Ummm...Time has really flown!!

I actually cannot believe I haven't written my blog since June 2014 - although it was the best weekend ever so maybe nothing topped it for a while!

The last year has flown by, it was a mixed year with a visiting childhood friend of our daughter's, I wasn't in the best of health and we didn't get out much! I am happy to say that part of life is over now and we are enjoying 2016 for what it is!
 "What is happening so far?" I hear you cry - well we have had some rather special events so far this year - a 70th Birthday a 50th Wedding Anniversary, a 24th Birthday and a 21st Birthday all in our family....we still have a very special occasion to follow another Birthday - but that is not until July ;)

Our youngest turned 21 in  May....

Lucky me - Birthday girl :) incentive to just keep swimming right there ;)

We also welcomed a rather darling puppy dog to the family - our eldest has finally the dog of her dreams - a King Charles called Bilbo!

SO the year this year has been good so far, we have had some interesting weather - as in lots and lots of rain (so theoretically shouldn't have a hose pipe ban this year!)

We have had some lovely sunny days which meant we could finally start getting the Hut back into order as a Poplar tree fell into it making one heck of a mess during a storm in February! We were quite upset at the time as we spent a lot of time and effort on it over the last few years, however we have made some improvements including removable windows!!  And as always we have more projects to undertake very shortly :D

The best part of summer arriving is that the Bees, Butterflies and HummingBird Hawkmoths start their work!

We were also lucky enough to have a little Jenny Wren nesting in The Hut - I didn't want to disturb the babies too much but did take a couple of photos!

Wild Geraniums in the garden..................

So now here we are in June, and as of the Summer Solstice we have fallen into Summer! It's been so lovely and scorchio .... trouble is it's a case of run and hide for the shade, and where better than our Summer retreat - The Hut :)

 Beautiful Clematis enjoying the sunshine....this is the time of year that I love going around gardens - there are so many amazing flowers!

It's so easy taking photographs on the go now - what with the Samsung Mobile, a new birthday present in the form of a compact Canon (with a snazzy retro case of course!) and the big cameras are always to hand - especially since investing in (another) a 70-300mm macro lens last year but having the chance to use it - this year I can enjoy getting out and using it properly!

So that's about it from PJP - the year in a nutshell - or a short blog in this case! I am looking forward to getting out and about and particularly to our celebration next month!

Thank you for reading and don't forget you can follow me on my FaceBook Page for everything "Life through the Lens" https://www.facebook.com/PamelaJaynePhotography/

PJ

My Patch in June!

Well June is really in bloom, we have roses galore since the beginning of the month, and far more prolific than I have seen them in a few years! Such a welcoming sight in the driveway.

Apart from flowers which I could rave about, I have had a few discoveries - for some it maybe quite normal to have spotted them before - for me however new and exciting sightings!

Firstly I will share my yearly shot of the beautiful HummingBird Hawkmoth
  "The Hummingbird Hawk-moth is a small, day-flying hawk-moth. Hummingbird Hawk-moths are summer visitors,  In some years, they can be common and may frequently be seen in gardens hovering like hummingbirds to feed on the nectar of Honeysuckle, Red Valerian and many other flowers. They can also be found in woodland edge, heath and shrubby habitats. The caterpillar feeds on various species of bedstraw, so the female adult moth lays her eggs on the buds or flowers of these plants"  
I love them, I could watch them for hours and yes sometimes I spend a good hour trying to get another shot of it's amazing whirring body as it works itself around the Lavender bushes! I was delighted to count as many as 10 in one area on Monday! 

at flight between stems

Last week was the turn of the Green Tree Frog - we discovered him in our swimming pool sitting happily on the pump area, but we needed to empty and clean the pool so I had the wonderful job of holding him and re-homing him! 

 

The trouble is every time I went to go and do something else in the garden, I ended up going back to the Frog to see where he was and what he was up to! I also regret not changing lenses but the Sigma is playing up again so it's more hassle than it's worth in many ways as the 200mm still gets the shot but of course I can't get in so close!

I then discovered this insect and no amount of googling has given me a definitive answer as yet - I think I might have to do a "shout out" and see if anyone knows? My last results show a Common Long Horned Beetle, so if it is then that's another newly spotted critter in the garden!

On my travels around the garden I have also spotted the "long horned Bee"  endangered in the UK but hopefully it will migrate here and have a chance!

And if that wasn't enough for new discoveries in the same week we found "aliens" in our bucket of water - oh ok, they are not really aliens but I am sure I could be forgiven for thinking along those lines? 

 Drone Fly Larvae or Rat tailed Maggots. The "Tail" is actually a snorkel to help them breath - how clever is Mother Nature? 

 Drone-Flies don’t just mimic the appearance of honeybees, they fly like them too. Recent research has shown that the flight behaviour of Eristalis tenax is more similar to the flight of the honeybee than to that of related flies.

Because ‘rat-tailed maggots’ are associated with unsavoury rotting material in stagnant water, archaeologists who have found the remains of many of these larvae in deposits from a site in central London believe this confirms that the city must have been a very smelly place in medieval times.

And last but really not least - we found a Glow Worm - I haven't seen many of these around over the years, such a bright little fella this one!

"The adults (of both sexes) cannot feed and live only a short time. They glow, but only intermittently. Their sole purpose is to mate, and for the female to lay eggs. Adult insects are poor fliers and so will often remain in the same area, building a colony of glowworms. The female lays a total of about 130 eggs, in clumps of 40 or 50, and dies soon after laying. The eggs hatch after about 20 days and the cycle repeats.

The larvae are sensitive to light and disturbance and will retreat into their nests and stop glowing if they or their snares are touched. Generally they have few predators. Their greatest danger is from human interference."

This is what I love about my "life through the lens" not only do I learn along the way about Mother Nature it's also about enjoying the garden, wildlife and so much more! I do love the other aspects of my work as much but sometimes it's the follow up from taking the photograph.

Have a wonderful weekend - we are off to the beautiful Ilê de Ré for a couple of days with our bikes :D

For further photos of "Life through the Lens" please do visit me at https://www.facebook.com/PamelaJaynePhotography 

PamelaJayne

Coming to the end of Febuary!

And it's been very interesting! We have had rain, yes lots of it...but then we have had sun, beautifully sunny Spring like days...of course we cannot be having Spring days as it's still Winter! The garden is very happy though and the blossoms are enjoying this early warmth....I just hope we don't get a frost or snow now! 

Just like a Spring day!

For me the great thing about all this rain - the lovely drops sitting in the grass!

Love it when the grass sparkles!

First Violets spotted!

More Crocuses are flowering now!

Purple and Green with added sparkle!

Our Golden Plum tree

My faves - Daisies!

So prickly but so pretty!

I know it's a weed but!

So that was Sunday 23rd, all warm and lovely...which led over to Monday which was incredibly lucky as I had a commission for House Marketing photos - that needed blue skies! These will be used to sell this house set in a lovely location and the view is pretty good as well!

And then it was over to one of my favourite places to spend time with the camera, some may remember last year I put up photos of rescued Spanish Galgas and Pedencos - this year there are 2 more that have been fostered in to the fold...

Dimdim - settling in with her new brothers and sisters.

Juno who was attacked and bears the scars.

And then there's the lovely Osaco and Tana

Just a couple of posers really!

For more on Spanish Galgas and Pedencos please go to https://www.facebook.com/PamelaJaynePhotography... For more information on re-homing you can contact Lévriers and Compagnie http://www.levriersetco.fr/

So now we are coming to the end of the month, and March is promising to be a fun month here at PJP,  more Marketing photos, Making Memories shoots.

But my question - will March come in like a Lamb or Lion....?

St. Valentine's Day and the Weekend!

 The 14th of February  - always brings a bit of fun into our lives, this year we had a very quick (in-car) picnic by La Vienne river - which gave me the perfect opportunity to take some photos of the river running high and fast!

La Vienne flowing fast and high!

Water flowing at La Vienne

Sunday we had a good old family get together which meant a glass or two of bubbly and a very wet walk in the woods. I am hoping that all this wet weather will see lots of lovely bluebells this year!

Cheers!

In the woods

Burst of Colour 

Broom bringing hopeful signs of Spring!

We didn't out run the rain!

Today 17th has been a beautiful day (I know everyone is thinking the same - are we really going to be this lucky and not get the white stuff!?) So out into the garden to see what damage had been caused by the high winds of the last 2 weeks and we seem to be ok!

More Crocuses are flowering!

First Blossoms of the Mirabelle

Elephant ears so pink this year!

Love these purple beauties

Forsythia really coming out now!

Playing with focus and this is the daisy of today!

Chinese Lanterns always look good!

Something about dried out seeds I think!

So we end another weekend on a happy note, and start the week on dry footing - although the garden is very soggy, so we won't be getting the lawnmower out just yet!

Have a great week!

PamelaJayne
17th February '14

https://www.facebook.com/PamelaJaynePhotography