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Renée and I enjoyed a nice atmosphere in The Gate pub in Arkley for a Christmas lunch. Doesn't matter if we celebrate it or not. Never a bad excuse for a party atmosphere...
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Renée and I waiting for our food. | Looking around the pub. |
The last night of Chanukah, and a birthday ginger man present. (Thanks Renée! It was delicious!)
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A full menorah on the last night of Chanukah. Middle shot without flash makes for a more moody shot. | Birthday gingerbread man. |
iPhone photos from a snow covered Golders Hill Park. I've never seen this park under snow before, and it was indeed very pretty. I was joined by girlfriend Renée and her friend Nancy. In places drifts were ankle deep or more. We had a nice trudge through the snow before retreating to the park café for hot chocolates while kids sledged outside. Not often you see this much snow in London, let alone before Christmas!
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Parking up as more snow fell. | Nancy and Renée, and Mike and Renée, at the park entrance well wrapped and squinting against the snowflakes and icy wind. | Snow everywhere we looked! Much thicker away from the warmer main road. Nancy and Renée in the first shot. |
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Resident deer in one of the animal enclosures. | Looking across to the avian enclosures. | Nancy and Renée by the deer enclosure. | Renée and Mike by the deer enclosure. | Snow covered picnic table by a kids play area. | Nancy and Renée in a deeper patch of snow. |
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Mike and Renée in a deeper patch of snow. | The rather frozen water garden area. | Nancy and Renée in the water garden. | Mike and Renée in the water garden. | The duck pond. |
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The duck pond. | Mike and Renée at the duck pond. | Kids sledging on the hill above the duck pond. | The duck pond. | Looking past the duck pond to ornamental gardens beyond. |
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The ornamental gardens. | Brr cold feet! | Renée and Mike near the café, below the hill. | A christmas tree by the park entrance looking very festive in the snow. |
Photos from bonfire night at Lasham.
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Bonfire and BBQ at Lasham Airfield. | 3 shots showing the dynamic nature of the fire. Flames leaping 20+ feet high. | iPhone shot looking rather dramatic! | Reflection in the clubhouse windows. | Glowing embers as the fire dies down. |
Pictures from Devil's Dyke and Barnhill.
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Looking West along the South Downs from Devil's Dyke. | Looking Northwestwards across West Sussex from Devil's Dyke. | Devil's Dyke pub. | Wembley Stadium from Barnhill. |
Another trip to Kew gardens, another collection of nice pictures. Always worth a trip to one of the best gardens in the country. There were also some tropical butterflies in the tropical house. See the Butterflies and Moths 2010 page to see pictures of these.
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A cool cactus display not far from the main car park entrance. | A sculpture. | Cacao plant (chocolate!). | Looking across the tropical house. | Tropical orchid. |
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More tropical orchids. | A cool moth sculpture. | Titan Arum plant. It will produce the biggest flower in the world eventually. | More tropical flowers. | Bananas. | Cactii and a moth sculpture in the dry tropical section. |
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Flowers in the alpine section. | The alpine section. | Walking along a pergola. |
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Ornate gardens next to the pergola. Alpine section visible in the background. | Inside the conservatory containing a large lilly pond. | Lilly pond flowers. |
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More lilly pond flowers and peppers. | Inside the palm house. Some of the palm leaves are massive. | More ornate gardens outside. |
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The japanese pagoda and garden. | Inside the conservatory that tries to imagine what it looked like in the prehistoric past. | The steps up to the treetop walkway. |
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Views from the treetop walkway including a 2 shot panorama. The tapes off corner was due to an exercise involving firemen (did not appear to be an emergency so good). |
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More views from the treetop walkway. | A nice pond. | A very tame coot. | Very tame ducks. |
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Very tame duck. | Arty bridge over the pond. | Another view of the pond. | Looking along a large grass avenue towards one of the conservatories. | TODO: Identify. |
A Greater Spotted Woodpecker and Parakeet feeding on a fat snax feeder in the garden in Kenton. They kept coming back for more! I managed to get some long range maximum zoom shots despite poor light conditions for the woodpecker and fast movements making it difficult. Here are the best captures.
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Greater Spotted Woodpecker. | Parakeet. |
Pictures from Sharpenhoe during a trip to see the Dark Green Fritillary butterflies. See the Butterflies and Moths 2010 page to see the butterfly pictures taken at the same time.
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Meadow flowers on the East slope of Sharpenhoe Clappers. | Exploring the Beech forest at the top of the ridge (Western side). Looking down to the meadows below and Sharpenhoe village. | Sitting at a bench on the Western side of the ridge and looking Northwest at the view over the bushes. |
Summer in full swing in Kenton.
