Some glowing moments images for this week’s phot challenge. Dandelions are just little glowing blobs of sunshine this time of year and great for pollinators too.
Wild cherry blossom caught in the evening sun also gives a wonderful bright glow.
And in the flower garden, the fire-like red glow of tulips.
A big thank you to Siobhan of Bend Branches for hosting the Lens-artist challenge this week.
Well this challenge is right up my street, many thanks to Anne of Slow Shutter Speed for hosting “Wildlife close to Home” for this week. Those who drop by regularly won’t be surprised by my first image. I just love bumblebees, and it is great to see them enjoying the flowers in the garden.
This summer and autumn we had a lot more shieldbugs in the garden than other years. I think these guys look pretty comical.
Butterflies bring more colour to the garden.
And finally another favourite – this time a slightly larger animal and a rarer visitor to the garden, but always a joy to see – the Irish hare.
I have been a regular follower of the Lens-Artists since Patti, Tina, Amy, and Ann-Christine started their weekly challenge and it is a real honour being asked to host one of their weekly challenges.
The theme of this week’s challenge is “A Special Place“. Many of us have a special place; maybe it is a place you like to escape to when you need a break from the ups and downs of the everyday; or it may be just a place you enjoy spending time. Your special place may be a certain room in your house, it may be a place you like to visit, or it may be a building such as a library, museum, or church.
There are many reasons too why a place may be special. It might be a memory that it holds, or the way the light plays in that space, it may be something to do with the way the place feels or smells. It would be wonderful if you could show us the places that are or were special to you and if you can tell us why. I live in the west of Ireland and am lucky to be surrounded by many beautiful places.
In general, though, I am a home bird, so for me my garden is a truly special place. It is somewhere to sit and enjoy, somewhere to garden and find release from the stresses of work.
If I go anywhere, I just love going to the coast. Growing up, I spent many happy summer days with my family, by the ocean on the north-west coast of County Mayo, so maybe it is this that connects me to the sea. Or it might be just the smell of the salt, the feel of the wind in my hair. It is a place where I can always find peace, no matter what the season.
Many thanks to Anne Sandler for her Water challenge. It was so lovely to enjoy all the beautiful photographs and posts.
We hope you will join us this week. We look forward to seeing what makes a place special for you. Please link to my post here and use the Lens-Artists tag to help us find you.
Next week, Tina will lead LAPC #189. Her subject is Odds and Ends.
As Ann-Christine says there are so many stories to capture. So where does one start?
Bees tell us so many stories. They tell us how important flowers are. They tell us that we are all connected in life. They tell us we should forage near home when looking for food. They tell us enjoy life, at least while the sun is shining. Perhaps we need to listen to them more closely.
Without flower meadows there will be no bees, without bees there will be no flowers meadows. It is another story. A short one.
It is always a special moment when we see the bees and other pollinators returning to the garden in the spring. So for this week’s Six on Saturday, I am going to just share six pollinator images.
This week it is all about leaves.
2. America hawthorn. Bigger leaves than our native hawthorn, and bigger berries too, though there was no berries this year.
3. Crab apples are looking nice now especially as the leaves are turning yellow.
4. Lime tree leaves also go a lovely shade of yellow.
5. Rowan leaves. Redder leaves. The rowan in the garden has actually lost all it’s leaves already, this one is in the field below the house.
6. And finally oak leaves, one of my favourite trees.
Thank you to The Propagator for hosting Six on Saturday.
This week I am combining Six on Saturday with the Lens-artist photograph challenge, using the word “Growing”. So what is growing in the garden this week?
2. Squash: very little fruit – too wet and cold this year I think.
3. Runner beans – not plentiful, but there at least. Let’s hope for a good September so we get a good crop.
4. Rose – possibly the last rose of summer.
5. Chamomile flowers.
6. Beetroot – we have had nice sized beetroot this year.
Thank you to The Propagator for hosting Six on Saturday, and
The Lens-Artists for hosting their weekly photo challenge.
Murtagh's Meadow 