisy flower heads share one stem.

Daffodils on show

On Saturday it was the annual show hosted by Denton Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society and Haughton Green Gardening Society at the Methodist church on Crook Street.

We were there in the morning when the displays were arriving. There were several classes for daffodils and these took my eye. We didn't stay for the show itself so whether or not they caught the judge's eye I cannot say.

A contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday.