storksbills in the cemetery
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 27 July 2022].
Hello, my lovelies.
It's been far too quiet around these parts. For that, I offer my sincerest apologies.
I've been trying to get back on track, but I've been thrown a little off-kilter the past few weeks. And, in some respects, the past few months.
My last post here was pre-scheduled. Which was handy, given I was sequestered (willingly!) in a friend's flat with her kitteh, Mia, and the slowest iMac known to woman (the last bit, not willingly!).
Unfortunately, that weekend also marked the beginning of a heatwave here in London.
Had I been home, the temperatures would have been higher than I'd have liked but manageable. However, in a first-floor flat with a curious kitteh, the windows could only be opened a small amount. When Mia wasn't hiding from the heat in a drawer under the bed, she was perched on the window openings cooling her tush.
Consequently, I spent most of the weekend lounging under a 10cm fan and keeping Mia company in her hatred of the heat.
The sun's emanations were too much for me to endure to see through my plan to visit some distinctive housing in the nearby neighbourhoods. Or to visit the Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery, as I had planned. Next time, Gadget, next time.
A busy but part-time week of work followed 'hot' on the heels of that.
I managed to sneak in some socialising outside my flat on Friday despite my ongoing health issues. Followed by a weekend of socialising inside my flat and hiding as much as possible from the heat.
The hottest day on record in the UK and the day preceding it blew out any plans I had for productivity outside my day job the following week.
It took most of the week to get my bedroom back down below 30 degrees, even at night. When it finally cooled almost enough, I celebrated by creating a Spotify playlist.
Health issues scuppered plans to walk the remaining section of the New River between Harringay Green Lanes Overground Station and Manor House/Finsbury Park with Scott and our cameras last Friday. At least we managed a pleasant afternoon of beers, ciders and conversation in place of that (with a detour to my GP's office).
On the positive side, at least I found out that day that the fatigue I've been feeling the past month or so wasn't just my imagination and or me being lazy. I'm vitamin D deficient and have low levels of vitamin B12 again. The former is being managed with some heavy-duty supplements. The latter requires retesting in six weeks. If still low, it will mean injections as I had back in 2007. Between now and then, I need to see if I can improve things from a dietary perspective to pump them back up a bit.
My other ongoing health issue hasn't been 100% diagnosed yet. I've been referred for further testing, but I have a new medication I started yesterday. That will hopefully manage the issues and get me back to photo walks and day trips soon enough. Fingers crossed.
Though, between dreams about the medication and my new bite guard, I've not had the best sleep the past few nights!
This is the first night I've managed to keep being creative after midnight for weeks. For someone who's a night owl and for whom this time is usually my most productive time, that has been beyond frustrating. I suspect this is because I took a long lunch today to nap for an hour and a half.
I hope to share more posts later in the day. And schedule new work for the weekend as I'll be away from home cat-sitting Lily, Sammy and Poppy from Thursday evening to Monday evening.
I'm also still working on my chapbook and other creative things. They're just taking far longer than I would have liked.
Thank you for your patience through all this.
death and roses
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 8 July 2022].
old man's beard
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 3 July 2022].
As with Ochna serrulata, this is another sneaky "floral but not floral" tribute.
These are technically the fruits of the shrub, Old man's beard, or Clematis vitalba. But, they grow out of the inflorescence and sepals of the plant to create infructescence.
And they caught the light so beautifully when I photographed them in Chichester last September, so I'm including them in my series.
crown imperial
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 24 June 2022].
a korean rose in brussels
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 17 June 2022].
I'm a little hesitant about the identification of these flowers. My plant identifying app said it was a Korean rose for every photo I checked, though, so I'll go with it.
And they seem to match - to my untrained eye - photos in the Wikipedia entry for the Hibiscus syriacus.
I find flowers past their prime or weather-worn as beautiful as the most perfect specimen, just in a different way.
