On clear #Mornings, just before #Sunrise, you can often see the #EarthShadow receding in the #West, as the #Sun rises in the #East. Here, you can see the dark band just above the #Horizon, while the rest of the #Sky is already lighter.
#dslr
#Snow! I woke up this morning to the unexpected sight of a white landscape. It's not that it never happens here, it's just that I can't remember snowfall so early on. Though relatively rare here, when it does come, usually it occurs in January to March. I doubt it will be here very long as temperatures are forecast to be above 10 at the weekend. Nevertheless, I may stay off my #bike until it's gone.
Beware, this is going to be a long post...
My standard longer #bike ride is a 30 km round trip to #Starcross, which is #village on the west coast of the #ExeEstuary on the way to #Dawlish. The ride is motor-traffic-free for a goo 80% of the distance. It's also through a lot of #countryside and it's my intention to photograph some of the #trees through all the seasons. However, this set contains a little more for your edification.
Not all trees are alive. For example, this one is a hulk of what was once probably a magnificent specimen.
Most #FarmFields have been replanted after harvesting and even now, shoots are appearing. Meanwhile most #Trees still have their #Foliage.
The #plants and #insects that feed off them are also a food source for these male and female #pheasants.
The village of #Starcross is small but it happens to have a #RailwayStation on the line from #LondonPaddington and #Penzance, though the #IntercityTrains don't usually stop there. This is the last part of the journey for me before I turn and head back homewards at the station itself.
Here is an #IntercityTrain passing. It is run by #GWR or #GreatWesternRailways, which was a company in existence before nationalization and which came back after privatization.
Starting to head back, you can get a good view of the other side of the #Estuary, where the #town of #Exmouth can be seen. There happens to be a nice ferry trip on which you can take your #bike between #Starcross and #Exmouth
The #ExeEstuary has a few #wrecks in it. I presume they are #NavigationHazards but I guess it would prove too expensive to clear the #waterway. Perhaps they provide a #habitat for #MarineLife. Here you can see #Birds (I can't tell whether they are #Cormorants of #Shags).
Next, we come to #PowderhamCastle, which is now a #NationalTrust property. It has a herd of #deer numbering in the hundreds.
The mild #autumn #Sun is seen shining through this #tree's #branches.
More #trees in the grounds of #PowderhamCastle.
At first glance, this may look like a dead #tree but you can see that parts of it still has #foliage.
This #tree, on the other hand, looks completely dead.
This #Pheasant is eyeing the #photographer warily.
This #cycle #bridge was installed not much longer than a decade ago. It makes traversing the #RailwayLine easy. I think there was a #footbridge before this but I'm not sure. A nice addition to #cycling #infrastructure.
From the top of the #bridge, you can see the #barracks of the #RoyalMarines in #Lympstone. Technically, this #photograph is a #Selfie too.
Getting closer to home now, here is the #M5 #Motorway which links #London to #Exeter. This #concrete #viaduct goes over the #Estuary, thankfully leaving much it intact.
Some parts around the #Cyclepath form natural ponds.
Any #journey of moderate length or longer often leaves one #reflecting. Here, you can let the scenery do it.
This #swan was preening on the #ExeterCanal (and so was its #reflection).
Lastly, this is the #bridge over the #RiverExe, which is a sign that my home is a mere 5 km away. A sight that is always welcome. The bridge is old but it a #cyclepath was constructed as an extension to it on the far side, which blends in very nicely with the existing #masonry.
Auch Amateurastronomen können beeindruckende Himmelsaufnahmen anfertigen. Lesen Sie hier, was alles nötig ist, um Sternhaufen, galaktische Nebel und Galaxien zu fotografieren.#Astronomie #Amateurastronomie #Astrofotografie #Fotografie #Kamera #Digitalkamera #DSLR #Spiegelreflexkamera #Fernrohr #Teleskop #Nachführung #Deep-Sky-Objekt #Gasnebel #Emissionsnebel #Galaxie #Sternhaufen
Mit Kamera und Teleskop zum perfekten Astrofoto
As it's almost the #Equinox, the #Sun is setting virtually due #West these days. This #sunset is a bit deceptive as it seems to show heavy #mist with the sun's disc very diffuse and almost invisible. Actually, the sky is relatively clear towards the #zenith. Still, I do like the layered progressive #haziness of the land.
This is the last week of #summer but today is hot and #sunny and so the #pollinators are out doing their thing before it gets to damp and dark and the #flowers wither away. In the front #garden, one of the #plants attracts a lot of #bees and #hoverflies. Here are some pictures I took with my #camera using a #MacroLens.
I'm not sure whether this is a #Bee or a #HoverFly.
You can see the #PollenSacs on this #Bee.
#MyWork #MyPhoto #CCBYSA #DSLR #Nikon #D7000 #Macro #Horticulture
As #summer is coming to and we're heading towards #autumn, the #garden is bearing some #fruit which add #colour to the surroundings.
This #squash is about 25 cm long and has turned a very nice #orange #hue.
These #green #grapes are nearly ripe and the #Vine #Leaves are also used in #cooking.
These #blackberries are at various stages of ripeness.
