There are more and more signs of spring. I can’t remember the name of these blue flowers (in any language) – I think they’re some kind of runaway garden flower rather than properly “wild”. I found them in a small grove close to some apartment buildings yesterday, together with mini daffodils…
… and some more Small Tortoiseshell butterflies…
It’s good to see them back!
Sorry the pictures are a little blurry, I’m not terribly good at bending down to the ground and holding my camera completely still at the same time…!
Another sign of spring is the sound of the gulls. I live an hour’s drive (or so) away from the coast, but they follow the river (I suppose) in the spring and come inland. Yesterday afternoon, I sat for a little while in the sun on my balcony… Closing my eyes, hearing the gulls, I get the feeling of being by the sea… I also see them circling in the sky high above me, but no use trying to catch them with my camera from that distance.
There is definitely life in my clematis plant on the balcony – the buds are swelling. But the box of garden strawberry plants seemed to have given up. (I’ve had that box for years without being able to add any new soil, and this winter was extremely cold.) So I’ve got rid of that now.
3 comments:
Beautiful springtime pictures! How were you able to get so close to the butterfly? It's beautiful. Did you use a zoom? I know what you mean about bending down with the camera!! I've missed many good shots because of my bad back, I can't bend quite low enough to use the macro.
I tried looking in my Flora now and I think the blue flower is most likely a Scilla bifolia - a bulbforming, perennial herb. That would fit with the time of year. (I also suspect someone might have put down some bulbs in that spot of "no-man's-land" where I found it, when emptying a flowerbox from their balcony or garden.)
Ginny, this was a zoom shot of the butterfly and then cropping it. I only have 3x zoom so don't get very close if I'm not close enough to use the macro. Last summer I was able to get some good macro shots of butterflies but then they were kindly posing for me on high flowers, so I didn't have to bend down! ;)
Not having any of my armoury of flower books here I'd wondered if the blue one was a gentian but it doesn't look like the Wikipedia entry so I wouldn't have had a clue. So now I've learned a thitd thig already today. This is one thing, however, that I'm unlikely to remember.
Rather pleasant eing able to sit out on a balcony. It's usually too windy (or too midgy) to sit outside in the sun on Lewis! Although here in Nz it's the summer norm. I shall miss that.
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