Wildlife day out

Following my previous Blog - here is a selection of images taken on the day out to the Westcountry Wildlife centre.

'Ratty' AKA a water vole.

The male polecat getting stuck into a grey squirrel.

The sweet, but somewhat reticent little female pole cat.

A muntjak deer.  Just look at those wicked little tusks?

A vixen looking cute.

Challenging her three-legged friend for food!

A Scottish wildcat.  Don't try stroking this wee beastie!!

An otter - posing nicely on a branch!

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A Grand Day Out

In company with members of Ivybridge Camera Club, twelve of us spent Saturday at the Westcountry Wildlife Park (http://www.wcwpc.co.uk) near Lifton.

"We see no foxes!"

The Paparazzi getting serious with polecats!

An abundance of captive British wildlife were around for us to photography.  While I'm not a fan of taking pictures of captive wild creatures - I have to admit it does make the task of building up a portfolio of pictures much easier.  When the little set-ups are carefully constructed such as it appears that the animals are indeed living 'wild and free' - it does make the whole thing more enjoyable.

Scottish wildcats?  What wildcats?

Creeping up on the wild boars!

We were lucky enough to have the services of an experienced photographer.  Launceston Camera Club (http://www.launcestoncameraclub.co.uk) member, Chris Robbins (http://www.chrisrobbins.co.uk) was on hand to guide us through the day.  His website is well worth a visit and is really inspirational.

Thanks to Ivybridge Camera Club for organising this day out, fixing the weather so efficiently - and all involved with the Westcountry Wildlife Park!

This and that

In-between showers, work in the garden continues.

We have now cut down the beech hedge and cleared up the resulting rubbish.  Tubs and hanging baskets now take up a lot of time with watering!

Weddings continue - roughly once a week.

The latest one took place at Breage, near Helston - with the reception at Two Bridges on Dartmoor.  Quite a bit of tripping around (2 hours drive between Plymouth and Breage - and another 2 hours from Breage to Two Bridges!)

But it was well worth it.  A delightful couple and a wonderful ceremony, conducted by the groom's mother.

Two Bridges Hotel, a few miles from Princetown, is a superb venue, and the manager is really photographer friendly - a rare and pleasant change!!

So - all in all, a lovely (albeit tiring) day!

Operation Sunshine

On Wednesday 22nd June 2011, the founder of Operation Sunshine joined volunteers and helpers at Whitchurch Parish Church to celebrate 30 years since the founding of this wonderful charity.

Kathleen Harding - who now lives in Tanzanier, flew to the UK to join in with the commemoration celebrations.

The church was beautifully decorated with flowers in the yellow/gold spectrum, to highlight Africa's sunshine - and the whole ethos of this charity - which is to send to some of Africa's poorest people, caste-offs from our own affluent society.

This delightful little tableaux shows just some of the goods that have been collected and sent to Africa over the years.  From toothbrushes, clothing, school equipment, bikes, foodstuffs to rusty garden equipment.  Just about anything and everything is gratefully received and sent to Africa - most recently to Zimbabwe.

Kath spoke most eloquently on how she envisioned the charity, and how it grew and blossomed into the wonderful organisation it now is.

After the service of Thanksgiving - a most welcome tea was laid on in the Village Hall.

Husband Mike videoed the how event - and I was asked to photograph it!

Nature - the good and the bad!

We love the birds - and feed them (probably better than ourselves!) on a regular basis!

However - Public Enemy No 1 - is the bane of my life!  Our bird feeders are more like something out of Fort Knox!  Everything is caged and guarded - which adds enormously to the cost of feeding our little feathered friends.  But still the squirrels persist - even to the extend of chopping down branches on trees if they can't get at the food in the feeders!  So - please - don't anyone say "ah" when they see the pesky-pest's pix?!!

Bright and early the other morning, I was rewarded by seeing - not one - but FOUR Jays skipping about on the lawn, trying to work out how to get into the caged ground feeder.

Notoriously shy birds, they flitted off at the first noise from the kitchen.  So I missed being able to catch four of them on the lawn. However, they returned later - but not as a bunch - and the following pix are the best of a poor selection I managed to get on that occasion.

I think it's a family of Jays - Mum, Dad and two of their young.  They seem to come into the garden very early in the morning - so the camera is now set up on the tripod, ready for action - so with a bit of luck, I may yet be able to post a picture of FOUR Jays in my garden!

Where does time go?

Despite all my good intentions - time has run away with me once again!

Very busy with weddings - which I enjoy immensely.  Some couples are a sheer delight - as were these two who were married recently.  What a difference it makes when the couple are relaxed, happy and so clearly in love as they were!  I have no doubt their's will be a long and happy marriage.

Plymouth half marathon took place last weekend.  Managed to nip down to Saltram Park and put into practice some of the techniques I am learning from doing the weddings.  Here are a couple of examples of slow shutter speeds, panning with the subjects, and using a bit of fill-in flash!

Finally, a few of Ivybridge Camera Club members invited me to join them one lovely evening recently for a yomp across the Moors.  The weather was wonderful - and the skies quite breathtaking!  Just snapping for the sheer joy of it - so good for the soul!!

Must go and do some gardening now!

Cheers-

Cornwall Trip

Following the trip to Skye - I had another three days in Cornwall.  Weather was very kind and we got some good shots.

Cliff Side Engine Houses

Dawn at St Michael's Mount

Waterfall at Cape Cornwall

Torchlit Lanyon Qoit

Zoom Burst Daffodil Field

Back to work now - and the garden is in dire need of some attention.  Will try to be a better communicant in future!