Having said that, when I photographed these, it did strike me as odd that the flowers in the front garden of the Palais Royal de Bruxelles should look so unkempt... I might have been quietly judgmental.
artichoke
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 10 June 2022].
Once again, I'm reminded of why I love photography.
I love to eat artichoke, but it never occurred to me that's what I had photographed in a garden on Mersea Island until I popped the photo into a plant-identifying app.
It also never occurred to me that the artichoke is a flower. I knew we eat the "hearts". I didn't realise that they bloom and become inedible if left to their own devices.
When I saw them, these flowers reminded me of protea and some brassica species, which I love. I photographed them because they were eye-catching despite not recognising them.
Because I have such a massive backlog of photos to edit, sometimes it takes me years to learn from the photographs I've taken. But that doesn't make the learning any less enjoyable.
banksia
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 3 June 2022].
My plant-identifying apps failed me, with one thinking these were an ornamental pincushion. And the other knew they were banksia but couldn't identify the cultivar. They are, obviously, a different cultivar to these beauties.
My gut instinct/plant memory said banksia, but I did check in with Bellamy (otherwise known as Dad)*. He confirmed they are. But as with one of the plant apps, he couldn't narrow it down to a cultivar. He is a font of plant knowledge, but no one is perfect ;)
Either way, they're photogenic. They caught my eye in the front garden of a home on Table Cape that gave a lovely view of Stanley in Tasmania. I took this during my visit in 2018.
My last visit with my parents in October 2019 seems a lifetime ago. It was bittersweet for so many reasons.
My next visit, which could be as soon as this year, will be even more difficult. As though dementia, hospital visits and a car accident weren't stressful enough in 2019.
Some days (or nights), thinking and talking about it, pragmatism wins out. Other times, raw emotion wins the day (or night).
*My dad is not, in fact, David Bellamy. When he used to point out and tell us about the plants on our walks through the rainforests and national parks of Australia, my then-teenaged brother liked to respond with a sarcastic "Thanks, Bellamy". It has remained an affectionate jibe in my mind all these years.
magnolia on blue (bromley)
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 May 2022].
ochna serrulata
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 21 May 2022].
Technically, these are the fruitlets and sepals of the Ochna serrulata, not the flower, but sepals are part of the flowers, so I'mma let this one pass through because they're damned purty.
Taken during a photo walk around Redland Bay in Queensland back in 2009.
They're designated as an invasive species in Australia despite their attractive appearance.
hedge bindweed
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 13 May 2022].
wisteria sinensis
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 7 May 2022].
cherry blossoms
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 April 2022].
shirotae
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 23 April 2022].
I'm happy to be corrected, but I believe this is shirotae, a cultivar of Japanese flowering cherry or cherry blossom trees.
Found a couple of doors down from the house at which I've been semi-regularly cat-sitting since Christmas time.
Such a lovely sight to behold over the Easter weekend.
beach aster
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 15 April 2022].
birrna
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 10 April 2022].
Banksia integrifolia or coastal banksia.
magnolia on blue (oxford)
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 4 April 2022].
common sowthistle
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 20 March 2022].
I photographed this "weed" in my backyard in Brunswick East the day I got my (then) brand new Nikon D50.
It's a perfect example of how all plants can be weeds if in the "wrong" location. The common sowthistle is deemed an invasive weed in Australia and other countries.
But one of its common names is sowthistle because of its "attractiveness to pigs, and the similarity of the leaf to younger thistle plants". It's also commonly referred to as hare's colwort because of its "purported beneficial effects on hares and rabbits".
Native Americans, Chinese and Māori people are believed to have used (and perhaps still do) the leaves as part of their diet and/or herbal remedies.
Whatever your thoughts on these plants, they made a good study for me to try out my new camera back in 2005.
For whatever reason, I didn't edit these at the time, but I enjoy the buds at various stages of blooming and the greens in these images.
And maybe there's a message here about how each of us can have value in particular environments but be unwelcome pests in others.
pelargonium
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 11 March 2022].
sunflowers
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 5 March 2022].