Weird!

Look closely!

I will admit to a tiny bit of photoshopping as I removed a bit of seagull tail that was just visible below the pigeon. Original photo is on my Flickr page.

Elvie.

A Recurring Theme

Those who know LB will recognise this scene. It wasn't his fault though. Honestly! The citronella oil had spilt onto the quick light charcoal, (the sort that comes in brown paper bag and you light the paper to start it). I can now recommend citronella oil as a way to get the bbq going well! Really well!

Elvie.

Reflections of Haverfordwest

After a dramatic thunderstorm on Thursday night yesterday was quiet and overcast with no wind. We did a bit of shopping in Haverfordwest in the morning. The Riverside Shopping Centre runs along one side of the River Cleddau while on the other side is a modern market and some old warehouses now converted to various other commercial uses. The lack of wind produced some wonderful reflections in the water so I popped back with my camera in the afternoon. Here's a selection of watery pictures of the town.

Elvie

Return to the Brecon Beacons

I returned with new found photographer friend, Trevor, to some of the sites we'd visited on the rather wet landscape photography day a few weeks ago. We had a glorious sunny day and could see for miles over the mountains. I retook the photo of the fence that I posted last time and converted it to black & white for comparison. What a difference! It's obviously the same place but the photo has a completely different atmosphere. I had to get some birds in so introduced Trevor to the red kite feeding centre at Llanddeusant and we also took in some mountain views and one of the Ystradfellte waterfalls. It was a very full day & very enjoyable.

Tomorrow I'm off to the caravan to join LB who went today. With all this warm weather there is no better place to be than by the coast.

Elvie

BBQ

About a dozen of our friends who we've met through biking generally get together for a pub meal about once a month. For a change LB & I thought we'd do a BBQ as we've plenty of room & the new garden to show off! Fortunately the weather stayed dry albeit a bit chilly. We provided the meat and got in some booze and soft drinks and everyone else brought other food and a bottle. What a success! There was a nice range of eats and the quantities were about right although I was pleased to inherit some yummy deserts that were left over. It didn't take too much effort either.

We've never been great ones for entertaining. I was always too busy and knackered when working so this is another benefit of retirement. I really enjoyed it and hope everyone else did too.

Elvie

Devil's Bridge

The weekend camping trip was a great success, good riding, nice campsite, kit worked well & plenty to do. In fact we'd like to go back to the area to explore it more. I can highly recommend Woodlands, the campsite we stayed at. There were quite a few midges unfortunately but otherwise it was excellent. It even had a cafe serving breakfast. The local pub, the famous waterfalls and the Rheidol Valley Steam Railway kept us amused all weekend. The pub however attracted most attention as we had elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea as well as evening drinks there.

The wildlife kept us entertained too. There were loads of red kites, as there is a nearby feeding station at Nant yr Arian, but V also spotted a pied flycatchers nest on the campsite with the parent birds visiting regularly to feed their young. V & I had plenty of photographic opportunities. In fact I took so many photos it's taken me all week to sort through them.

Elvie.

It feels good!

.......to be setting off on the road again!

We're not going far, just a weekend camping trip to Devils Bridge with V&P. It's a practice run prior to our summer trip to the Alps together. I hadn't realised how much I would miss travelling when we decided to stay home a bit more for the sake of the parents. It feels really good to have the bikes packed up ready to set off. We've changed some of our gear so the bikes are more lightly laden than last summer. Just have to test everything out now before setting off in earnest in a months time. Here's to a good weekend!

Elvie

Digital Photos in a Downpour

Yesterday V & I joined another of Tim Colliers one day courses. This one covered landscape photography visiting various sites in the Brecon Beacons by minibus. There were only six on the course so we benefited from plenty of personal attention. Unfortunately part of the service involved Tim holding the umbrella over us in turn so we could take photos without getting totally drenched, while the thunder rumbled around us. The weather was dreadful! Despite that he took us to some wonderful, dramatic and quite remote places where we managed to take some good pictures despite the conditions and have a good laugh in the process.


I came away with plenty to think about next time I'm shooting landscapes. I must say the brief stop in the pub towards the end where we could dry off, warm up and view some of Tims fabulous photos of Flat Holm and Skokholm was a great relief. I'll certainly be looking out for more of his courses.



My waterproofs were totally inadequate so I'll be treating myself to some new ones very soon. The camera survived, just! It steamed up with condensation inside the lens, late in the day. Fortunately it had all cleared this morning and is working perfectly. One bonus of the day was meeting one of the other participants, T, who is an experienced photographer. I've been invited to join him and his friend on their regular Wednesday photoshoots which will be a great way to learn more

Elvie

If you go down to the woods today

No Teddy Bears I'm afraid, only Elvie trying to be artistic!



Obviously suffering for her art. After a long exciting day on Skomer, a gentle stroll through the local wood was the obvious way to wind down. Elvie took her camera along, and couldn't resist the temptation to take a couple of shots, and I couldn't resist recording it for posterity. LB

Walking on Skomer

Had a great day on Skomer yesterday. We joined a guided walk run by the National Park Authority. The first bonus of doing the walk was that our group of about twenty had priority on the boat, so no queueing. We then had 6 hours on the island in glorious sunshine, walked about 4 miles, enjoyed a picnic on the outermost headland and saw thousands of seabirds.

There's an inlet callled the Wick where you can get close up to the puffins and the cliffs are full of the nests of guillemots, razor bills and kittiwakes. Also there are several pairs of chough nesting so I finally managed to get a photo of one.


Annie, our guide, was very informative and really added to our enjoyment. Having got an overview of the whole island I'm looking forward to going back again and spending more time in the areas of most interest.
Elvie

Boat Trip

As the lovely weather is continuing we have come to our caravan for a few days. With plenty of sun and no wind today we took the opportunity of getting the boat out. On the move it was a bit chillier than we'd anticipated so were glad to stop and drift at times to warm up in the sun. There was a flat calm between Skokholm and Skomer so we managed to motor around both islands. We didn't spot any seals or porpoises but there was the usual range of seabirds, the most entertaining, of course, being the puffins. A spot of fishing on the Stack Rocks provided two mackerel for my tea.

Back ashore we booked a guided walk on Skomer for tomorrow so we'll have fully explored it in these two days. I'll take my dslr camera as it won't be at risk of seawater so hope to get some photos of the birds

Visitors & Medieval Village

Last weekend we had some friends to stay. We had a busy time beforehand, cleaning and tidying but once they arrived it was a perrfect weekend. The weather was glorious so on Saturday we just chilled in the garden. Anne & I had fun with my close up lenses trying to get photos of flowers insides. Will post photos shortly.

On the Sunday we visited Cosmeston Medieval Village. It dates from 14th century and was wealthy and high status. The village has been reconstructed on the original archeological remains. I can only say I'm glad I don't live in C14th, I want a bit more comfort than this! Anyway it was an interesting end to the weekend