Weekly Photo Challenge: Circle 3

I’m going to stretch the title of ‘Circle’ today because as we are in 2d the following photos have circles in them….However, in 3d, they are spheres….what can I say?

Oh what a pretty looking plant
All pink and light light green…….

And here’s another
Just like the other
The sweetest flower I’ve seen!

But hold your horses, wait a mo

Look how big it’s got

It stands at least 8 inches tall

Shy wallflower-I think not!……

As always let’s take a closer look

Oh my how green and pink

But this sweet plant is bisexual (so I’m informed!)

Now doesn’t that make you think!

Bushy, spreading, hairless

A smelly, perennial shrub

This plant is called an Inkweed

Not welcome in any country club!

‘Dense, erect, cylindrical’ describes the flower clusters

But  look what happens very soon

Oh what a great big buster……

Soon life’s circle is whizzing around

And the berries lose their lustre

And in no time at all

A tired droop is all he can muster!!

That’s All!

See Ya xx

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Look at this! Inkweed!

In October last year I wrote a post about a plant I found with the most amazing fruit/berry. I had no idea what it was! Thanks to other ‘WordPressers’ I found out that the plant was called Inkweed and is native to America and Australia! So what it’s doing in a small village in Bedfordshire I have never quite fathomed!

Here’s the link to the original post where I was trying to find out what it was if you fancy a look!

https://elleturner4.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/but-what-is-it/

So when I was at the allotment the other day, what should I notice but the very same inkweed (Hank as I called him back then!) but this time ‘Hank’ is in full and very pretty pink flower! Not sure if Hank is an appropriate name now!

Have a look at this!

Isn’t it pretty!

Some close up shots…..

You just wouldn’t think something this beautiful could be poisonous!!

Oh, by the way….its flower is bisexual and and the flowerhead is erect! Don’t tut at me, that’s what it said in the description!

And here’s a photo is it in full berry last October….

What a beauty!

 

That’s All!

See Ya xx

Weekly Photo Challenge: My 2012 in Pictures

What a hard task this has been!

January 2012-With new camera in hand, I began experimenting with close up photos!

February 2012-The last flowers my dad sent to my mum before he died

March 2012-Preparations for my mum’s art exhibition

 

April 2012-Ceiling of Mosque in Muscat

 

May 2012-Beautiful flower that I chose as my blog picture

 

June 2012-Wow…Cinnabar Moth

 

July 2012-So pretty I couldn’t resist leaning over someone’s garden wall to take this photo

 

August 2012-A well needed rest in my villa in Turkey…it’s available for rent!

 

September 2012- A new discovery for me…Inkweed fruit

 

October 2012-The captivating Chinese Lantern plant

 

November 2012-I took hundreds of photos of this most gorgeous Mandarin duck

 

December 2012-The heaviest frost I have ever seen

 

Out on a walk!

Today, I have various photos and an ink weed update (it’s getting mouldier too!)

If you were interested, you could search my posts for ink weed and get the whole picture!

First off, not something I would normally strive to photograph…and yet I knew it had some pretty good colour and some fine detail…….

He’s trying to get into my compost heap!

Then further afield, quite literally, I saw this rather fine  horse…

Have you spotted what my next pic will focus on?

 

Just look at this!

Henry became a little irritated the more I focused my camera on his nose!

And finally….the latest ink weed photo!

Poor old Hank!

And that’s all for today!

Se Ya xx

Inkweed update!

Feel like I’ve been away from blogging for ages, though in truth it’s only a few days. I was going to show you some photos of ivy but I happened to go to my allotment and remembered my old mate the ink weed. So that is what I bring you today.

Don’t forget to hover over the photos!

Well poor old Inkweed isn’t long for this world I would say!

Here is the once proud beast himself…

Poor old Hank!

And here’s an even sadder shot of Hank really close up….

Yeuchhhh!

For those of you who know nothing of this beastie….It is the Inkweed and it comes from the USA and Australia but I found some here in England in the village I live in!

This is my third update on its history and life!

This is what it looked like when I first found it at the beginning of September….

How the mighty are fallen!

I think it is amazing and I will keep watching Hank (story of his name in previous blog!) and keeping updates.

I am going to finish on a photo of a rather lovely swan that I saw by the canal today…..

What a beauty!

And one last one….

And with that Sigourney Swan turned tail and was gone!

 That’s all!

