BeforeAssembly.jpg
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I just couldn't resist. I was a technic lego fan as a kid. Now I am a biker. So when this lego bike kit got reviewed in weekly bike paper Motorcycle News I just couldn't resist grabbing one from Amazon. It also makes a great ornament.
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BeforeAssembly.jpg |
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| The kit before assembly. | The cruiser model with moving V4 engine and chain. | |||
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| The main street bike model, complete with working chain, rear suspension and moving V4 engine. | |||
Another Autumnal sunny lunchtime walk in Gunnersbury Park.
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| Almost luminous berries on a conifer. | Bright red ivy growing on a wall. | A tiny patterned mushroom growing in the grass. | |
These flowers and grasshopper were amongst the butterflies moths and dragonflies spotted at Bicester airfield on this day.
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| Yellow flowers. | Purple flower. | 2 shots of a grasshopper. | |
It took me about 6 months, but here it is - my first 3000 piece jigsaw puzzle finally finished. :)
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| A completed 3000 piece jigsaw puzzle! |
Pictures taken during my trip to Sharpenhoe Clappers and Bison Hill nature reserves near Dunstable. As well as butterflies, there were some great views of the countryside to be had from the ridges. For more details of these see 18th July 2005 on the Butterfly pages. I also returned to Sharpenhoe on the 11th August with my sister and mother who rather enjoyed the view from the top of the ridge.
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| 2 views from Sharpenhoe Clappers. | 2 views from Bison Hill. | London Gliding Club is also visible from Bison Hill. | ||
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| My sister and mother enjoying the view Westwards from the ridge at Sharpenhoe. | Steps leading up the side of the ridge from the north. It was dark in the woods so difficult to keep steady. | Panorama to the north from a meadow atop the ridge. |
Hoverfly in Kenton, Wembley Stadium from Barnhill and unusual pink flowers.
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| Hoverfly. | Wembley stadium. | These flowers are normally purple. | |
Flower pictures from Gunnersbury Nature Reserve, Kenton and Gunnersbury Park.
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| 2 shots of a flower. | Tiger lillies. | 2 shots of Buddlehia flowers. | ||
Pictures from Barnhill, Gunnersbury Park and Kenton.
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| Wembley Stadium. | Insect with very long antennae. | Flowers on a stalk. | Closeup of Lilac blossom. |
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| Closeup of Horse Chestnut blossom. | Buttercups. | The Pine Tree in a pot that I grew from a seed I picked up in the South of France. | Flower closeup. |
A tulip in Gunnersbury Park, and bluebells in Gunnersbury Nature Reserve. Plus more white / bluebells and blossom in the park.
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| Looking at a tulip from the side and inside from the top. | White and blue bluebells. | Blossom. | Black cat hiding in branches on top of a gate post. | |||
Daffodils at their peak in Gunnersbury Park, plus other multi-coloured flowers. also wildlife from Horsenden Hill.
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| Daffodils of various types. | Multi-coloured flowers. | Bumblebee feeding on a catkin. | Long range shot of a Red-breasted Robin singing away to its neighbours. | |||
A few pictures taken during the flight home from New York as we passed over Ireland, Wales and England early in the day. It was very hazy indeed up there, so some pictures have fairly poor contrast as a result.
Far more weather pictures were taken. Go to the Weather 2005 pages to see them.
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| The first islands as we approach South West Ireland after a long dark trip over the Atlantic. | An airfield (possibly Brawdy (disused)) on the coast as we reached South West Wales. | A lucky shot of Windsor Castle fending off the fog as it whizzed past during approach from the West to Heathrow Airport. | |
Sparrows near Battery Park, and a selection of various well known Manhattan landmarks seen during a trip to New York.
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| Empire State Building. | 2 Police Harleys! | Fire Engine on a call passing in a hurry. | Tame sparrows scavenging cup-cake crumbs we had accidentally dropped. | ||
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| Statue Of Liberty and Manhattan as seen from the Staten Island ferry. | The towers used in Ghostbusters. Seen through a gap in the Central Park elm trees. | 3 photo vertical panorama of St. Patrick's Cathedral in 5th Avenue. | New York Stock Exchange, Wall St. | Grand Central Station. Huge! | |
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| 360 degree panorama taken from the 86th floor viewing platform on top of the Empire state building. A couple of dodgy seams but still a good view. Lower Manhattan and Statue Of Liberty to the South visible just left of the panorama centre. Central Park visible far right. |
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| School bus spotted in China Town. | Memorial in Battery Park to the World Trade Center, featuring the battered statue that originally stood in the WTC lobby. | Nasdaq in Times Square. |
The cold air arrived alright! Complete with numerous snow showers. It stopped the daffodils right in their tracks. See the Weather 2005 page for the snow pictures. Meanwhile spotted a curious water bird I'd never seen before.
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| Daffodil struggling open in the cold air. | A water bird. |
The first Gunnersbury Park daffodils are open now. And I spotted some pink blossom too. Spring on the way? (Ironically we are due the coldest weather fo the winter in a few days!)
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| 2 closeups of an early daffodil. | Pink blossom. | ||
I finally got a chance to get some decent pics of my bike and me on it. A 5 year old Honda CB500S which is way more fun to ride than a car is to drive especially in the rush hour traffic.
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| 3 shots of the bike parked in my driveway. The red car is the Vauxhall Corsa I still drive too. | Me on the bike in full gear with and without bright hi-visibility jacket, and posing without helmet and gloves. | ||||
Signs that an early spring is around the corner. The crocuses are now in bloom. They and the snowdrops were looking nice even in the persistently cloudy weather during this period. However the sun came out on the 7th allowing the crocuses to shine properly.
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| A clump of crocuses, and a closeup on one of them. | Another passing helicopter. | Snowdrops | Emerging yellow crocus. | |
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| Snowdrops seen from a different angle to normal. | Two shots of a yellow crocus. | Group of yellow crocuses. | ||
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| Purple crocuses in all their glory once the sun finally shines. | ||||
In contrast to the 13th - 14th, today was rather cold. Didn't stop a parakeet posing for me though!
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| My best shots yet of a parakeet. | A pair of crows in a tree. | A passing helicopter. | ||||
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| More squirrels. | Snowdrops. | The tower outside the office back entrance. | ||
A remarkably mild spell of weather. Felt more like spring than mid winter. Despite incorrectly setting the ISO to 400 by accident (resulting in grainy images - although despeckling helped) I still managed some nice pictures of creatures including some bumblebees that I would not normally expect to see at this time of year. I also spotted a Red Admiral butterfly coming out of hibernation on the 12th and basking in the sun before vanishing again.
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| I've never seen a bumblebee this large in January before. Feeding on winter flowers. | Long range shot of a very small bird in a tree. | More winter flowers. | Another bumblebee. | Long range shot of a Blue Tit bird. | Squirrel. |
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| My closest ever shots of a squirrel. Shame about the ISO grains. Although in one way it almost looks arty. | Catkins | ||||