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Kinda Bold

Rosebay willowherb autumn colour
Chamaenerion angustifolium (Rosebay willowherb)

Rosebay willowherb is a colonising weed that appeared in the final picture on my recent post about Darwen moor. While few of us who know it would care to cultivate it, I have seen a white form in some fancy gardens. The pink form, shown here, is eminently overlookable, not because it lacks beauty but because of its ubiquity. It would be impossible to take a countryside walk round here without meeting it along the way.

I found these plants growing wild on the edge of farmland and was struck by how lovely they looked in their autumn colours. Early evening light and a blue sky added a little magic. Continue reading “Kinda Bold”

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Vintage Car Chrome

Flying lady hood ornament on green vintage car

It always amuses me how so many words connected to cars differ in the USA and the UK. Gear lever. Wing mirror. Windscreen. Bonnet. Belisha beacon. Central reservation. We Give Way and overtake. We rent a car, drive on a dual carriageway and stop on the hard shoulder (in an emergency only).

So while I think of this as a car mascot, since these are American cars, hood ornament is more appropriate.

I’m far from being a car fanatic, so what interests me here is not the car or even the flying lady mascot, but the reflected waves that make the far side of the bonnet so abstract. I have no idea what caused them. Something about them reminds me of corrugated leaves – a hosta, for example – so I’m claiming this is about as close anyone can get to making a car look like a plant in the absence of vegetation. I’d be intrigued by any rival claims! Continue reading “Vintage Car Chrome”

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Backlit Stems With Seeds

Backlit furry geranium stems and seeds

Most of my ‘art’ shots are happy accidents. I give myself some credit for spotting an interesting subject, and playing with light, but can’t claim to have a clue how the picture will turn out. Here light seems to have been trapped by the hairy geranium stems and, by a stroke of luck, tinted pink. A smattering of blue blur circles in the top left of the picture hint at a blue sky, although they might be flowers. Continue reading “Backlit Stems With Seeds”