See Ya xx

Inkweed update and silly stuff!

You may (or may not!) remember my blog which asked the question…”But what is it?” at the beginning of October.

The answer was Inkweed!

What had happened was I had photographed a plant and its berries and put them on a blog to find out if anyone knew what it was! To cut a long story short someone thought it was related to Pokeweed, which led me to discovering that it was Inkweed (though what this plant, native to North America and Australia, was doing not far from London I’ll never know!).

Here’s the original photo-it’s about 8 inches long……(not the photo, the fruity planty thing!)

A fine specimen!

You will have to read my blog “This is what it is” to find out why he is called Hank!

Anyway, this was taken toward the end of September, so I thought it would be good to see what it looked like now…..

Notice the Autumnal feel around Hank

And here’s a real good old close up!

The small(ish) pips seem to be opening out.

 

I will go and take more photos in a week or so to keep you updated!

Here’s the silly bit….

Sometimes I feel quite laughy

And then sometimes I don’t

But if you slip on banana skin

I’ll laugh, don’t think I won’t

Sometimes I can be naughty

Sometimes I can be rude

But you will never ever ever

See me in the nude!

And that’s all!

See Ya xx

Blogtoberfest! OOOOOOH It’s so scary in my house!!

Ok, so one of the blogs I follow is “Lady or Not….Here I Come”, which I find jolly darned amusing. At the moment Becca (she who blogs) has a Blogtoberfest on, where she has challenged us readers to post scary stories.

“I’m up for that!” I thought and began to think!

First off I have to post this picture….

Yes I will!

Here in the UK it has been a very wet year. Plants have grown unusually large…6 foot stinging nettles…very large ink weed berries (see earlier blog)….Himalayan Balsam that you could build a house with (look them up they’re amazing)!! But with this wet weather came slugs and snails (no puppy dog tails mind!) and spiders galore.

I know, I know, the scary bit is coming!

So to illustrate….some pics…

All very well you may think, but not very scary…

Well here’s the scary bit….Inside my house there has been an invasion…..not of slugs or snails, but of really small, long legged spiders who make many fine webs all over the place. Now you may think that this is not scary if you are of the “House proud” persuasion. If you are like that, then you will have brushed and dusted them away before they took over! I am not like you!

Everywhere I turn I see….

“Get away from meeeee!”

 

And here’s Graham’s mate lurking in another room!

How does he hang like that?

 

 

And do you know what else scared me this very evening? There I was sitting in my chair when I noticed movement on my top! Then out wriggled an earwig, who then proceeded to clamber down my curves!! Without missing a beat I grabbed him and put him in a pot to photograph for you…..urgggghhhhh!

Got you you blighter!

 

 

But here are some photos of things that really really really frighten me in my own house…

The Understairs Cupboard

The Spare Room

The Wash Basket!

The tupperware type thing cupboard with extra added iron!

The Utensil Drawer!

That’s all!

See Ya xx

This is what it is…

Here’s my photo from yesterday’s blog of a mystery plant that is about 8 inches tall, pretty magnificent but without a name…

It is Ink Weed!

Thanks to JM who pointed me in the right direction with a suggestion of ‘Poke Weed’.

Now just a little aside, having looked up images of Ink Weed, I was innocently showing a lady I don’t know particularly well the results of the google search when she suddenly said….”Ooh what’s that?”

Imagine my horror when there amongst the images was a naked lady in a provocative pose!! I very quickly moved swiftly on whilst blushing almost as red as the Ink Weed’s berries! Anyway, here’s one of those photos (NO not the rude one….an internet photo of Ink Weed!)….

Definitely not as big as mine!

The websites with information about Ink Weed are from Australia and America and here are some quotes from them….

• Not a legally declared Pest Plant. Often found in moist areas
• Flower head-erect
• Flowers-bisexual
• Eradication strategies(!)-Drag a railway iron or similar across heavy infestations

I will certainly not employ the eradication strategy as I saw the plant in someone’s garden and I’m not sure it would be very neighbourly to begin the railway iron process!

I’m thinking that some of the quotes from various websites could be the reason for the saucy images on the same pages! Definitely some double entendre sort of words.

So-the mystery is solved! But one last thing…on my iPhoto there is the ability for it to recognise faces and I noticed that when looking at one of the photos, iPhoto wanted me to add a name….so I did….

Your name is Hank!

 

That’s all..

See Ya xx