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Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,South Warrington,Cheshire,England,WA4 3DS,WA4,Coprinus comatus,or,shaggy mane,edible,nature,natural,rural,countryside,fall,the fall,autumn,leaves,scene,low,macro,close-up,bell,shaped,cap,harvest,habitat,specimen,growing,deliquesce,deliquescence,ecology,fruiting body,white,black,mycology
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2T20EG8 - Coprinus comatus, commonly known as the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a common fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas. The young fruit bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then the bell-shaped caps open out. The caps are white, and covered with scalesthis is the origin of the common names of the fungus. The gills beneath the cap are white, then pink, then turn black and deliquesce ('melt') into a black liquid filled with spores (hence the ink cap name).[2] This mushroom is unusual because it will turn black and dissolve itself in a matter of hours after being picked or depositing spores.
When young it is an excellent edible mushroom provided that it is eaten soon after being collected (it keeps very badly because of the autodigestion of its gills and cap). If long-term storage is desired, microwaving, sauteing or simmering until limp will allow the mushrooms to be stored in a refrigerator for several days or frozen. Also, placing the mushrooms in a glass of ice water will delay the decomposition for a day or two so that one has time to incorporate them into a meal. Processing or icing must be done whether for eating or storage within four to six hours of harvest to prevent undesirable changes to the mushroom. The species is cultivated in China as food.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,L1,bird,The,bombed out church,church,Leece St,Leece Street,Liverpool,England,UK,nature,natural,Home Tweet Home,bird box,birdhouse,bird nesting box,urban wildlife,sustainable design,eco design,architectural installation,garden feature,public art,environmental design,British design,recycled materials,wooden bird box,Ellis Williams Architects,architects project,sustainability,biodiversity,wildlife support,green design,eco friendly architecture,garden installation,urban garden,conservation,nature in cities
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2RJ3YKH - A close view of the Home Tweet Home bird box, a small-scale architectural and environmental installation created by Ellis Williams Architects. The wooden birdhouse is mounted on a post and incorporates a planted grass roof, a feeding container, and a carefully constructed nesting chamber, demonstrating principles of sustainable and wildlife-friendly design. A small sign attached to the structure reads Ellis Williams Architects Home Tweet Home, clearly identifying the project and its creators.
The design reflects contemporary architectural interest in biodiversity, urban wildlife support, and the integration of nature into the built environment. By combining practical bird-nesting features with thoughtful materials and form, the installation functions both as a habitat for birds and as a piece of public or garden-based design-led interpretation. The surrounding greenery and outdoor setting reinforce themes of environmental responsibility, conservation, and the role of architects in promoting ecological awareness beyond buildings alone.
The image is well suited to editorial and commercial uses illustrating sustainability, architecture-led environmental initiatives, British design practice, and small-scale interventions that encourage wildlife in urban or semi-urban spaces.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,England,UK,British,city,centre,Merseyside,Royal,Pier Head,Liverpool,L3 4AF,L3,Pierhead,ball,nations,countries,tourism,calling,all,reflection,earth,planet,our Earth,marble,planets,floats,floating,still,sphere,orb,nature,cosmos,humankind,our planet
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2R22XM3 - As Liverpool prepares itself for the arrival of the spectacular Eurovision Song Contest this year, Royal Albert Dock Liverpool has revealed the first of its celebratory events to mark the occasion, one which promises to dazzle and delight both local and international visitors.
In the run-up to 13 May and the contest's Grand Final, a huge series of events are being rolled out by the dock.
From Ukrainian food and drink, live music events to creative pop-ups, the jewel in dock's programme is the installation of a 10-metre artwork, Floating Earth', which will shine brightly in the dock from 28th April - 18th May.
The piece, by artist Luke Jerram, uses detailed NASA imagery of the Earth's surface, and provides visitors with the opportunity to see our planet floating gently in three dimensions - creating Liverpool's most incredible backdrop.
Floating Earth will be in situ in the dock's inner quay over the early Spring Bank Holiday and Coronation Bank Holiday, as well as throughout all of Eurovision's key dates, including two semi-finals and the Grand Final on Saturday 13 May.
Visitors can view the installation daily from 12-10pm for free, accompanied with a soundscape by BAFTA award-winning composer Dan Jones. Sensory-friendly viewings, without the soundscape, are available on Sundays.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,England,UK,British,city,centre,Merseyside,Royal,Pier Head,Liverpool,L3 4AF,L3,Pierhead,ball,nations,countries,tourism,calling,all,reflection,earth,planet,our Earth,marble,planets,floats,floating,still,sphere,orb,nature,cosmos,humankind,our planet
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2R22XM4 - As Liverpool prepares itself for the arrival of the spectacular Eurovision Song Contest this year, Royal Albert Dock Liverpool has revealed the first of its celebratory events to mark the occasion, one which promises to dazzle and delight both local and international visitors.
In the run-up to 13 May and the contest's Grand Final, a huge series of events are being rolled out by the dock.
From Ukrainian food and drink, live music events to creative pop-ups, the jewel in dock's programme is the installation of a 10-metre artwork, Floating Earth', which will shine brightly in the dock from 28th April - 18th May.
The piece, by artist Luke Jerram, uses detailed NASA imagery of the Earth's surface, and provides visitors with the opportunity to see our planet floating gently in three dimensions - creating Liverpool's most incredible backdrop.
Floating Earth will be in situ in the dock's inner quay over the early Spring Bank Holiday and Coronation Bank Holiday, as well as throughout all of Eurovision's key dates, including two semi-finals and the Grand Final on Saturday 13 May.
Visitors can view the installation daily from 12-10pm for free, accompanied with a soundscape by BAFTA award-winning composer Dan Jones. Sensory-friendly viewings, without the soundscape, are available on Sundays.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Cheshire,England,UK,WA4,blue,sky,sunny,village,South Warrington,time,flowering,shrub,shrubs,flower,Easter,tree,branch,coming,back,to,life,bud,buds,Springtime,budding,new life,post-winter,blue sky,blue skies,English,British,season,seasons,nature,natural
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2PJW6YX -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,England,UK,British,English,sky,clouds,color,red,twilight,dusk,silhouette,silhouettes,trees,nature,landscape,winterlight,cold,seasonal,leafless,treetops,woodland,skyline,skyscape,cloudscape,moody,atmospheric,glowing,vibrant,fiery,contrast,backlit,outlines,framing,foreground,horizon,outdoors,scenic
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2R55J8C - A dramatic winter sunset fills the sky with vivid bands of pink, red and violet cloud, fading into cooler blue tones higher up. Bare, leafless tree branches stretch across the frame in dark silhouette, creating a natural lattice that both frames the view and emphasises the depth of the skyline beyond. The branching forms suggest deciduous woodland in the dormant season, with no leaves visible and fine twigs sharply outlined against the light.
The sky appears heavily textured with broken cloud, catching the last low-angle sunlight and turning it into a fiery, glowing canopy. The contrast between warm colour near the horizon and cooler tones above gives the scene a strong sense of late-day transition, typical of short winter afternoons when the sun drops quickly and the light changes by the minute. The atmosphere looks crisp and clear enough to hold strong colour, but with enough moisture in the air to illuminate the cloud layers, suggesting calm, cold conditions following a change in weather, or the edge of a clearing front.
The silhouetted tree line in the distance adds scale and place without needing a specific landmark, making the image useful as an atmospheric seasonal background as well as a natural landscape study. The composition reads as quiet and still, with the stark winter branches contrasting against the richness of the sky, capturing a fleeting moment of colour that visitors and walkers often notice most in the colder months, when the trees are stripped back and the sky becomes the main event.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,of,in,the,WA4,Cheshire,England,UK,November,fly,flying,flight,flights,migrate,migrating,group,overhead,nature,blue,sunny,birds,bird,flock,cloud,clouds,outdoor,outdoors,natural,V-Shape,V shape,formations,bird migration,fowl,beauty
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2KE1130 -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,England,UK,guide post,sign,signs,from,C.C.,fingerposts,guideposts,pre,Post-Worboys,Worboys,at,for,village,and,town,roadsign,Pre-Worboys,signage,history,historic,tree,trees,woods,nature,north Yorks,north Yorkshire,embossed,cast,iron,painted,B1447,Station road,YO22,YO22 4RA
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2RCDXH3 - A fingerpost (sometimes referred to as a guide post) is a type of sign post consisting of a post with one or more arms, known as fingers, pointing in the direction of travel to places named on the fingers, often including distance information.
Fingerposts are a traditional type of sign used in the United Kingdom.[1] The posts have traditionally been made from cast iron or wood, with poles painted in black, white or grey and fingers with black letters on a white background, often including distance information in miles.
In most cases, they are used to give guidance for road users, but examples also exist on the canal network, for instance. They are also used to mark the beginning of a footpath, bridleway, or similar public path
Whilst some elements of fingerpost design were prescribed during the period when their introduction became most widespread, there was plenty of scope for distinctive spread of designs which remains to today.
The inclusion of the highway authority name took the form of raised or recessed lettering written down the poles or as part of a finial or roundel (when the centre is hollow, called an annulus) design, either in full or as initials (e.g. K.C.C. for Kesteven County Council). Roundel designs can also include junction names (for example, Molly Brown's Corner, in Lytchett Matravers, Dorset) or village names. County Council coats of arms feature in counties such as West Sussex. The Ministry for Transport asked the County Councils in Dorset and the West Riding of Yorkshire to experiment with the inclusion of a grid reference[6] and these remain common in these areas. The roundel on a 2005 replacement at West Wellow (Hampshire) directing travellers to St Margaret's Church bears a portrait of Florence Nightingale who is interred at the churchyard.
Fingers can be square-ended (such as in Cornwall and Norfolk), curved (as in Dorset) or triangular-ended (as is common in Somerset)
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,England,nature,natural,one of,five a day,tasty,of,picked,freshly,orchard,fruit,from,an,ingredient,standard,size,sizes,stone fruit,stonefruit,fruits,autumn,harvest,growing,trees,horticulture,garden,in a,eating,just,plucked,plum,plums,harvesting
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JYNXND -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,England,hand,red,orange,yellow,British,Scottish,English,soft,fruit,fruits,orchard,held,recipe,recipes,one,of,your,five,a day,roughage,healthy,juicy,delicious,agriculture,closeup,close up,tasty,fall,foraging,forage,scrumping,snack,organic,natural,nature,eating
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JYNXR3 -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,WA4,South Warrington,Cheshire,England,UK,WA4 3DS,banker,Parr,Parrs,grape,in glass,glasshouse,glasshouses,flowers,flower,leaves,leaf,under,glass,grapes,red,grapevine,summer,foliage,grow,growing,horticultural,trailing,plant,plants,nature,natural,hothouse,hothouses
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JTD3C7 - Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden is a historic walled garden in Grappenhall, Warrington, Cheshire, England. The garden was built by Thomas Parr around 1830 as both a pleasure garden for relaxing strolls and as a kitchen garden to produce fruit, vegetables, and herbs. After a period of decline, the garden was restored first by English Partnerships and then by the local parish council in conjunction with the friends of the garden
The walled garden was built around 1830 by Warrington banker Thomas Parr to accompany a mansion house. Thomas Parr's father, Joseph Parr, founded Parr's Bank and Thomas was appointed Chairman of the bank. Before opening the bank, Joseph Parr had made his wealth in the sugar refining industry that supported the slave trade in the British West Indies. Parr's bank amalgamated through acquisitions into the NatWest.
Unusually, Parr included both a pleasure garden and a kitchen garden within the same boundary wall. In addition to enjoying their garden, the Parr family held frequent galas and special events for the community. One annual event called Beating the Bounds involved a walk around the boundaries of the townships of Lymm, Appleton, and Grappenhall, which included the garden. Historical records suggest that the estate was at its height from 1875 to 1899.
By the 1950s, the estate had become derelict and parts of it were sold off. The house was demolished in the 1970s and the garden passed to English Partnerships for renovation. In 2005 control of the garden passed to Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council, which continued restoration in conjunction with a community group called The Friends of Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden. In 2012 the garden was given a Heritage Lottery Fund award towards repair of the Victorian glasshouses and completion of the restoration
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,cluster,fresh eco,decay,cycle,nature,recycling,growing,on,recently,woods,chopped,down,tree,Cheshire,England,UK,brown,pattern,group,wood,rot,polypores,circular,fruiting,bodies,conks,conk,nutrient cycling,edible,inedible,medicinal,value,medicine,pathogens
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JTD3KP - Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polypores are closely related to each other. Polypores are also called bracket fungi or shelf fungi, and they characteristically produce woody, shelf- or bracket-shaped or occasionally circular fruiting bodies that are called conks.
Most polypores inhabit tree trunks or branches consuming the wood, but some soil-inhabiting species form mycorrhiza with trees. Polypores and the related corticioid fungi are the most important agents of wood decay, playing a very significant role in nutrient cycling and aiding carbon dioxide absorption by forest ecosystems.
Over one thousand polypore species have been described to science, but a large part of the diversity is still unknown even in relatively well-studied temperate areas. Polypores are much more diverse in old natural forests with abundant dead wood than in younger managed forests or plantations. Consequently, a number of species have declined drastically and are under threat of extinction due to logging and deforestation.
Polypores are used in traditional medicine, and they are actively studied for their medicinal value and various industrial applications. Several polypore species are serious pathogens of plantation trees and are major causes of timber spoilage.