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Summer 2010 in Kenton. The garden from my bedroom window. |
Miscellaneous pictures from Kenton, Lasham and Esher Common. The Esher Common heather was where lots of Silver Studded Blue butterflies lived. See the Butterflies and Moths 2010 page to see the butterfly pictures taken at the same time.
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Sheep on the Dunstable Downs. | Walking along from Bison Hill to the Chiltern Gateway visitor centre. | Kite being flown near the visitor centre. | Paraglider ridge soaring the Dunstable Downs. |
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Poppies. | The paraglider coming back past again. | Looking towards Pascomb Pit, Five Knolls and Dunstable. | Looking towards Totternhoe Knolls. | The Old Swan pub in Cheddington. |
Miscellaneous pictures from Kenton, Lasham and Esher Common. The Esher Common heather was where lots of Silver Studded Blue butterflies lived. See the Butterflies and Moths 2010 page to see the butterfly pictures taken at the same time.
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Tiger Lillies in Kenton. | My caravan at Lasham. | Purple Heather and small but pretty yellow flowers on the edge of Esher Common. |
Miscellaneous pictures taken during a butterfly trip to Collard Hill in Somerset.
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Panoramic view from Collard Hill. | A Greater Butterfly Orchid. | Another pretty orchid. |
The old shed in the garden being demolished after maybe 50 years of service.
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The old shed cleared of its contents and ready to be demolished. | Demolition had to stop prematurely as a bee's nest was discovered and a pest controller had to be called out. | After the nest removal was completed, there was soon an empty space where the shed used to be. | New shed being built. | The completed new shed. |
General pictures taken during a butterfly trip to Park Corner Heath.
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Buzzards flying past after soaring in a thermal. | Shield bug. | Park Corner Heath. |
A trip to Dockey Wood on the Ashridge Estate where the bluebells were most impressive. Then to the Bridgewater Monument for tea and cake, and my first time up the tower.
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Dockey Wood, with the most impressive Bluebell display I have ever seen. | The Bridgewater Monument on the Ashridge Estate above Aldbury. | Looking towards Ashridge House from the top of the monument. |
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Views from the top of the monument. A 360 degree panorama, the church in Aldbury, and long range views of Canary Wharf and Wembley Stadium through the distant haze. |
Yet more miscellaneous pictures.
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2 long range shots of a juvenile robin in the garden in Kenton. |
More miscellaneous pictures.
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New bird feeders (2 of them squirrelproof) and a closeup of the seed feeder which is being visited by 2 Greenfinches. | Lewis Hamilton's 2007 F1 Car on display at Brent Cross Shopping Centre. | Bluebells by Horsenden Hill. |
A few pics taken on the Dunstable Downs and in the Aldenham area.
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Church on a mound at Edlesborough seen from the Dunstable Downs. | Looking along the Dunstable Downs from the Dunstable end. | Kites being flown at the Chiltern Gateway visitor centre on top of the Dunstable Downs. |
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Crocuses in Letchmore Heath. | Snowdrops near Aldenham. | Confluence of the river Ver (left) into the Colne (flowing towards the camera). | Wooden Sculpture by the river Ver just upstream of the confluence with the Colne. |
More general Greenford pictures in icy conditions on the 1st. Kenton garden birds on the 6th.
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Coot on the ice. | Canal boat negotiating ice on the grand union canal. | Green Woodpecker feeding on ants. | Green Woodpecker feeding on ants. |
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The same Green Woodpecker resting on a Horse Chestnut tree branch. | Herons gathered in a field. | Waterbird flying over Paradise Meadows in Greenford. | A Shoveler (now on its own) swims past a Coot's nest. |
On the 7th we'd just had heavy snowfall and very cold conditions. I took pictures at the Main Lagoon pond in Paradise Fields near Horsenden Hill. By the 21st the pond had defrosted. I kept trying to get better pictures of the Shovelers but they were keeping well away from me alas. On the 23rd a flock of Goldfinches visited the garden in Kenton. The first time I've seen them here. I tried to get photos but light levels were poor and they didn't stay for long.
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Grey Heron standing on ice. | Coots on ice next to a hole. | Cheeky Bluetit knocking snow onto me from above. | Pair of Male Shovelers. | Coots. |
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More pictures of the Shovelers. | Parakeet. | Great Tit singing loudly just above me. |
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Two long range attempts at photographing a fast moving Goldfinch in Kenton in poor light conditions. | A better (still long range) Shoveler shot showing the green tint to its head. | Grey Heron. The first time I've seen one away from water. | Moorhen. | Mallard ducks. |