Here are some #cattle resting in the garden. Just kidding! That's from my recent trip to #Dartmoor and have nothing to do with me except that I photographed them.
As it's a #BankHoliday #weekend, we went on a hike on #Dartmoor. I planned it to be a visit to somewhere I hadn't been before but starting off from a familiar location. In total, the excursion was 18 km of walking and took the best part of 6 hours with all the stops and breaks. As anyone who has walked here before knows, it's not to be done without preparation and having a good #map and #compass with you is vital. Mobile phone reception is patchy at best and so I rely on a paper map and the tried-and-tested method of #DeadReckoning. Essentials include a pair of good quality #WalkingBoots, #WaterProof clothing available and you should always prepare to be colder than you would be in town. As the terrain is quite rough and the vegetation can be thorny along with the presence of insects, #Shorts are not recommended unless you're happy to have grazes and bites by the end of the trip. The elevation is between 400-500 m above sea level and it is one of the wettest places in #England. It is also exposed to high winds.
The start of the journey was easy enough, just a short climb up to a #Cairn.
Until you join a #path or #bridleway, you have to negotiate #gorse which, if you're not careful, could easily mean a twisted ankle. However, the wild #flowers are very colourful. You can also see part of #FernworthyForest in the background, which is where we were headed.
On the way to our first target, there were some #Neolithic artefacts such as these #StandingStones. There are some wild #DartmoorPonies in the background and I took a zoomed-in image of one of the ponies -- it's best not to get too close to them.
The first destination on the itinerary was #FernworthyReservoir. It has a #MasonryDam, which is not a common form of #Dam, most being concrete or earth (embankment) dams in the #UK. There is a another one in Dartmoor and so I'm guessing there was a trend to build such types at the beginning of the twentieth century, which is when I happen to know the other one was built. Neither the dam nor the #reservoir are very big but they do provide water for nearby populations.
The surface of the reservoir was quite choppy owing to the windy conditions. Also, the level was near the maximum and right up to spillway at the centre of the dam.
Fernworthy Forest is a #conifer forest, which I think is not natural, rather being there to provide timber. There are many track through it but none are marked and so the only way to find out which way you're going is to use a compass. I was uncertain of my precise location after a while but I knew that if we kept heading in a westerly direction, we'd eventually get to the other side.
Once out of the forest, it was a matter of heading south towards the main road. The weather forecast was spot on and it started to rain right on cue. Once over a rise, eventually we found a bridleway down.
Once we passed this #StoneCircle, I knew we were on the right track as it's marked on the #OSMap. The journey from there was quite straightforward, although still another 5-6 km to go.
The last leg of the journey was on a main road, without a separate footpath but just before getting onto that, I looked at the path we'd taken and also to the other side of Dartmoor.
#MyWork #MyPhoto #CCBYSA #DSLR #Nikon #D7000 #Summer #Countryside #Moorland
Yesterday, we went on a trip to #Penzance in #Cornwall. There is a direct #RailwayLine running from here to #London #Paddington. My local station is about half way along this 6-hour route and I've been on the London leg many time and so I thought it would be nice to go to the end of the line in the other direction. There are lots of #RailwayStations with strange names, like #Lostwithiel and #StErth and so it was nice to pass through them on our way.
Looking east along the beach, you can see #StMichaelsMount, which is built on a part-time island, in that it is an island when the tide is in but otherwise you can walk to it over a #causeway. We did that a decade ago. Here are a couple of views with a #ZoomLens (I didn't have space to pack my telephoto lens).
The #town of #Penzance can be seen in the opposite direction.
Parts of the #beach have #grey compacted sand. It's firm and yet soft and when wet it forms a shimmering mirror for the sky.
From the next #headland, you can get a really good view of St Michael's Mount. I think the light conditions here were better too in the early afternoon.
Off the shore, there were several #vessels including this #ship. I'm not sure what its function is but it's certainly for some special purpose.
The #sea appeared #blue or #green depending on the underlying geology.
Here. it even has patches of gold colour looking a bit like those pools into which people drop coins.
The boundary of #Devon and #Cornwall is marked in the south by the #RiverTamar. Across it, there is an old and historic #RailwayBridge called the #RoyalAlbertBridge, which was built in the mid 1800s by #Engineer #IsambardKingdomBrunel, Here, you can see it on the approach on the #train. This was taken using my #Android phone.
Right next to it is the much more modern #RoadBridge, which is a #SuspensionBridge.
I like the #flowers of this #plant but it is growing out of a gap in #concrete by the porch and garage. I think it must have propagated from a neighbour's #garden many years ago. I tried to take a cutting and plant it in some soil in the back garden but it withered away. Evidently, it only likes rocky conditions. Can anybody tell me the species?
One of the disadvantages of a fine day is that the #HighPressure keeps #dust and #pollution trapped at lower levels of the #atmosphere. This makes #visibility poor. Not far off sunset and you can see a layering effect in the mid and #background with the #horizon barely visible in the #haze.
Nothing too remarkable about tonight's #sunset. I just happen to like the three parallel #contrails. We live under two orthogonal #airways here, one running north-south and the other east-west. The latter is usually busier as it includes transatlantic air traffic.