Conks, the fruiting bodies of polypores, lie in a close planar grouping of separate or interconnected horizontal rows. Brackets can range from only a single row of a few caps, to dozens of rows of caps that can weigh several hundred pounds.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Cheshire,England,UK,WA4 2ED,with,parent,parents,recently,on,the,gliding,down,up,summer,nature,family,families,of,water,fowl,wild,swan,swans,brown,signet,signets,canals,natural,habitat,habitats,rural,glides,together,group
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JTD3PE -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,M3,England,UK,1800s,1970s,shopping,retail,religious,building,buildings,and,1700s,the,tree,nature,leaves,in,leaf,Old,contrast,of,modern,medieval,&,new,architecture,Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary,St Denys and St George,Grade I,listed building,history,historic,Old Church Tavern,Mitre
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JYTBGB - Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the city's parish church. It is on Victoria Street in Manchester city centre and is a grade I listed building.
The former parish church was rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style in the years following the foundation of the collegiate body in 1421. Then at the end of the 15th century, James Stanley II (warden 14851506 and later Bishop of Ely 15061515) was responsible for rebuilding the nave and collegiate choir with high clerestory windows
also commissioning the late-medieval wooden internal furnishings, including the pulpitum, choir stalls and the nave roof supported by angels with gilded instruments. The collegiate church became the cathedral of the new Diocese of Manchester in 1847. It was extensively refaced, restored and extended in the Victorian period, and again following bomb damage during World War II. It is one of fifteen Grade I listed buildings in Manchester.
Manchester Arndale (one of a number of shopping centres in the UK by the same developers, also known simply as the Arndale Centre or the Arndale) is a large shopping centre in Manchester, England. It was constructed in phases between 1972 and 1979, at a cost of £100 million. Manchester Arndale is the largest of the chain of Arndale Centres built across the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. It was redeveloped after the 1996 Manchester bombing.
Built in 1815 as the Old Church Tavern the Mitre Hotel clearly derives its name from its neighbour the Manchester Cathedral. The Mitre has survived two potentially disasterous bombings. The first was just before Christmas in 1940 when Manchester suffered its worst blitz of the Second World War.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Moore nature reserve,Moore,nature reserve,wood,fingerpost,village,Warrington,Cheshire,Raptor,Watch,signs,WA4,WA4 6XE,Lapwing Ln,Penketh,England,UK,scenic viewpoint,scenic,viewpoint,nature,walk,walks,around,reserve,reserves,natural,trail,trails,wild,life,wildlife,observation,point,points
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JWB54G -
Description
Keywords: @HotpixUK,GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,please,Cheshire,England,UK,WA4,the,pollinators,environment,improving,urban,creating,habitats for bees,habitat,habitats,solitary bees,social bees,bumble,nature,reserve,friendly,bee-friendly,buzz,beekeeping,keeping,green,spaces,unmowed,un,mowed,not mowing,municiple,graveyards,graveyard,Church Lane,village,benefit,insect
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JP5TF8 -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,England,UK,clock,tower,terminus,rail,station,railway,LNER,nature,TOC,TOCs,infrastructure,N1,contrast,intercity,trains,train,London,ECML,RMT union,interchange,history,historic,workers,railway station,strike,KingsX,architecture,Architect,London Borough of Camden,Camden,pano,panorama,Euston Road
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2K16AT7 - King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the busiest stations in the United Kingdom and the southern terminus of the East Coast Main Line to North East England and Scotland. Adjacent to King's Cross station is St Pancras International, the London terminus for Eurostar services to continental Europe. Beneath both main line stations is King's Cross St Pancras tube station on the London Underground
combined they form one of the country's largest and busiest transport hubs
The £500 million restoration plan announced by Network Rail in 2005 was approved by Camden London Borough Council in 2007. It involved restoring and reglazing the original arched train shed roof and removing the 1972 extension at the front of the station and replacing it with an ARUP designed open-air plaza. The steel structure of the roof, engineered by Arup, has been described as being like some kind of reverse waterfall, a white steel grid that swoops up from the ground and cascades over your head
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,London,England,UK,off,green,sign,park,Royal,bird,areas,on,NW1,wildlife,sanctuary,not open,to the,public,maintain,high,numbers,of,the,Regents,land,parkland,duck island,nature,reserve,wildfowl,history,city,heritage,historic,icon,iconic
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2M107JP -
--Halton--Cheshire--England-UK-2K13HFK.jpg)
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,the,originally,Runcorn""Widnes,bridge,road,toll,crossing,Cheshire,England,UK,high-level,high level,steel,through,arch,summer,Halton,MSC,Manchester ship Canal,waterway,green,nature,promenade,Mersey,river,River Mersey,sunny,blue sky,blue skies,bridges,icon,iconic,engineering
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2K13HFK - The Silver Jubilee Bridge (originally the RuncornWidnes Bridge or informally the Runcorn Bridge) crosses the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal at Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Halton, England. It is a through arch bridge with a main arch span of 361 yards (330 m). It was opened in 1961 as a replacement for the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge. In 197577 the carriageway was widened, after which the bridge was given its official name in honour of the Queen's Silver Jubilee. It carries the A533 road and a cantilevered footway.
design was for a steel through arch bridge with a 10-yard (9 m) single carriageway. The design of the bridge is similar to that of Sydney Harbour Bridge but differs from it in that the side spans are continuous with the main span rather than being separate from them. This design feature was necessary to avoid the problem of oscillation due to the railway bridge. The main span measures 361 yards (330 m) and each side span is 83 yards (76 m)
Construction began on 25 April 1956. The contractors for the first phase of work, Leonard Fairclough of Adlington, cleared the ground and constructed the foundations for the piers. The contract for the second phase, the building of the main arch and the side arches, was given to Dorman Long of Middlesbrough who sub-contracted the building of the bridge deck, viaduct and roadworks to Leonard Fairclough. The carriageway was suspended from the arch by 48 lock-coil wire ropes.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,NT,Cheshire,England,UK,WA14 4SJ,WA14,antlers,of,tourist,tourism,attraction,nature,green,space,park,natural,camouflaged,gardens,English,graze,grazing,family,group,wildlife,eating,curious,fallow,buck,stag,antler,herbivore,parkland,coat,sitting,sits,majestic,Parkland
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JH3W0M -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,NT,Cheshire,England,UK,WA14 4SJ,WA14,antlers,of,tourist,tourism,attraction,nature,green,space,park,natural,camouflaged,gardens,English,graze,grazing,family,group,wildlife,eating,curious,fallow,buck,stag,antler,herbivore,parkland,coat,sitting,sits,majestic,Parkland
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JH3W0P -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,NT,Cheshire,England,UK,WA14 4SJ,WA14,antlers,of,tourist,tourism,attraction,nature,green,space,park,natural,camouflaged,gardens,English,graze,grazing,family,group,wildlife,eating,curious,fallow,buck,stag,antler,herbivore,parkland,coat,sitting,sits,majestic,Parkland
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JH3W0R -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,NT,Cheshire,England,UK,WA14 4SJ,WA14,antlers,of,tourist,tourism,attraction,nature,green,space,park,natural,tourists,visitors,photograph,capturing,photo,stalk,stalking,camouflaged,summer,English,wildlife,eating,curious,fallow,buck,stag,antler,herbivore,parkland,photo skills
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JH3W0W -
-of-Geese--on-the-Bridgewater-Canal--Grappenhall--Warrington--Cheshire--England--UK--WA4-2JGM7C4.jpg)
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,England,North West,UK,nature,natural,family,on,the,Bridgewater,wild,bird,birds,wildlife,group,family group,swim,swimming,float,floating,fowl,glide,British,gliding,along,paddle,paddling,ripple,ripples,wave,waves,gaggle of geese,free,downy,baby,follow the leader
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JGM7C4 -
-swingbridge--Stockton-Heath--Warrington--Cheshire--England--UK--WA4-6RW-2JEKR3E.jpg)
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@Hotpixuk,Hotpixuk,A49,swing bridge,Cheshire,England,UK,WA4 6RW,WA4,Algal,Algae,bloom,in,the,summer,hot,weather,condition,nature,natural,contamination,green algae,green,algae,bright,bright green,canal,water,waterway,bridge,bridges,blooming,dense,vegetation,alga,algal bloom
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JEKR3E -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@hotpixUK,Hotpixuk,England,UK,Warrington,Cheshire,WA4 5AD,green,boards,Ltd,association,associations,grow,growing,garden,urban,event,plot,plots,natural,nature,space,veggies vegetables,surplus,use,eat,buy,notices,notes,note,under,glass,protected,waterproof,waterproofed,locked,up,away
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JDJ556 -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@hotpixUK,Hotpixuk,England,UK,farm,farming,land,a,crops,grass,climate change,variety,adapt,adaptation,brewing,WA4,WA4 3EZ,rural,seed,seeds,Hordeum vulgare,cereal,grain,cereals,field,fields,farmers,malt,malting,rachis,Spikelets,beers,ingredient,natural,nature,monoculture,fertilizer,prices,trading
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JDJ540 - Barley (Hordeum vulgare), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley production is used as animal fodder,[4] while 30% as a source of fermentable material for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various foods. It is used in soups and stews, and in barley bread of various cultures. Barley grains are commonly made into malt in a traditional and ancient method of preparation.
In 2017, barley was ranked fourth among grains in quantity produced (149 million tonnes or 330 billion pounds) behind maize, rice and wheat
Two-row barley, sometimes considered a separate species, H. distichon, has a lower protein content than six-row barley, thus a more fermentable sugar content. High-protein barley is best suited for animal feed. Malting barley is usually lower protein (low grain nitrogen, usually produced without a late fertilizer application) which shows more uniform germination, needs shorter steeping, and has less protein in the extract that can make beer cloudy. Two-row barley is traditionally used in English ale-style beers, with two-row malted summer barley being preferred for traditional German beers
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Cheshire,England,UK,WA4,nature,natural,farmed,crops,arable,crop,farm,farms,for,animal,feed,feeds,food,the,world,feeding,of,grass,in,a,field,inputs,grain,nearly,ready,to,be,north west,shallow,focus
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JDDWEF -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Warrington Telephone Exchange,summer,Cheshire,England,UK,WA1 1EY,telecoms,digital,broadband,fibre,GPO,BT,British Telecom,OpenReach,telecom,bunker,infrastructure,backbone,skyline,town scape,townscape,town,centre,borough,council,WBC,concrete,trees,nature,foliage,floors,office,offices
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JDDPGX -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,WA4,pano,panorama,grave yard,12,Warrington,Cheshire,England,UK,WA4 5AL,wide,dead,death,buried,burial,burials,grve,graves,graveyard,graveyards,south,green,lush,natural,nature,evening,blue sky,blue skies,sunny,widest,history,people,peoples
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JDDPBW -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Cheshire,WA4 5BG,tow,path,Stockton Heath,village,water,waterside,barge,mooring,moored,real estate,new,development,modern,home,homes,canalside,cute,tree,trees,nature,centre,tow path,towpath,WA4,three,storey,floor,floors,luxury,access,to,the
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JDDNP5 -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@HotpixUK,HotpixUK,High Peak,Derbyshire,England,UK,S33 8WA,cattle,hill,hill farming,nature,remote,road,single track,farms,farming,lamp,mutton,ruminants,ruminant,prices,per,KG,struggles,struggling,subsidy,agriculture,NFU,withdrawal,of,subsidies,post-Brexit,rural,hillside,hillsides
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2CC79TB -
Description
Keywords: HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,GoTonySmith,Warrington,Cheshire,England,UK,nature,natural,on a,wooden bench,wood,bench,background,close focus,poppy seedheads,seed heads,spilling seed,seeded,fertile,dried seed heads,dried,Papaver somniferum,ornamental,opium poppy,Papaver,somniferum,opium,wood background,harvesting,collecting,garden seeds,gardening,dry seed pods,pods,pharmaceutical
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2CB00AP - Papaver somniferum, commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable ornamental plant, grown in gardens. Its native range is probably the eastern Mediterranean, but is now obscured by ancient introductions and cultivation, being naturalized across much of Europe and Asia.
This poppy is grown as an agricultural crop on a large scale, for one of three primary purposes. The first is to produce seeds that are eaten by humans, known commonly as poppy seed. The second is to produce opium for use mainly by the pharmaceutical industry. The third is to produce other alkaloids, mainly thebaine and oripavine, that are processed by the pharmaceutical industry into drugs such as hydrocodone and oxycodone. Each of these goals has special breeds that are targeted at one of these businesses, and breeding efforts (including biotechnological ones) are continually underway. A comparatively small amount of Papaver somniferum is also produced commercially for ornamental purposes.
The common name opium poppy is increasingly a misnomer as many varieties have been bred that do not produce a significant quantity of opium. The cultivar 'Sujata' produces no latex at all. Breadseed poppy is more accurate as a common name today because all varieties of Papaver somniferum produce edible seeds. This differentiation has strong implications for legal policy surrounding the growing of this plant
Description
Keywords: HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,GoTonySmith,England,UK,teasel seed head,seeds,seed,purple,violet,seedhead,spike,spine,sun,summer,sunny,summers,day,prickles,prickly,floral,natural,nature,wild,countryside,botanical,dead,dry,dried,plan,plants,weed,weeds,parched,climate change,English,pod
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2CB00FB -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,England,Cheshire,UK,example,tree fungus,trees,tree,fungal,fungi,brown,nature,natural,decay,decaying,wood,woods,bracket,English,British,saprophyte,trunk,polypore,giant,vegetation,mushroom,mushrooms,recycling,growth,damp,dampness,conditions,autumn,vibrant,growing
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2C6JWRF - Bracket fungi, or shelf fungi, are among the many groups of fungi that compose the division Basidiomycota. Characteristically, they produce shelf- or bracket-shaped or occasionally circular fruiting bodies called conks that lie in a close planar grouping of separate or interconnected horizontal rows. Brackets can range from only a single row of a few caps, to dozens of rows of caps that can weigh several hundred pounds. They are mainly found on trees (living and dead) and coarse woody debris, and may resemble mushrooms. Some form annual fruiting bodies while others are perennial and grow larger year after year. Bracket fungi are typically tough and sturdy and produce their spores, called basidiospores, within the pores that typically make up the undersurface.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,canal,canals,lock,locks,Quoisley,Shropshire Union,British,canal & river trust,towpath,nature,countryside,rural,Marbury cum Quoisley parish,SY13,Wrenbury,village,water,navigation,network,transportation,height,uphill,rise,fall,rising,falling,manual,keeper,lockkeeper,sign,signage,history,historic,heritage
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2C3K5GF -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,canal,canals,lock,locks,Quoisley,Shropshire Union,British,canal & river trust,towpath,nature,countryside,rural,Marbury cum Quoisley parish,SY13,Wrenbury,history,historic,heritage,gate,gates,lock gates,lockgate,lockgates,village,water,navigation,network,transportation,height,uphill,rise,fall,rising,falling
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2C3K5GH -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Thelwall,Warrington,Cheshire,England,UK,WA4,autumn,wood,forest,woods,brown,nature,colours,of,Polypodiopsida,Polypodiophyta,a fern,ferns,dusk,evening,dry,drying,out,the,Fall,browning,rural,countryside,Greenbelt,Green belt,or,non-flowering,plant,plants
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2ADE4DH - A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta /ˌpɒliˌpɒdiˈɒfɪtə, -oʊfaɪtə/) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular
Description
Keywords: @HotpixUK,HotpixUK,GoTonySmith,Blue Hour,Village,evening,night,nighttime,night time,England,UK,North West England,WA4,Thelwall,autumn,South Warrington,Cheshire,WA4 3JR,Warrington,North West,barge,reflection,water,autumnal trees,nature,corridor,leisure,towpath,tow path,reflective,Bridgewater Canal At Thelwall,Bridgewater Canal At Grappenhall,Grappenhall,Duke of Bridgewater,true canal,Navigation,cut,the cut,Cheshire Ring
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2A9D89J - The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was opened in 1761 from Worsley to Manchester, and later extended from Manchester to Runcorn, and then from Worsley to Leigh.
The canal is connected to the Manchester Ship Canal via a lock at Cornbrook
to the Rochdale Canal in Manchester
to the Trent and Mersey Canal at Preston Brook, southeast of Runcorn
and to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Leigh. It once connected with the River Mersey at Runcorn but has since been cut off by a slip road to the Silver Jubilee Bridge.
Following the construction of the Sankey Brook Navigation, Bridgewater has been argued to be the first true canal of the Industrial Revolution in England, and it required the construction of an aqueduct to cross the River Irwell, one of the first of its kind. Its success helped inspire a period of intense canal building in Britain, known as Canal Mania. It later faced intense competition from the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the Macclesfield Canal. Navigable throughout its history, it is one of the few canals in Britain not to have been nationalised, and remains privately owned. Pleasure craft now use the canal which forms part of the Cheshire Ring network of canals.
In September 1761, with his assistant Hugh Oldham, Brindley surveyed an extension from Longford Bridge to Hempstones, near Halton, Cheshire. He assisted in obtaining Parliamentary approval for the Bridgewater Canal Extension Act of 1762 which allowed the construction of an extension to the canal, from Manchester, to the River Mersey at Runcorn. Despite objections from the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company, Royal assent was given on 24 March 1762. A junction, Waters Meeting, was created in Trafford Park, at which the new extension branched south through Stretford, Sale, Altrincham, Lymm and finally to Runcorn.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,walking,riding,Cheshire,England,UK,WA4,path,pathway,rules,guide,trans-Penine,etiquette,route,outside,outdoor,exercise,exercising,Trans Pennine trail,Trans,Pennine,trail,Bridleway,wildlife,nature,rural,countryside,WA4 2TB,Stockport Road,leisure,overgrown,restrict,restriction,restrictions
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2MG40RK -
Description
Keywords: Republic of Ireland,GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Eire,Ireland,pub,bar,Kings,the,Dublin,D01 KF59,in,late,summer,with,hanging,basket,flower,42 Bolton St,D01 EH56,sign,cultural quarter,exterior,outside,door,doorway,history,historic,colourful,nature,natural,pubs,bars,architecture,building,entrance
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2M84JG0 - Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin, Ireland. The area is bounded by the Liffey to the north, Dame Street to the south, Westmoreland Street to the east and Fishamble Street to the west. It is promoted as Dublin's 'cultural quarter' and, as a centre of Dublin's city centre's nightlife, is a tourist destination. Temple Bar is in the Dublin 2 postal district.
Description
Keywords: Republic of Ireland,GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Eire,Ireland,D08,Dublin,D08 Y2,flowers,hanging baskets,flag,flags,Merchant & Ned O Sheas,&,and,Osheas,12,cultural quarter,exterior,outside,door,doorway,history,historic,colourful,nature,natural,pubs,bars,architecture,building,entrance,Twelve,sunny,blue sky,blue skies,St Patricks Day
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2M84JK6 - Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin, Ireland. The area is bounded by the Liffey to the north, Dame Street to the south, Westmoreland Street to the east and Fishamble Street to the west. It is promoted as Dublin's 'cultural quarter' and, as a centre of Dublin's city centre's nightlife, is a tourist destination. Temple Bar is in the Dublin 2 postal district.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Warrington,WBC,Cheshire,North West England,UK,tree,shrub,white,pink,flower,flowers,branch,branches,sunny,sunny day,Hatton,Norcott Brook,blue sky,Springtime,cherryblossom,artistic,closeup,natural,nature,outdoor,outside,garden,park,Cherry tree in full blossom,Cherry tree,full blossom,healthy,genus Prunus,flowering cherries,flowering cherry,springtime
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy T3RF5B - A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
The cherry fruits of commerce usually are obtained from cultivars of a limited number of species such as the sweet cherry (Prunus avium) and the sour cherry (Prunus cerasus). The name 'cherry' also refers to the cherry tree and its wood, and is sometimes applied to almonds and visually similar flowering trees in the genus Prunus, as in ornamental cherry or cherry blossom. Wild cherry may refer to any of the cherry species growing outside cultivation, although Prunus avium is often referred to specifically by the name wild cherry in the British Isles.
The English word cherry derives from Old Northern French or Norman cherise from the Latin cerasum, referring to an ancient Greek region, Kerasous (Κερασοῦς) near Giresun, Turkey, from which cherries were first thought to be exported to Europe. The indigenous range of the sweet cherry extends through most of Europe, western Asia, and parts of northern Africa, and the fruit has been consumed throughout its range since prehistoric times. A cultivated cherry is recorded as having been brought to Rome by Lucius Licinius Lucullus from northeastern Anatolia, also known as the Pontus region, in 72 BC.
Cherries were introduced into England at Teynham, near Sittingbourne in Kent, by order of Henry VIII, who had tasted them in Flanders.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Warrington,WBC,Cheshire,North West England,UK,tree,shrub,white,pink,flower,flowers,branch,branches,sunny,sunny day,Hatton,Norcott Brook,blue sky,Springtime,cherryblossom,artistic,closeup,natural,nature,outdoor,outside,garden,park,Cherry tree in full blossom,Cherry tree,full blossom,healthy,genus Prunus,flowering cherries,flowering cherry,springtime
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy T3RF5G - A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
The cherry fruits of commerce usually are obtained from cultivars of a limited number of species such as the sweet cherry (Prunus avium) and the sour cherry (Prunus cerasus). The name 'cherry' also refers to the cherry tree and its wood, and is sometimes applied to almonds and visually similar flowering trees in the genus Prunus, as in ornamental cherry or cherry blossom. Wild cherry may refer to any of the cherry species growing outside cultivation, although Prunus avium is often referred to specifically by the name wild cherry in the British Isles.
The English word cherry derives from Old Northern French or Norman cherise from the Latin cerasum, referring to an ancient Greek region, Kerasous (Κερασοῦς) near Giresun, Turkey, from which cherries were first thought to be exported to Europe. The indigenous range of the sweet cherry extends through most of Europe, western Asia, and parts of northern Africa, and the fruit has been consumed throughout its range since prehistoric times. A cultivated cherry is recorded as having been brought to Rome by Lucius Licinius Lucullus from northeastern Anatolia, also known as the Pontus region, in 72 BC.
Cherries were introduced into England at Teynham, near Sittingbourne in Kent, by order of Henry VIII, who had tasted them in Flanders.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Warrington,WBC,Cheshire,North West England,UK,tree,shrub,white,pink,flower,flowers,branch,branches,sunny,sunny day,Hatton,Norcott Brook,blue sky,Springtime,cherryblossom,artistic,closeup,natural,nature,outdoor,outside,garden,park,Cherry tree in full blossom,Cherry tree,full blossom,healthy,genus Prunus,flowering cherries,flowering cherry,springtime
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy T3RF5K - A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
The cherry fruits of commerce usually are obtained from cultivars of a limited number of species such as the sweet cherry (Prunus avium) and the sour cherry (Prunus cerasus). The name 'cherry' also refers to the cherry tree and its wood, and is sometimes applied to almonds and visually similar flowering trees in the genus Prunus, as in ornamental cherry or cherry blossom. Wild cherry may refer to any of the cherry species growing outside cultivation, although Prunus avium is often referred to specifically by the name wild cherry in the British Isles.
The English word cherry derives from Old Northern French or Norman cherise from the Latin cerasum, referring to an ancient Greek region, Kerasous (Κερασοῦς) near Giresun, Turkey, from which cherries were first thought to be exported to Europe. The indigenous range of the sweet cherry extends through most of Europe, western Asia, and parts of northern Africa, and the fruit has been consumed throughout its range since prehistoric times. A cultivated cherry is recorded as having been brought to Rome by Lucius Licinius Lucullus from northeastern Anatolia, also known as the Pontus region, in 72 BC.
Cherries were introduced into England at Teynham, near Sittingbourne in Kent, by order of Henry VIII, who had tasted them in Flanders.
Description
Keywords: red,shrub,leaf,leaves,red leaves,garden,nature,HousingITguy,Project365,2nd 365,HotpixUK365,Tone Smith,GoTonySmith,365,2365,one a day,Tony Smith,Hotpix
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 3300703892 - 'Its about the only remnant from last season, left in my garden
If you are on Twitter, do add a follow there and I will follow back in return mobile.twitter.com/HotpixUK
Have a look at my archived photography, from ten years back at www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/
Checkout the rest of this 365 set at www.flickr.com/photos/167831053@N02/albums/72157703214420874
All images (c) Tony Smith - @HotpixUK - No images to be used without express permission',
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@HotpixUK,HotpixUK,Following Collapsed Carriageway,Northwich,UK,sign,yellow sign,red sign,Road Ahead Closed,closed Road,badgers,Collapsed Carriageway,Gt Budworth,North West England,badger,problem,wildlife,countryside,nature,animals,Westage Road,Westage Rd,undermining by badgers,mining,digging,undermining,Mammal,Mammals,animal,accommodating,preservation,preserving,village,proactive,action,response,to,collapse,Road closed
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy R9GTAY - Badgers and the law
If you're concerned that someone has done something illegal to a wild animal, please call RSPCA 24-hour Cruelty line on 0300 1234 999 - or contact the police.
Badgers are protected and so are the setts (burrows) they live in. Under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, in England and Wales (the law is different in Scotland) it is an offence to:
Wilfully kill, injure or take a badger (or attempt to do so).
Cruelly ill-treat a badger.
Dig for a badger.
Intentionally or recklessly damage or destroy a badger sett, or obstruct access to it.
Cause a dog to enter a badger sett.
Disturb a badger when it is occupying a sett.
But there are exceptions. Licences to undertake some actions can be issued if it is justified, for example where a badger sett is found on a proposed site for a road or housing development.
Bulldozing a sett in the way of a new road would risk killing or injuring the badgers, so Natural England or Natural Resources Wales may grant a licence allowing the badgers to be carefully excluded, making them move elsewhere in their territory.
For information about the badger cull visit our Bovine tuberculosis page. Defra's policy on reducing bovine tuberculosis can be found on their website.
THE RSPCA 'Living with badgers' factsheet provides more information and detailed advice is available in Natural England's advisory leaflets.
Protecting badgers
Badgers were given some limited protection in 1973 but weaknesses in the law meant that badger setts were still being dug, bulldozed, blocked or the animals cruelly killed.
The RSPCA successfully campaigned for better protection and help enforce the law by assisting with police investigations or prosecuting people involved in wildlife crime such as badger digging and baiting.
Undercover RSPCA inspectors have helped bring a number of successful badger digging cases before the courts.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@HotpixUK,green,tree,young,summer,hippocastanum,flowering plant,lychee,family,spike,spiky,horse-chestnut,horse chestnut,England,Cheshire,North West England,Hatton,Warrington,UK,ball,balls,prickly,fruit,fruits,fruiting,ripe,shells,on,a,cluster,group,of,flora,nature,nuts
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy PCTAFD - Aesculus hippocastanum is a large tree, growing to about 39 metres (128 ft) tall with a domed crown of stout branches
on old trees the outer branches are often pendulous with curled-up tips. The leaves are opposite and palmately compound, with 57 leaflets
each leaflet is 1330 cm long, making the whole leaf up to 60 cm across, with a 720 cm petiole. The leaf scars left on twigs after the leaves have fallen have a distinctive horseshoe shape, complete with seven nails. The flowers are usually white with a yellow to pink blotch at the base of the petals
they are produced in spring in erect panicles 1030 cm tall with about 2050 flowers on each panicle. Usually only 15 fruit develop on each panicle
the shell is a green, spiky capsule containing one (rarely two or three) nut-like seeds called conkers or horse-chestnuts. Each conker is 24 cm diameter, glossy nut-brown with a whitish scar at the base.
The common name horse-chestnut (often unhyphenated) is reported as having originated from the erroneous belief that the tree was a kind of chestnut (though in fact only distantly related), together with the observation that the fruit could help panting horses.
Aesculus hippocastanum is native to a small area in the Pindus Mountains mixed forests and Balkan mixed forests of South East Europe. However, it can be found in many parts of Europe as far north as Gästrikland in Sweden, as well as in many parks and cities in the United States and Canada.
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,Small British Tortoiseshell Butterfly on Pussywillow catkins,Small,insect,diversity,countryside,biodiversity,polinate,polinators,Butterfly,on,Pussywillow,catkins,in,Spring,flower,beauty,outdoor,outdoors,Tortoiseshell Butterfly,Tortoiseshell,native,fauna,Warrington,Hatton,Village,habitat,Cheshire,sunny,sunshine,nature,natural,buds,decoration,Aglais urticae,Nymphalidae,reddish,orange,orange butterfly
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy MGMJR3 -
Description
Keywords: Hotpixuk,@Hotpixuk,GoTonySmith,stamp,postal,franked,frank,used stamps,used franked,used,franked stamp,from envelope,history,historic,old,poste,post office,communications,postage,sending letters,sending,parcels,2002,Canada stamp,$1.25,1.25,Stanley Park,postmark,post,nature,Canadian,North America,design,designs,Quebec,Ontario,British Columbia,Nova Scotia,perforations
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2AT9EB8 -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Cheshire,England,UK,looking,up,into,a,sunny,skies,leaf,with,dried,leafs,the,Falls,Autumns,nature,natural,time,knarled,boughs,bough,and,branch,long,large,massive,spread,spreading,filling,frame,tree,canopy,golden,yellow,trees,bright
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2R64TRK -
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,Manchester Cathedral,clock tower,Manchester,England,UK,religious building,summer,Cathedral,clock,clocks,wide,angle,medieval architecture,stone church tower,city landmark,historic Manchester,Christian heritage,Church of England cathedral,blue sky,summer light,architectural detail,vertical perspective,trees and foliage,heritage tourism,city centre Manchester,editorial photography,documentary image,trees,nature,stone,history,heritage,historic,architecture,perpendicular
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2R5PPAD - This image shows the clock tower of Manchester Cathedral, photographed from a low angle during summer, with warm sunlight illuminating the sandstone façade against a deep blue sky. The tower forms part of the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, commonly known as Manchester Cathedral, one of the city's most significant historic buildings.
The cathedral dates largely from the late medieval period and is a notable example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture in North West England. The clock tower and adjoining stonework reflect the craftsmanship and ecclesiastical importance of the building, which has stood at the heart of Manchester for centuries through periods of industrialisation, war, and regeneration.
Framed by tree branches and seasonal foliage, the image contrasts the permanence of historic architecture with the softness of summer growth, reinforcing the cathedral's role as a place of continuity within a modern urban environment. Manchester Cathedral remains an active place of worship as well as a key heritage and visitor attraction in the city centre.
Photographed in clear daylight, the image is well suited for editorial use covering British religious architecture, historic landmarks, Manchester heritage, urban identity, and summer cityscapes.
Description
Keywords: your,own,on,the,council,municipal,ground,land,at,home,recession,prices,high,avoiding,eco,green,party,self-sufficient,back,to,nature,The,pleasures,of,growing,your,own,fruit,and,vegetables,on,an,allotment,or,on,a,veg,patch,at,home,gotonysmith,agenda,veggies,vegetarian,cordon,vert,cordon-vert,fresh,natural,society,goodlife,good,life,financial,crash,hard,times,hardtimes,benefit,HB,cuts,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DCYBNN - The pleasures of growing your own fruit and vegetables, on an allotment or on a veg patch at home.
In these times of recession, people are turning back to nature.
Description
Keywords: your,own,on,the,council,municipal,ground,land,at,home,recession,prices,high,avoiding,eco,green,party,self-sufficient,back,to,nature,The,pleasures,of,growing,your,own,fruit,and,vegetables,on,an,allotment,or,on,a,veg,patch,at,home,recipes,plot,vegetable,gotonysmith,agenda,veggies,vegetarian,cordon,vert,cordon-vert,fresh,natural,society,goodlife,good,life,financial,crash,hard,times,hardtimes,benefit,HB,cuts,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DCYCHN - The pleasures of growing your own fruit and vegetables, on an allotment or on a veg patch at home.
In these times of recession, people are turning back to nature.
Description
Keywords: English,England,British,garden,in,centre,center,fad,for,growing,home,grown,homegrown,produce,in,a,recession,back,to,nature,natural,veggies,veg,fruit,vegetables,seeds,pack,envelope,envelopes,Runner,Bean,Beans,Thompson,Morgan,&,and,packs,in,a,rack,racking,retail,gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DCYNK7 - More people turning to growing food at home or on allotment vegetable patches during recession for better food.
Description
Keywords: English,England,British,garden,in,centre,center,fad,for,growing,home,grown,homegrown,produce,in,a,recession,back,to,nature,natural,veggies,veg,fruit,vegetables,seeds,pack,envelope,envelopes,onion,leek,and,hanging,up,Dobbies,Strikes,centres,leisure,activity,bank,holiday,gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DCYP8F - More people turning to growing food at home or on allotment vegetable patches during recession for better food.
Description
Keywords: English,England,British,garden,in,centre,center,fad,for,growing,home,grown,homegrown,produce,in,a,recession,back,to,nature,natural,veggies,veg,fruit,vegetables,seeds,pack,envelope,envelopes,Italian,Style,herbs,plant,plants,range,Vita,Sementi,brand,authentic,Italian,taste,of,Italy,retail,retailing,gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DCYPAF - More people turning to growing food at home or on allotment vegetable patches during recession for better food.
Description
Keywords: English,England,British,garden,in,centre,center,fad,for,growing,home,grown,homegrown,produce,in,a,recession,back,to,nature,natural,veggies,veg,fruit,vegetables,seeds,pack,envelope,envelopes,and,&,Morgan,Lettuce,all,year,round,around,gardening,crop,crops,cropping,on,sale,for,gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DCYR0P - More people turning to growing food at home or on allotment vegetable patches during recession for better food.
Description
Keywords: hairy,green,nature,mother nature,spring,just bursting,bursting out,field,bursting,New Life,mother nature,first,change,changing,hope,springtime,grow,cultivate,spiky,hairs,garden,gardening,annual,season,seasons,macro.closeup,close,close-up,petal,petals,emerge,gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of,colorful
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DE9B2J - A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colorful flowers. One species of poppy, Papaver somniferum, produces edible seeds, and is also the source of the crude drug opium which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as morphine and has been used since ancient times as an analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drugs.
Following the trench warfare which took place in the poppy fields of Flanders, during the 1st World War, poppies have become a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime.
Description
Keywords: background,back,ground,various,shades,of,new,life,season,seasons,red,white,pinks,reds,gotonysmith,Cheshire,petals,pink,pastel,pastels,subtle,shade,nature,natural,color,colour,colours,colors,cherry,blossom,blossoms,plant,plants,fallen,romance,romantic
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DGHE8R -
Description
Keywords: Warrington,Cheshire,England,UK,GB,Great,British,Britain,emerging,opening,Yellow,Spring,flowers of,wood,Forest,meadow,variable,evergreen,or,semi-evergreen,perennial,macro,bloom,Yellow Cowslip,Primula Veris,Yellow Flowers,Wild Flower,Wild Flowers,Yellow Wild Flower,GoTonySmith,closeup,blooms,native,cross,pollination,nature,natural,plants,botanical,botany,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of,close-up,Close Up,cross-pollination
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DGHEPX - Primula veris is a variable evergreen or semi-evergreen perennial plant growing to 25 cm (10 in) tall and broad, with a rosette of leaves 515 cm long and 26 cm broad. The deep yellow flowers are produced in spring, in clusters of 10-30 blooms together on a single stem. Each flower is 915 mm broad. Red- and orange-flowered plants occur rarely but can be locally widespread in areas where coloured primula hybrids bloom at the same time as the native cowslip enabling cross-pollination.
![iPod Shuffle2 - The Woods [Humbie Beech woods looking up, autumn] 8139382188 The,woods,The Woods,forest,autumn,fall,The Fall,Humbie,eastlotian,east,lothian,looking,up,trees,Beech,yellow,orange,ipod,shuffle,shuffle2,tony,smith,tonysmith,hotpix,Scotland,UK,GBgreat,britain,lookingup,stephen,buchan,stephenbuchan,pingon,bewiahn,nature,natureza](https://live.staticflickr.com/8049/8139382188_132be1c918_o.jpg/)
Description
Keywords: The,woods,The Woods,forest,autumn,fall,The Fall,Humbie,eastlotian,east,lothian,looking,up,trees,Beech,yellow,orange,ipod,shuffle,shuffle2,tony,smith,tonysmith,hotpix,Scotland,UK,GBgreat,britain,lookingup,stephen,buchan,stephenbuchan,pingon,bewiahn,nature,natureza
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 8139382188 - 'Portugal The Man - 'The Woods' - Play this track here.
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While on a great photo walk with good drinking friend and botanical polyglot Stephen Buchan in Humbie woods, a quiet oasis a few miles south of Pencaitland, East Lotian, Scotland the other week, this track was bouncing around in my head.
Portugal. The Man is an American experimental rock band based in Portland, Oregon, but originally from Wasilla, Alaska. The group released their first two albums with Fearless Records.
This is a track from their 4th album, The Satanic Satanist.
Released on July 21, 2009 it was originally named The Satanic Satanist of the Majestic Majesty, the album title was later shortened and an acoustic counterpart entitled The Majestic Majesty was released. The Satanic Satanist is themed around memories and stories from singer John Gourley's growing up in the state of Alaska. The album was recorded with the help of record producer Paul Q. Kolderie of Pixies and Radiohead fame, and it was the band's first time recording an album with pre-production.
Humbie is a hamlet and rural parish in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies in the south-west of the county, approximately 10 miles south-west of Haddington and 15 miles south-east of Edinburgh. Humbie as we know it today was formed as the result of the union between Keith Marischal and Keith Hundeby in 1618. There is not much of a village, more a scattered hamlet.
The 'T-Plan' Parish Church was rebuilt in 1800 and Gothicized in 1866 by David Bryce. The 'chancel' was added in 1932. Memorials in the churchyard include a heraldic tablet of the Borthwicks of Whitburgh of the early 17th century, and another monument to James Scriven of Ploughlandhill who died in 1668. The path down to the ample woodland winds down from the churchyard.
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Description
Keywords: tonysmith,spring,blossom,gotonysmith,Grappenhall,Warrington,springwatch,watch,white,tree,flowers,nature,natural,shrub,plant,square,hipstamatic,Cheshire,England,UK,bloom,bloomen,flores,fleur
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 7024818981 - 'Ian McCulloch - 'In Bloom' - Play this track here.
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Candleland is the first solo album by Ian McCulloch, released 17 September 1989. This album marked McCulloch's departure from Echo &
the Bunnymen in 1989. The album features a guest appearance by the Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser on the title song, 'Candleland'. The album reached number 18 on the UK Albums Chart and number 179 on the Billboard 200.
The blossom this spring is truly breathtaking. Heaps of dazzling white blackthorn flowers look like piles of snow dropped on to hedgerows, and stunning white or pink cherry blossoms have turned parks and gardens into a magical wonderland.
Conditions for the blossom have been near perfect, with plenty of warm sunshine and hardly a wisp of wind, drop of rain or touch of frost to ruin the blooms. And even the winter weather played a part, with the bitter cold in late January and early February boosting the growth of many trees and shrubs, and which will help the crops of fruits and berries later in the year.
The magnificent symphony of spring is well under way, each plant opening its leaves and flowers in a remarkable choreography. A green mist is now enveloping hedges and woods as the early tree and shrub leaves \u2013 such as hawthorns, elders, hornbeams and weeping willows \u2013 burst open.
Woodland floors are also turning green as carpets of plant leaves pop up, decorated with splashes of bright woodland flowers glistening in the spring sunshine, such as wood anemone, lesser celandine and dog violets. Even the first bluebells are peeking through in some southern parts of England.
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Description
Keywords: nature,dry,teasle,teasel,bokeh,green,brown,natural,dried,drying,tony,smith,hotpix,tonysmith,tonysmithhotpix,hot,pics,picks,hotpicks,uk,england,cheshire
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 6305804052 - 'The B52's - Dry County - Play this track here.
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I got into the B52's from their first single 'Rock Lobster', which I still have in the loft.
The band's name comes from a particular beehive hairdo resembling the nose cone of the aircraft of the same name. Keith Strickland suggested the name after a dream he had one night, of a band performing in a hotel lounge. In the dream he heard someone whisper in his ear that the name of the band was 'The B-52s.'
The band's quirky take on the New Wave sound of their era was a combination of dance and surf music set apart by the unusual guitar tunings used by Ricky Wilson. Their costume charity-shop (across the pond you might call this 'thrift-shop') chic set them apart as well.
That first single, 'Rock Lobster', recorded for DB Records in 1978, was an underground success, selling over 2,000 copies in total that led to The B-52s performing at CBGB and Max's Kansas City in New York City. Two versions of the single were released in the United Kingdom
one featured the single in its original form, and the other featured the B-side 'Running Around' in place of '52 Girls'.
The buzz created by the record in the UK meant their first show in London at the Electric Ballroom, London, was packed in anticipation, with many UK pop stars such as Green Gartside from Scritti Politti, Joe Jackson and others in attendance.
This track is taken from 'Cosmic Thing', the fifth studio album. It contains the singles 'Love Shack' and 'Roam', which remain two of their most popular tunes. The success of the album acted as a comeback after the death of former guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985.
The band toured in 2008 after the release of Funplex and I saw them at the Manchester Academy. They were on top form and appeared to be wearing pretty well.
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![iPod Shuffle2 - Funghi [Grappenhall Heys Puffball mushrooms, England, UK] 6325077829 puffball,puff,ball,mushroom,fungi,funghi,wood,autum,Grappenhall Heys,walled,garden,Grappenhall,Heys,Cheshire,Warrington,UK,England,Autumn,October,fall,tony,smith,tonysmith,hotpix,tonysmithhotpix,nature,natural,fungus,division,Basidiomycota,Hymenogastrales,Lycoperdon,perlatum,or,pyriforme](https://live.staticflickr.com/6033/6325077829_5c8778988e_o.jpg/)
Description
Keywords: puffball,puff,ball,mushroom,fungi,funghi,wood,autum,Grappenhall Heys,walled,garden,Grappenhall,Heys,Cheshire,Warrington,UK,England,Autumn,October,fall,tony,smith,tonysmith,hotpix,tonysmithhotpix,nature,natural,fungus,division,Basidiomycota,Hymenogastrales,Lycoperdon,perlatum,or,pyriforme
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 6325077829 - 'Punishment Of Luxury - Funghi - Play this track here.
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'Secrets' was the first Punilux track I came across. I still have the 7' vinyl in my loft as well as the excellent 'Puppet Life'. They took their name from an 1891 painting by Giovanni Segantini in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
Punishment of Luxury, also known as Punilux, are a four-man post-punk band from Newcastle, England, who were active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They released an excellent album 'Laughing Academy' on UA (United Artists), and another on Red Rhino Records. They reformed in the late 1980s and again in 2007.
From a background working in left-wing English fringe theatre groups, Punishment Of Luxury were a four-man post-punk band formed in December 1976 in Newcastle. The band consisted initially of Brian Bond (born Brian Rapkin - vocals), Neville Luxury (born Neville Atkinson - guitar, vocals), Red Helmet (guitar, vocals), Jimi Giro (bass guitar, vocals), and 'Liquid' Les Denham (drums).
They released a single, 'Puppet Life' on the Small Wonder label in July 1978. In 1979 they signed to United Artists and released the singles 'Engine Of Excess' and 'Secrets', and the album Laughing Academy. 1980 saw the release of the single 'Laughing Academy'. An extensive European tour followed and United Artists sent the band into the studio to record another album, a concept album to be called Gigantic Days. However while the recording was still going on, United Artists were taken over by EMI, who dropped the band.
Neville, Bond, and Giro recruited guitarists Steve Sekrit (born Steven Robson) and Tim Magenta to a new lineup, now going by the name Punilux. They released a further album on the Red Rhino label, 7 in 1983, with Magenta replaced by Rab Aitch, before Neville Luxury went solo, releasing the mini-album Feels Like Dancing Wartime in 1984. The album Gigantic Days was finally released, on CD, in 1998 by Overground Records.
The albums are tricky to track down, but worth the effort.
The distinguishing feature of all puffballs is that they do not have an open cap with spore-bearing gills. Instead, spores are produced internally, in a spheroidal fruiting body called a gasterothecium (gasteroid ('stomach-like') basidiocarp). As the spores mature, they form a mass called a gleba in the centre of the fruiting body that is often of a distinctive color and texture.
The basidiocarp remains closed until after the spores have been released from the basidia. Eventually, it develops an aperture, or dries, becomes brittle, and splits, and the spores escape. The spores of puffballs are statismospores rather than ballistospores, meaning they are not actively shot off the basidium.
The fungi are called 'puffballs' because clouds of brown dust-like spores are emitted when the mature fruiting body bursts, or in response to impacts such as those of falling raindrops. Puffballs and similar forms are thought to have evolved repeatedly (that is, in numerous independent events) from hymenomycetes by gasteromycetation, through secotioid stages.
Thus, 'Gasteromycetes' and 'Gasteromycetidae' are now considered to be descriptive, morphological terms (more properly gasteroid or gasteromycetes, to avoid taxonomic implications) but not valid cladistic terms.
These two were spotted in an autumnal wood, near plenty of decaying leaves and branches.
While most puffballs are not poisonous, some often look similar to young agarics, especially the deadly Amanitas, such as the Death Cap mushroom. It is for this reason that all puffballs gathered in mushroom hunting should be cut in half lengthwise. Young puffballs in the edible stage, before maturation of the gleba, have undifferentiated white flesh within
whereas the gills of immature Amanita mushrooms can be seen if they are closely examined.
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Description
Keywords: tony,smith,tonysmith,hotpix,tonysmithhotpix,orange,garden,summer,flowe,uk,cheshire,byley,England,DOF,focus,nature,natural,plant,plants,head,flowerhead
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 6042036033 - 'Echo &
The Bunnymen - Flowers - Play this track here.
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Flowers is the 9th studio album released by the British band Echo &
the Bunnymen in February 2001. Its one of my favourite later ones. It reached number 56 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was recorded at the Elevator Studios in Liverpool and the Bryn Derwyn Studios in Wales and produced by Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant, with additional production by Pete Coleman. Flowers included the singles 'It's Alright' and 'Make Me Shine'.
Echo &
the Bunnymen are an English post-punk group, formed in Liverpool in 1978. Their original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut album, Crocodiles, met with critical acclaim and made the UK Top 20.
Their second album, Heaven Up Here (1981), again found favour with the critics and reached number 10 in the UK Album chart. The band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in the mid-1980s, as they scored a UK Top 10 hit with 'The Cutter', and the attendant album, Porcupine (1983), reached number 2 in the UK. Their next release, Ocean Rain (1984), continued the band's UK chart success, and has since been regarded as their landmark release, spawning the hit singles 'The Killing Moon', 'Silver' and 'Seven Seas'.
One more studio album, Echo &
the Bunnymen (1987), was released before McCulloch left the band to pursue a solo career in 1988. The following year, de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident, and the band re-emerged with a new line-up.
In December 2010, Echo &
the Bunnymen went on tour playing their first two albums Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here in their entirety.
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Description
Keywords: HotpixUk,@HotpixUK,GoTonySmith,1,image,Select,all,passed,Untitled,submission,OL10326720,All,1,|,Not,2BRH05N 1 of 1 selected images Purple MarshFlower,water,waterway,flowering,macro,close up,close-up,blue,loosestrife,summer,wild,flower,flowers,nature,natural,rural,countryside,canals,waterways,sunny,marshflower,purple
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2BRH05N -
Description
Keywords: HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,GoTonySmith,Cheshire,England,UK,in summer field,of wildflowers,Single,blue,cornflower,in,summer,field,wildflower,country,wild,growing wild,rewilding,wilding,daisy,shallow focus,nature,natural,rural,farm,farming,sole,macro,countryside,farmland,set-aside,MAF,subsidy,wildflowers,weed,weeds,flower,flowers
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2BPCNP0 -
Description
Keywords: @hotpixuk,Hotpixuk,GoTonySmith,flowers,England,UK,glove,wild flower,spring,foxes glofe,foxes glofa,witchs glove,witches glove,Plantaginaceae,common foxglove,biennial plant,plant,biennial,cardiac glycosides,digoxin,woodland plant,foxgloves,Digitalis purpurea,Digitalis,purpurea,macro,closeup,close-up,nature,pink,plants,wild,grass,woods,biodiversity,flora,flowering,close up,healthy,springtime
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2BGRC09 - Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and biennials commonly called foxgloves.
This genus was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, but recent phylogenetic research has placed it in the much enlarged family Plantaginaceae. This genus is native to western and southwestern Europe, western and central Asia and northwestern Africa. The flowers are produced on a tall spike, are tubular, and vary in colour with species, from purple to pink, white, and yellow. The scientific name means finger-like and refers to the ease with which a flower can be fitted over a human fingertip.
The best-known species is the common foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. This biennial plant is often grown as an ornamental plant due to its vivid flowers which range in colour from various purple tints through pink, and purely white. The flowers can also possess various marks and spottings. Other garden-worthy species include D. ferruginea, D. grandiflora, D. lutea and D. parviflora.
The term digitalis is also used for drug preparations that contain cardiac glycosides, particularly one called digoxin, extracted from various plants of this genus. Foxglove has medicinal uses but can also be toxic to humans and other animals
Description
Keywords: nature,natural,flower,flowers,blossom,blossoms,bloom,blooming,smell,sweet,of,Sakura,cultivated,for,ornamental,use,do,not,produce,fruit,tree,trees,shrubs,Hanami,avium,and,Prunus,cerasus.,beige,cream,creme,color,colour,new,life,rebirth,birth,festival,season,sato-sakura,group,sato,gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy D8HE39 -
Description
Keywords: yellow,blue,flower,sun,flowers,summer,tonysmith,tony,smith,hot,pix,pic,pics,hotpix,hotpics,music,thing,nature,country,countryside,Warrington,Cheshire,wa,UK,england,GB,great,britain,field,ipod,#tonysmithhotpix,#tonysmithotpix,hotpix.rocketmail.com,hotpixuk.rocketmail.com,contact.tony.smith.gmail.com,tony.smith.gmail.com,tonys@miscs.com,tony.smith@mis-ams.com
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4873208772 - 'Burnt By The Sun - 'David Byrne' - Play this track here.
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I remember listening to this track from the album 'Feelings' on one side of a C90 sailing around the Whitsundays one October back in 1998. On the other side was Depeche Mode's Ultra and it was playing back to back for about 5 days.
David Byrne born 1952 in Dumbarton, is a Scottish-born musician (British citizen) and artist most associated with his role as a founding member and principal songwriter of the band Talking Heads, which grew out of the NY CBGB's scene. Since 1991, Byrne has released his own solo recordings, and worked with various media including film, photography, opera, and non-fiction. He has received Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe awards and been inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Talking Heads were one of my favourite bands back in my youth and I remember buying 'Fear Of Music' from the Manchester Arndale Virgin Megastore one saturday afternoon, just on the strength of hearing I-Zimbra.
He has produced some fine work including collaborations and movie soundtracks. His record label 'Luaka Bop' has showcased much world music including one of my faves 'Cornershop'. I have seen him in concert a number of times and he never fails to surprise.
The Talking Heads live album &
DVD 'Stop Making Sense' is a fantastic introduction and worth about \u00a312 just to see that enormous suit 8-)
This track was a close second for this image.
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------------------------
Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are annual plants native to the Americas, that possess a large inflorescence (flowering head).
What is usually called the flower is actually a head (formally composite flower) of numerous florets (small flowers) crowded together. The outer florets are the sterile ray florets and can be yellow, maroon, orange, or other colors. The florets inside the circular head are called disc florets, which mature into seeds.
The florets within the sunflower's cluster are arranged in a spiral pattern. Typically each floret is oriented toward the next by approximately the golden angle, 137.5\u00b0, producing a pattern of interconnecting spirals where the number of left spirals and the number of right spirals are successive Fibonacci numbers. Typically, there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other
on a very large sunflower there could be 89 in one direction and 144 in the other. This pattern produces the most efficient packing of seeds within the flower head.
I have passed this field of them a few times and today, just had to stop while I had 'Feelings' on the iPod in the car. I hope you like them!
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Description
Keywords: nature,fly,insect,green,black,natura,natur,macro,tubes,bellows,clos,up,closeup,music,tonysmith,tony,smith,hotpix,hotpics,hot,pic,pics,pix,northwich,cheshire,uk,england,ipod,#tonysmithhotpix,#tonysmithotpix
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4844482206 - 'Magic Fly - 'Space' - Play this track here.
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Space were Marseille's answer to Dusseldorfs Kraftwerk. A little softer, more french, more disco, but in the same vein. This hit single from the album of the same name only really came to my attentiona decade later after listening to too much New Order (can you do such a thing you may ask?).
Space was founded in 1977 by Didier Marouani (also known as Ecama), Roland Romanelli, and Jannick Top. The first three albums \u2014 Magic Fly, Deliverance and Just Blue \u2014 were an immediate success (they sold over 12 million records all over the world).
The album Magic Fly, which is widely considered to be their best work, was released in audio cd in 2001, 24 years after its original release. Although Didier Marouani left the band in 1979, the other two members Roland Romanelli and Jannick Top released in 1980 the album Deeper Zone under the name of Space. Then Space officially split up in 1981.
In early 1980s Marouani, with Janny Loseth of Titanic as lead vocalist, continued to perform and record under the titles of Didier Marouani &
Space, and Paris-France-Transit due to release lawsuits. The name 'spAce' was legally reacquired after some artistic copyright disputes around 1990, allowing musicians to re-release classic albums and give a European live cover tour in 1993.
The latest Space album was released in 2002. In the same year, the S Club Juniors made a remix to their single 'New Direction' featuring the backing track of 'Magic Fly'. The band's hit 'Magic Fly' as well as many other songs from the self-named album were remixed in 2003 by the Belgian dance music project Minimalistix.
If you have chance, seek out the Magic Fly album. Tell 'em I sent you !
------------------------
Damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) are insects in the order Odonata. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest.
Furthermore, the hindwing of the damselfly is essentially similar to the fore-wing, while the hind-wing of the dragonfly broadens near the base, caudal to the connecting point at the body. Damselflies are also usually smaller, weaker fliers than dragonflies, and their eyes are separated.
Interestingly, Damselflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis, with an aquatic nymph stage. The female lays eggs in water, sometimes in underwater vegetation, or high in trees in bromeliads and other water-filled cavities.
Nymphs are carnivorous, feeding on daphnia, mosquito larvae, and various other small aquatic organisms, using extendable jaws similar to those of the dragonfly nymph. The gills of damselfly nymphs are large and external, resembling three fins at the end of the abdomen.
After moulting several times, the winged adult emerges and eats flies, mosquitoes, and other small insects. Some of the larger tropical species are known to feed on spiders, hovering near the web and plucking the spider from its nest.
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Keywords: nature,natural,bone,white,scotland,tony,smith,tonysmith,lomo,holga,hotpicks,isle,lewis,near,stornoway,edinbrugh,hotpix!,#tonysmithhotpix,@hotpixuk
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4793868574 - 'On seeing these skeletal remains of a rams head near Barvas, Isle Of Lewis, rural Scottish Western Isles, I started to consider if animals are aware of death. We certainly are and it can lay a heavy weight on our mind. Children and animals seem blissfully unaware of it, innocent or ignorant.
Animals must have fears. Those of losing the flock or of attack etc. However just that concentration on food, sleep, mating and survival makes them live for the moment. Wounded animals often retire to a quiet place to rest and die
A knowledge of death maybe should help us appreciate life more, live every day as it were our last. Regret what we did, rather than did not do.
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Description
Keywords: weed,wild,uk,england,english,flower,warrington,GB,nature,macro,close,up,closeup,tubes,tube,bellow,bellows,ColorPhotoAward,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4743397941 - 'The name Dandelion comes from 'dent de lion' apparently, French for lion's tooth referring to the teeth on the Leaves. Dandelion is native to Europe and Asia, but this yellow weed is naturalized in all temperate countries.
Its seeds are like little parachutes that fly away with the wind from 'clocks' such as this.
Some people remember as kids hearing about the rumour about dandelions. It is stated that if you smell or come in contact with a dandelion that you will pee the bed that night. Indeed in france this plant has the name 'pissenlit'
This idea is a myth of course. However, just like all tales, there is truth hidden within the fable. Dandelions may not be the cause of wetting the bed, but it is possible for it to be a factor.
This stems from the fact that the plant is a diuretic. A diuretic increases the amount of urine that is released by the body. However, in order for you to experience this diuretic property of the dandelion, you would have to do more than simply smelling or coming into contact with it. You would have to digest it.
So if you consume a certain quantity of dandelions before going to sleep and stay asleep through the night, you may awaken to find that your bed is now wet. This would then make dandelions a factor of the bed wetting, not the cause. Of course just extreme drunkeness can also cause bed wetting although this is obviously more an adult thing!
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Description
Keywords: Wild,flower,flowers,nature,white,blue,weed,sky,england,britain,uk,GB,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4700753230 - 'Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris), also known as Wild Chervil, Wild Beaked Parsley, and Keck, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Apiaceae, genus Anthriscus. It is also sometimes incorrectly called Motherdie (especially in the UK), however Motherdie is actually a name for Crataegus monogyna. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa
in the south of its range in the Mediterranean region, it is limited to higher altitudes. It is related to other diverse members of Apiaceae such as parsley, carrot, hemlock and hogweed.
The hollow stem of Cow parsley grows to a height of between 60\u2013170 cm, branching to umbels of small white flowers. Flowering time is mid-spring to early summer, so its just about everywhere around me at the moment.
The tripinnate leaves are 15\u201330 cm long and have a triangular form. The leaflets are ovate and subdivided.
Cow Parsley grows in sunny to semi-shaded locations in meadows and at the edges of hedgerows and woodland. It is a particularly common sight by the roadside. It is sufficiently common and fast-growing to be considered a nuisance weed in gardens. Cow parsley's ability to grow rapidly through rhizomes and to produce large quantities of seeds in a single growing season has made it an invasive species in many areas.
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Description
Keywords: nature,red,purplw,flower,green,hotpix,tonysmith,tony,smith
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4693817995 - 'Primula is a genus of around 400 species of low-growing herbs in the family Primulaceae. They include primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. Many species are grown for their ornamental flowers. They are native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, south into tropical mountains in Ethiopia, Indonesia and New Guinea, and in temperate southern South America.
Perennial primulas bloom mostly during the spring
their flowers can be purple, yellow, red, pink, or white. Generally, they prefer filtered sunlight. Many species are adapted to alpine climates.
The word primula is the Latin feminine diminutive of primus, meaning first (prime), applied to flowers that are among the first to open in spring.
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Description
Keywords: 365project,365,project,project365,flower,purple,blue,tonysmith,macro,close,up,tubes,tube,closeup,cheshire,uk,england,britain,GB,europe,bloom,bloomen,nature,plant,flore,flores,beautiful,summer,spring,flowering,flowers,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4683303596 - 'Iris is a genus of around 260 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also very widely used as a common name. A common sight in the early summer in europe.
Irises are perennial herbs, growing from creeping rhizomes (rhizomatous irises), or, in drier climates, from bulbs (bulbous irises). They have long, erect flowering stems, which may be simple or branched, solid or hollow, and flattened or have a circular cross-section.
The inflorescences are fan-shaped and contain one or more symmetrical six-lobed flowers. These grow on a pedicel or lack a footstalk. The three sepals, which are spreading or droop downwards, are referred to as 'falls'. They expand from their narrow base, which in some of the rhizomatous irises has a 'beard' (a tuft of short upright extensions growing in its midline), into a broader expanded portion ('limb'), often adorned with veining, lines or dots. The three, sometimes reduced, petals stand upright, partly behind the sepal bases. They are called 'standards'. Some smaller iris species have all six lobes pointing straight outwards, but generally, limb and standards differ markedly in appearance. They are united at their base into a floral tube that lies above the ovary (known as an inferior ovary). The styles divide towards the apex into petaloid branches
this is significant in pollination
The iris fruit is a capsule which opens up in three parts to reveal the numerous seeds within. In some species, these bear an aril.
Rhizomes of the German Iris (I. germanica) and Sweet Iris (I. pallida) are traded as orris root and are used in perfume and medicine, though more common in ancient times than today. Today Iris essential oil (absolute) from flowers are sometimes used in aromatherapy as sedative medicines. The dried rhizomes are also given whole to babies to help in teething. Gin brands such as Bombay Sapphire and Magellan Gin use orris root and sometimes iris flowers for flavour and colour.
The red fleur-de-lis in the coat-of-arms of Florence (Italy) and also of the scouts, descends from the white iris which is native to Florence and which grew even in its city walls. This white iris, displayed against a red background, became the symbol of Florence until the Medici family, to signal a change in political power, reversed the colors making the white one red and setting in motion a centuries-long breeding program to hybridize a red iris.
So, often taken for granted, the Iris is actually a very interesting plant indeed!
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',
Description
Keywords: Nature,deer,fallow,park,NT,national,trust,north,west,england,bri Nature,britain,GB,uk,united,kingdom,charity,brown,grassland,grass,land,feeding,horns,antler,antlers,Dama dama,ruminant,mammal,Cervidae,365project,project365,365,project,SpecAnimal,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4639706870 - 'This fallow deer buck had just been disturbed from grazing at Dunham Massey. Only the males have antlers. A significant number of the fallow in the Forest of Dean and in Epping Forest are of the black variety, very unlike this one, the general norm. One particularly interesting population is that based in the Mortimer Forest on the English/Welsh border where a significant part of the population have long hair with distinct ear tufts and longer body hair.
Dunham Park covers an area of nearly 193 acres. It's part of the Dunham Park Estate, run by the National Trust (NT). The park is mostly \u201cpasture-woodland or park-woodland\u201d and has been since the Middle Ages.
Many of the oak trees, which make up the larger part of the woodland, date back to the 17th century. Dunham Park is the only place in the northwest of England with such a concentration of old trees, and one of only a few remaining in England, making it a site of national importance. The park supports a range of animals, including fallow deer like this one and over 500 species of insect.
Dunham Massey has many grade II listed buildings. Among the most striking is the 18th century sandstone obelisk at the end of the north vista from Dunham Massey Hall, close to where this image was taken. Tradition has it that it marks the burial site of a race horse.
There are a number of other listed structures close by in the grounds of Dunham Massey Hall, including the 1720 wellhouse that supplied water to the hall until the 1860s, and the early 18th century ornamental sundial in front of the hall, depicting a black slave clad in leaves, carrying the sundial above his head. A bit of a throwback to a less enlightened age.
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Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@HotpixUK,HotpixUK,fallow deer,Dunham Massey,British deer,parkland wildlife,autumn deer,National Trust property,wildlife,nature,conservation,heritage landscapes,stately homes,National Trust,rural England,countryside,biodiversity,land management,seasons,autumn wildlife,animal behaviour,British mammals,editorial wildlife,environmental themes,Dama dama,deer close up,antlered deer,spotted coat,mammal wildlife,British wildlife,Cheshire countryside,managed deer herd,historic parkland,estate landscape,grassland habitat,alert animal,looking at camera,natural environment
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy CF7D9W - A close portrait view of a male fallow deer, also known as a buck, photographed in Dunham Massey Deer Park on the Dunham Massey National Trust estate in Cheshire, England. The deer faces the camera directly, its branching antlers clearly visible and its distinctive spotted coat sharply defined against the soft greens and browns of the surrounding parkland. The animal's alert posture and open mouth suggest heightened awareness, typical of deer behaviour during the late summer and autumn months, particularly around the rutting season.
Dunham Massey is a historic stately home and landscaped deer park with a long tradition of managed fallow deer herds, reflecting centuries-old estate practices where deer were both a symbol of status and a managed natural resource. Today the estate balances heritage conservation with modern wildlife management, offering an important refuge for deer and other species within a carefully maintained historic landscape. The open grassland and scattered trees visible in the background are characteristic of English parkland design, intended to frame wildlife within a picturesque setting.
Fallow deer are one of the most recognisable deer species in the UK, identifiable by their palmate antlers and variable coat patterns. Their presence in historic estates such as Dunham Massey highlights the close relationship between British wildlife, land management and cultural heritage. The image conveys themes of nature, conservation, seasonal change and the coexistence of wildlife within designed landscapes.
This photograph is suitable for editorial use covering British wildlife, countryside heritage, National Trust properties, conservation and animal behaviour, as well as commercial applications requiring high-quality imagery of deer, stately home parklands and rural England.
Description
Keywords: apple,tree,shrub,blossom,flower,sakura,white,blue,sky,poloriser,polariser,spring,bright,fresh,new,cheshire,rudheath,northwich,uk,united,kingdom,england,britain,nature,HDR,photomatix,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4615776482 - 'Here is a great ceiling of white blossom, some kind of apple I think. We seem to be awash with blossom at the moment. I dont know if its better than usual near me or just a bit better this year after the particularly harsh winter.
Thinking about that theme, the National Trust (NT) have launched a light-hearted competition asking for contributions towards a Japanese-style 'renga' poem on teh subject of the spring blossom.
Renga is an art form going back centuries, where one poet writes a verse before passing their contribution on to another. Blossom, a popular obsession in Japan is a traditional subject matter.
The National Trust's 36 verse poem will plan to track the country's orchards as they blossom from south to north in the coming weeks. The first 12 started at the Mother Orchard on the Cotehole Estate near Saltash in Cornwall, an eight-acre orchard filled with 120 apple tree varieties as well as cherries, pears and plums.
The middle 12 will be composed with the help of the public over the following 14 days, as the trees blossom across the country.
Aspiring renga poets can submit their verses for consideration online at a special website, www.orchardnetwork.org.uk . The best will be picked for inclusion in the final poem bythe Trust's poetry experts. The final 12 verses will be written at Acorn Bank in Cumbria, mid May.
Good for families the events at Cotehele and Acorn Bank will include picnics under the trees, bug hunts, blossom walks and wildlife displays. A great many of Englands orchards have been lost over the last 50 years and hopefully, this will help revive interest in Adams Pearmain, Ashmead's Kernel, Beauty of Bath, Egremont Russet and Sufolks Sturmer Pippin.
Lets see!
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-a-blue-flower-seen-in-spring--here-in-Lymm--Cheshire--UK-CF220D.jpg)
Description
Keywords: ( Hyacinthoides ) a blue flower seen in spring,here in Lymm,Cheshire,UK,gotonysmith,beauty,nature,what,to,see,whattosee,tourist,tour,traveler,gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of,(Hyacinthoides,to,be,precise),grows,from,bulbs,and,can,be,expected,about,four,weeks,after,daffadils,in,Britain.,By,the,time,they,appear,frosts,should,be,receeding,and,days,getting,noticably,warmer.,Other,common,names,for,it,include,auld,mans,bell,bluebell,calverkeys,culverkeys,English bluebell,jacinth,ring-o,absence,if,suitable,conditions,recur.,The,seedlings,can,flower,in,two,years,from,seed,and,as,a,result,bluebells,can,quickly,spread,to,form,a,carpet,in,suitable,conditions.,In,spring,many,north-western,European,woods,are,covered,by,dense,carpets,of,this,flower,thes,-bells,wilde,hyacint,and,wood,bells,(probably,as,they,appear,in,shaded,woodland,almost,spontainiously.,Bees,are,a,favourite,to,pollinate,these,plants.,Their,black,seeds,may,survive,long,periods,of,time,emerging,after,several,years
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy CF220D - The common Bluebell, here in Lymm, Cheshire, (Hyacinthoides non-scripta to be precise) grows from bulbs and can be expected about four weeks after daffadils in Britain. By the time they appear, frosts should be receeding and days getting noticably warmer.
Other common names for it include auld man's bell, bluebell, calverkeys, culverkeys, English bluebell, jacinth, ring-o'-bells, wilde hyacint, and wood bells (probably as they appear in shaded woodland almost spontainiously.
Bees are a favourite to pollinate these plants. Their black seeds may survive long periods of time emerging after several years' absence if suitable conditions recur. The seedlings can flower in two years from seed and as a result, bluebells can quickly spread to form a carpet in suitable conditions.
In spring, many north-western European woods are covered by dense carpets of this flower, these are commonly referred to as bluebell woods. In my youth that was the common name for a large wood beside the railway commuter line between Hadfield and Manchester. In spring it did produce a carpet of blue.
The presence of large numbers of bluebells is often used as an indicator species to identify ancient woodland, particularly in the East of England and Lincolnshire. It is estimated that 70% of all common bluebells are found in Great Britain.
In the UK the common bluebell is a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Landowners are prohibited from removing common bluebells on their land for sale and it is a criminal offence to remove the bulbs of wild common bluebells. This legislation was strengthened in 1998 under Schedule 8 of the Act making any trade in wild common bluebell bulbs or seeds an offence. So respect the little blue fellows!
Description
Keywords: Naturbl\u00fctenblume,flores,purpurrotes,rosarotes,Blumenkirschbaumbuschstrauchfr\u00fchling,Sakura-blauer,Himmel,primavera,nature,blossom,flower,purple,pink,red,flowers,cherry,tree,bush,shrub,spring,sakura,blue,sky,rouge-rose,pourpre,de,ciel,bleu,ressort,d'arbuste,buisson,cerisier,fleurs,fleur,rosado,p\u00farpura,del,cielo,azul,resorte,arbusto,cerezo,tonysmith,HDR,sex,sexy,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4587919792 - 'Few plants captivate a nation quite like the Japanese flowering cherry or 'cherry blossom'. Pick up a 100 yen coin and at any time of the year it reminds you of the Sakura.
In Japan cherry blossoms among other things symbolize clouds. This is due to their nature of blooming en masse, besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese cultural tradition that is often associated with Buddhistic influence, and which is embodied in the concept of 'mono no aware' (the life of things). The association of the cherry blossom with 'mono no aware' dates back to 18th-century scholar Motoori Norinaga.
The transience of the blossoms, the extreme beauty and quick death, has often been associated with mortality. For this reason, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic, and have been utilized often in Japanese art, manga, anime, and film, as well as at musical performances for ambient effect. The band Kagrra, which is associated with the visual kei movement, is an example of this latter phenomenon. There is at least one popular folk song, originally meant for the shakuhachi (bamboo flute), titled 'Sakura', and several pop songs. The flower is also represented on all manner of consumer goods in Japan, including kimono, stationery, and dishware.
Cherry blossom is an omen of good fortune and is also an emblem of love, affection and represents spring. Cherry blossoms are an enduring metaphor for the fleeting nature of life, and as such are frequently depicted in art.
At Himeji Castle Japan During World War II, the cherry blossom was used to motivate the Japanese people, to stoke nationalism and militarism among the populace. Japanese pilots would paint them on the sides of their planes before embarking on a suicide mission, or even take branches of the trees with them on their missions. There is a plane of this type in the Manchester museum of science of industry. My friend Josef Knocke always comes to mind when I look at it as does a particularly tasteless joke, that I would not repeat here for a family audience.
A cherry blossom painted on the side of the bomber symbolized the intensity and ephemerality of life. In this way, the aesthetic association was altered such that falling cherry petals came to represent the sacrifice of youth in suicide missions to honor the emperor. The government even encouraged the people to believe that the souls of downed warriors were reincarnated in the blossoms.
In its colonial enterprises, aparently imperial Japan often planted cherry trees as a means of 'claiming occupied territory as Japanese space'. Consider this as you pass below those lovely pink blossoms...
(2010 week 16)
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Description
Keywords: cherry,blossom,sakura,tree,knutsford,rd,road,grappenhall,cheshire,england,UK,purple,pink,red,nature,flowers,hotpixuk,hotpix,tonysmith,tony,smith
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4556321256 - 'A picture of spring just about to emerge!
Spotted on Knutsford Road Grappenhall, Cheshire, purple cherry blossom on a tree just about ready to open. In Japan the cherry blossom has nearly mystical spring significance.
During the Heian Period (794\u20131191), Japanese sought to emulate many practices from China, including the social phenomenon of flower viewing (hanami), where the imperial households, poets, singers and other aristocrats would gather and celebrate under the blossoms. In Japan, cherry trees were planted and cultivated for their beauty, for the adornment of the grounds of the nobility of Kyoto, at least as early as 794. In China, the ume 'plum' tree (actually a species of apricot) was held in highest regard, but by the middle of the ninth century, the cherry blossom had replaced the plum as the favored species in Japan.
Every year the Japanese Meteorological Agency and the public track the sakura zensen (cherry-blossom front) as it moves northward up the archipelago with the approach of warmer weather via nightly forecasts following the weather segment of news programs. The blossoming begins in Okinawa in January and typically reaches Kyoto and Tokyo at the end of March or the beginning of April. It proceeds into areas at the higher altitudes and northward, arriving in Hokkaid\u014d in the colder east a few weeks later. Japanese pay close attention to these forecasts and turn out in large numbers at parks, shrines, and temples with family and friends to hold flower-viewing parties.
Hanami festivals celebrate the beauty of the cherry blossom and for many are a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful view. The custom of hanami dates back many centuries in Japan: the eighth-century chronicle Nihon Shoki records hanami festivals being held as early as the third century CE.
Most Japanese schools and public buildings have cherry blossom trees outside of them. Since the fiscal and school year both begin in April, in many parts of Honsh\u016b, the first day of work or school coincides with the cherry blossom season.
(2010 week 14)
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--furry-catkins--Dalkeith--Scotland--UK-2A9GHXJ.jpg)
Description
Keywords: HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,GoTonySmith,UK,tree,woods,in Spring,furry catkins,Dalkeith,Scotland,Flowering shoots,Spring,smaller species,sallows,furry,an early sign of spring,spring on its way,flowering shoots,nature,forest,natural,beautiful,spring,Palm Sunday,against blue sky,Polish Dyngus Day observances,Easter Monday,flower,shoot,classic,sunny,blue sky,blue skies,morning,low sun,early sign,of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2A9GHXJ - Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus Salix (willows and sallows) when their furry catkins are young in early spring. These species include (among many others):
Goat willow or goat sallow (Salix caprea), a small tree native to northern Europe and northwest Asia.
Grey willow or grey sallow (Salix cinerea), a small tree native to northern Europe.
American pussy willow (Salix discolor), native to northern North America.
Before the male catkins of these species come into full flower they are covered in fine, greyish fur, leading to a fancied likeness to tiny cats, also known as pussies. The catkins appear long before the leaves, and are one of the earliest signs of spring. At other times of year trees of most of these species are usually known by their ordinary names.
The flowering shoots of pussy willow are used both in Europe and America for spring religious decoration on Palm Sunday, as a replacement for palm branches, which do not grow that far north.
Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox
Ruthenian, Polish, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Bavarian, and Austrian Roman Catholics
Finnish and Baltic Lutherans and Orthodox
and various other Eastern European peoples carry pussy willows on Palm Sunday instead of palm branches. This custom has continued to this day among Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Romanian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Ruthenian Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic, Kashubian Catholic and Polish Catholic émigrés to North America. Sometimes, on Palm Sunday they will bless both palms and pussy willows in church. The branches will often be preserved throughout the year in the family's icon corner.
Pussy willow also plays a prominent role in Polish Dyngus Day (Easter Monday) observances, continued also among Polish-Americans,especially in the Buffalo, New York, area.
--furry-catkins--Dalkeith--Scotland--UK-2A9GHXN.jpg)
Description
Keywords: HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,GoTonySmith,UK,tree,woods,in Spring,furry catkins,Dalkeith,Scotland,Flowering shoots,Spring,smaller species,sallows,furry,an early sign of spring,spring on its way,flowering shoots,nature,forest,natural,beautiful,spring,Palm Sunday,against blue sky,Polish Dyngus Day observances,Easter Monday,low sun,blue sky,flower,shoot,blue skies,early sign,of,morning,sunny,classic
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2A9GHXN - Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus Salix (willows and sallows) when their furry catkins are young in early spring. These species include (among many others):
Goat willow or goat sallow (Salix caprea), a small tree native to northern Europe and northwest Asia.
Grey willow or grey sallow (Salix cinerea), a small tree native to northern Europe.
American pussy willow (Salix discolor), native to northern North America.
Before the male catkins of these species come into full flower they are covered in fine, greyish fur, leading to a fancied likeness to tiny cats, also known as pussies. The catkins appear long before the leaves, and are one of the earliest signs of spring. At other times of year trees of most of these species are usually known by their ordinary names.
The flowering shoots of pussy willow are used both in Europe and America for spring religious decoration on Palm Sunday, as a replacement for palm branches, which do not grow that far north.
Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox
Ruthenian, Polish, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Bavarian, and Austrian Roman Catholics
Finnish and Baltic Lutherans and Orthodox
and various other Eastern European peoples carry pussy willows on Palm Sunday instead of palm branches. This custom has continued to this day among Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Romanian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Ruthenian Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic, Kashubian Catholic and Polish Catholic émigrés to North America. Sometimes, on Palm Sunday they will bless both palms and pussy willows in church. The branches will often be preserved throughout the year in the family's icon corner.
Pussy willow also plays a prominent role in Polish Dyngus Day (Easter Monday) observances, continued also among Polish-Americans,especially in the Buffalo, New York, area.
Description
Keywords: Nature,birds,ducks,water,sign,no,fishing,from,this,bank,No Fishing,f,birds ducks water sign no fishing from this bank No,Fishing from,cheshire,knutsford,northwich,middlewich,M6,motorway,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4541555972 - 'Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', 'This is my message to you-ou-ou:'
Singin': 'Don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don't worry!'
Singin': 'Don't worry about a thing' - I won't worry!
''Cause every little thing gonna be all right.'
Three cheeky birds, Shakerley Mere near Knutsford Cheshire UK
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Description
Keywords: lamb,mutton,sheep,hill,farm,spring,field,green,grass,countryside lamb,countryside,lamington,lanarkshire,scotland,uk,gb,britain,hotpics,hotpix,tonysmith,feeding,milk,weening,365project,nature,natural,history,sex,sexy,edinbrugh,rural
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4539216926 - 'A sheep feeding her two spring lambs appropriately just outside Lamington. The village is in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, roughly between Biggar and Lanark. It has a claim to fame that is may have been the home of Marion Braidfute, legendary wife of William Wallace (remembered in Scotland and Hollywood as a patriot and national hero).
Meat eaters are much more likely to encounter lamb than mutton on their plates. To ensure that consumers get what it says on the tin, around the world there are different standards to identify meat from sheep. In New Zealand and Austrailia the state of wear of a sheeps teath are the determining factors. Lambs have no worn permanent incisor teeth, a Hogget no more than two permanent incisors in wear and Mutton for two or more permanent incisors in wear.
In general, the darker the colour, the older the animal. Baby lamb meat will be pale pink, while regular lamb is pinkish-red.
Near Lamington if you were eating traditional Haggis (and I would only recommend Macsweens, even though they have those two cheesy actor lovers on their website www.macsween.co.uk/ ) you would probably be eating some lamb Lungs and Heart. occasionally lamb testicles (sometimes called Lambs Fries, dont mix them up when ordering with teh french ones), also make a tasty delicacy, perhaps not one for a romantic dinner though!
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Description
Keywords: pussy,willow,nature,catkins,shrub,plant,bush,flowers,spring,male pussy,male,female,yellow,cat,cats,bright,scotland,eskbank,dalkeith,midlothian,britain,british,UK,blue,sky,art,arty,edinbrugh,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4539227102 - 'The rowan, the oak and the holly tree
are the charges left for you to groom.
Each blade of grass whispers Jack-In-The-Green.
Oh Jack, please help me through my winter's night.
And we are the berries on the holly tree.
Oh, the mistlethrush is coming.
Jack, put out the light.
Yes, those 'Jacks In The Green' (yep they are plural !) have been busy during that long unusually cold winter. The results of their quiet labour seem to have all burst out into bloom around us.
The Pussy willow (Salix Caprea) is native to our corner of Europe and bits of Asia. The flowers seen here along an old railway line, are soft silky, silvery 3-7 cm long catkins, produced in early spring before the new leaves appear. Its dioecious in that there are male and female catkins on different plants.
Before the male catkins of these species come into full flower they are covered in fine, greyish fur, leading to a fancied likeness to tiny cats, also known as 'pussies'. The catkins appear long before the leaves, and are one of the earliest signs of spring.
The male catkins mature yellow at pollen release, the female catkins pale green. The fruit is a small capsule 5-10 mm long containing numerous minute seeds embedded in fine cottony hairs. The seeds are very small (about 0.2 mm) with the fine hairs aiding dispersal. To germinate they require bare soil.
This plant was historically widely used as a browse for goats and that might be the origin of the other name for this shrub.
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(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC 07092182899',
Description
Keywords: Cheshire,purple,lilac,flower,crocus,corms,spring,new,life,growth,plant,grow,nature,northwich,wood,rudheath,canal,bulb,bright,sunny,365project,iris,white,blue,natural,world,flowers,flores,bloom,blome,hotpix!,europa,springtime,springs,bulbs,bloomen,blooms,fresh,tony,smith,hot,picks,pics,hotpics,sun,sunshine
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4454885889 - 'New Purple Crocus another sign of spring and the warmer weather to come. I will try to get back to these to see what they are like with full flowers open if I can.
Crocus is perennial and belongs within the Iris family (Iridaceae). Macro setting used.
More images of plants in my photostream-
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(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC 07092182899',
Description
Keywords: tulip,pink,macro,tubes,bellows,closeup,tripod,stamen,overy,overies,grappenhall,florest,2lips,welsh,cheshire,uk,england,petals,flowers,winter,spring,tonysmith,hotpix,tony,smith,plant,bloom,hotpics,hotpic,hotpick,hotpicks,nature,natural,world,flower,flores,blome,hot,pics,pix,picks,hotpix.freeserve.co.uk,art,arty,sex,sexy
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4433438874 - 'One of my favourite perenials from the family Liliaceae. A gift from Iran and Turkey where the Ottamans first started cultivation for sale. In Turkish the tulip is called Lale
The Tulip is native to the old world, southern europe right across to China and central asia. A helpful and knowledgable chap in my local florests in Knutsford road told me that the most varied ones grow in the Hindu Kush and on the steppes of Kazakhstan (fictional home of Sacha Baron Cohen's character Borat). He also told me that most tulips are derived from 'Tulipa gesneriana'. In retrospect I wonder if my other florist near the MSCC cateliver bridge '2lips' (geddit? www.2lipsflorists.co.uk/ ), would have been as informative.
Plants are perennials from bulbs and typically have two to six leaves. The cup shaped flowers typically have three petals and three sepals, which are most often termed 'tepals' because they are nearly indestinguishable.
The flowers have six stamens (yellow here) and the overies are three lobed. How nature likes threes eh?
Europians were taken by the spring flowers. Around 1634 to 1637, the early enthusiasm for the new tulips triggered a speculative frenzy now known as the 'tulip mania'. The tulip bulbs were then considered a form of currency. Not so far away from our own times when the 'dot com' boom and sub-prime lending, confirms we have actually not come that far from those heady days of dutch speculators over 450 years ago.
My advice, 'Buy Tulips' :-)
Macro tubes have been used here with a 28-300mm lens to give a life size macro image.
Another flower extreme close-up www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/4315063542/
and one of my favourite nature shots www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/3735036134/
Have a look at some of my other macro images on Flickr - w=33062170@N08\'>www.flickr.com/search/?q=macro&
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(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC 07092182899 ',
Description
Keywords: star,anise,anised,flower,dried,spice,brown,tamarind,red,12,twelve,seeds,macro,tubes,close,up,closeup,lens,small,nature,natural,food,ingredient,kitchen,tonysmith,tony,smith,hotpix,hotpix.org.uk,hotpixuk,365project,plant,bloom,stillife,stilllife,still,life,art,arty,sex,sexy
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4420509015 - 'I am a big fan of Kurly Aniseed, as the proprieters of the Lymm Sweet Shop will testify. This form of aniseed, star anise is a fascinating one to photograph and fills the whole room with a lovely aroma, once its in the open. In western India it is often referred to as 'BarDan', which translates as 'The spice with 12 seeds' (two per tip).
It is found in chinese five spice, Garam Masala and no good biryani should really be without it. Decent vietnamese soup Pho generally has a shot of it too. I do miss the old days when I had a proper spice grinder.
Star Anise is actually unrelated to its name-sake although does contain the same aromatic substance anethole , that creates the flavour in french pastis, Ouzo, Raki and sambuca. It has also been used as the basis for making anti-flu drugs such as the early Tamiflu varients. Whenever a swine flu scare goes out, prices of star anise increase exponentially.
Most is grown in China and harvested around spring, just before its ripe.
Japanese star anise is a similar tree, but not edible. Indeed its mis-use has resulted in many toxic effects. Usually in temples in Japan it is burned as incense, rather than ingested. If you have a keen eye you can usually find some in Chinatown in Manchester. Beats an 'Airwick Solid' any day.
Here, an extreme macro of another type of old world spice www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/4366031302/
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC 07092182899
',
Description
Keywords: catkin,hazel,nut,tree,shrub,sandbach,sky,blue,clouds,cloudy,cheshire,england,UK,europe,yellow,spring,male,growth,plant,nature,natural,stephen,buchan,edinburgh,stephenbuchan,Chehire,bloom,world,flower,flowers,flores,blome,sex,sexy,hotpix!,Edinburg,edimburgh
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4420441332 - 'Another sign that spring is just about upon us, on a cold but bright March afternoon.
Hazel is common across europe and its outer edges. It is often seen with Oak on more fertile and lower lying ground. Hazel is a member of the birch family of trees, Betulaceae, and can grow to a height of 10 metres, although full height is seldom seen in Britain.
Typically it has a number of shoots or trunks branching out at, or just above, ground level, and this growth habit has led to some people referring to it as a bush rather than a tree, because it doesn't meet the strict definition for a tree, of having a single stem that is unbranched near the ground.
Male flowers are in the form of catkins, which are pale yellow in colour and up to 5 cm. long. They open in February, when hazel and its companion deciduous trees are all leafless, so they are one of the first obvious signs of spring in the forest. The female flowers are tiny red tufts, growing out of what look like swollen buds, and are visible on the same branches as the male catkins. Pollination is by wind, and hazel is self-incompatible - successful pollination only occurs between different trees, as a single tree cannot pollinate itself.
Fertilised female flowers grow into nuts which are up to 2 cm. in size and occur in clusters of 1 to 4. Each nut is partially enclosed by a cup-shaped sheath of papery bracts, or modified leaves. The nuts ripen to a brown colour in September and October, with the nut itself enclosed by a tough woody shell. Empty nuts are an occasional occurrence.
The nuts are distributed by squirrels, woodpeckers, and, after falling to the ground, by other small rodents. Most of the nuts are consumed by these dispersers, but some of those which are hoarded for winter, or are overlooked, germinate and grow the following spring.
Hazel leaves are eaten by roe deer and red deer, and the nuts, which are rich in fats and protein, are eaten by the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) and squirrels. Squirrels split the shell of the nut in two halves to get the kernel inside, whereas wood mice will gnaw a hole through the shell. In England, hazel is an important tree for the dormouse.
Many thanks for SB for pointing me to a lot of info about Hazel that I never knew :-)
From Spring to autumn www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/3828201350/
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC 07092182899',
Description
Keywords: yellow,flower,winter,spring,croci,crocus,wood,Gargaricus,Bulbs,trees,macro,close,up,nature,natural,yelow,lemon,flowers,blooms,365project,plant,bloom,hotpics,hotpic,hotpick,hotpicks,world,flores,blome,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4402166224 - 'A little bulb that signals together with all those white snowdrops that have appeared, that winter is at last on its way out and spring is coming (yeppppeeeee !!).
This is a plant that likes damp grassland and thin woodland, exactly here just outside Northwich, Cheshire, England UK where I stumbled upon these. I am not so sure how wild these are, but they dont appear to have any tending. The crocus is a hardy perennial and in Britain and east across europe they can usually fend for themselves. The plants grow from corms. The leaves are similar to grass.
Crocus are cultivated for spice saffron. It is taken from the stigmas of Crocus sativus, an autumn/fall-blooming species. In fact the genus and name 'Crocus' comes from old hebrew or persian words kurkum/kark\u014dm which mean 'yellow saffron'.
This was taken on macro mode. These plants are under a thumbs height.
Here, an extreme flower close-up macro from the summer www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/3811362428/ - This might help us all think of warmer times !
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC 07092182899',
Description
Keywords: winter,ice,icicles,snow,scotland,a702,a7,tree,iced,cold,colder,coldest,nature,cool,cooling,white,blue,splash,low,temperatures,lamington,culter,abington,abingdon,M74,highway,road,edinbrugh,hotpix!,Edinburg,edimburgh
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4396841970 - 'While snowdrops and other crocus are starting to appear, there is still lots of winter around in Scotland and England, Here splashes of water from the A702 have petrified a tree in ice. A natural phenomenia.
the A702 is the road up to Edinburgh. Here is a shot from my favourite bars there www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/4231716225/
Some industrial icicles www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/4278206361/
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC 07092182899',
Description
Keywords: red,Scarlett,Amarilis,Stamen,flower,macro,close,up,closeup,polon,pollan,pollon,Hippeastrum,extreme,nature,natural,history,world,life,the macro group,bontany,botanic,flores,beauty,rouge,rot-rosso-rouge-rood,plant,bloom,hotpics,hotpic,hotpick,hotpicks,flowers,blome,stillife,stilllife,still,sex,sexy,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4315063542 - 'The distinctive Stamens of the Amarilis.
Macro tubes used here without flash to give a more than life size image.
The Amaryllis is a tender bulb which originated in the Andes mountains of South America. Naturally flowering in December/January it is popular for adding some christmas colour in the northern hemisphere over christmas.
Therefore, unfortunately, it can only be grown outdoors, year round in USDA zones 9-11. In other zones, the potted plants may be moved outdoors after the danger of frost has passed but must be brought back indoors in September.
Amaryllis may be purchased as individually packaged or bulk bulbs, but more often are sold in a pre-potted condition. The pre-planted Amaryllis gift boxes normally take no more initial effort than simply watering them with room temperature water to bring them into growth. Avoid getting water on the nose of the bulb. Keep the potting medium moist, but not wet. Be careful, don't over-water!
The plant should be kept in a brightly lighted area at about 70-75 degrees f. After the plant begins to grow, feeding is essential. Either use a complete slow- release fertilizer which lasts several months, or a water soluble fertilizer twice a month. Once the plant is flowering, keep it out of direct sunlight, and slightly cooler to promote a longer flower life. After all flowers fade, cut them off at the top of the stalk. When the stalk begins to sag, carefully cut it off just above the bulb nose. Continue to water and fertilize as normal, until the leaves begin to yellow. At this time, cut the leaves back to about 2 inches from the top of the bulb and remove it from the pot. Keep the bulb in a cool (40-50 degree f), dark place for a minimum of 6-8 weeks.
Plant bulbs 8 weeks before you would like them to bloom.
Any time after that, you may repot the bulb, and begin the process over again. Bulbs may be planted at two week intervals, from September through February to ensure non-stop winter bloom, until May.
Plant in a well-drained, sterile potting medium, using a standard 6-inch diameter pot. Be sure that the pot has adequate drainage holes. Plant the bulb, with about one-third being above the rim of the pot. Press the soil down firmly to set the bulb securely in place. Water thoroughly, and your plant will begin anew.
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC ',
Description
Keywords: flower,ice,iced,frozen,solid,northwich,cheshire,england,uk,gb,january,2010,winter,weather,hotpixuk,hotpix,tony,smith,tonysmith,tdk,tdktony,yellow,macro,small,close,up,closeup,cold,colder,nature,natural,history,world,life,this photo rocks,plant,bloom,flowers,flores,blome,stillife,stilllife,still
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4293987644 - 'One of three graveyard flowers I noticed frozen within the ice in a small thin slither of ice.
Its very cold, but looks very light and delicate, with the bubbles in the ice showing through, just caught by the macro setting and being held up to the light.
Taken in Englands big freeze January 2010 in Northwich Cheshire.
A flower macro here www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/3811362428/
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC 07092182899',
Description
Keywords: red,leaf,autumn,fuscia,bush,plant,flower,purple,petal,petals,decay,rotting,england,northwich,cheshire,weaverham,hotpixuk,hotpix,tonysmith,tony,smith,UK,TDKTony,photo,photos,photography,photographer,hotpix.org.uk,www.hotpix.org.uk,www.thewdcc.org.uk,thewdcc.org.uk,wdcc.org.uk,Warrington,society,District,Camera,club,photographic,SLR,DSLR,group,GYCA,Bellhouse,bellhouse Club,nature,natural,history,world,life,HDR,high dynamic range,bloom,flowers,flores,blome,stillife,stilllife,still
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 4172147895 - 'A decaying leaf under a fuscia bush that has left a riot of colour from its fallen petals (now just about given up flowering any more). The lack of hard frost and mild wet weather seems to have encouraged many fuscias to keep going.
From Northwich, Cheshire, UK.
Another purple autumn item here www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/3999342512/
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC',
Description
Keywords: Sulphur Tuft Fungi at Grappenhall Hays walled garden,South Warrington,Cheshire,UK. Ground lying Autumn,low sun Fall gotonysmith tony smith funghi english england,yellow gold Hypholoma fasciculare,commonly known as the sulphur tuft,sulfur tuft or clustered woodlover,is a common woodland,mushroom,gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of,at,autumn,the,Fall,ground,Grappenhall Hays,walled,garden,lying,wood,woods,nature,natural,inedible,danger,dangerous,poison,poisonous,common,woodland,Hypholoma fasciculare
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy CEMX3H - Hypholoma fasciculare, commonly known as the sulphur tuft, sulfur tuft or clustered woodlover, is a common woodland mushroom, often in evidence when hardly any other mushrooms are to be found. This saprophagic small gill fungus grows prolifically in large clumps on stumps, dead roots or rotting trunks of broadleaved trees. Here seen in North West England in Cheshire (Grappenhall Heys, near Warrington)
The Sulphur Tuft is bitter and poisonous
consuming it can cause vomiting, diarrhea and convulsions. The principal toxic constituents have been named fasciculol E and fasciculol F.
Description
Keywords: Autumn Red Pink Leaf on pink autumn fallen foliage,great,reds,and,purples,petals,flowers,shades,shade,of,purple,fall,the,fall,gotonysmith,gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of,leaves,leafs,autumn,The Fall,petal,colours,vibrant,ground,color,colors,pinks,beautiful,beauty,nature,natural,calendar,outdoor,outdoors
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy CEMWD3 - Autumn Red Pink Leaf on pink autumn fallen foliage (Americans may call this the Fall)
Description
Keywords: Scottish,highland,corbet,corbett,shaft,of,sunlight,road,desolate,hill,side,hillside,scotch,country,countryside,nature,natural,roads,of,sky,Gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of,Highlands,Scotland,UK,area,landscape,drama,sunny,cloud,clouds,Highland
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy D8HCM1 -
Description
Keywords: Macro,Poppy,Poppies,flower,closeup,close,up,england,cheshire,UK,garden,perrenial,extreme,extreme macro,365days,nature,natural,history,world,life,this photo rocks,plant,bloom,flowers,flores,blome,Hotpicks,hotpics,hot,pics,pix,picks,hotpix.freeserve.co.uk,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 3811362428 - '18-200mm lens with macro tube used to capture this red poppy flower.
This was the last one to come out in my garden, here in Grappenhall, Warrington, Cheshire UK.
More macro here www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/3664445817/
(c) Hotpix Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC
',
Description
Keywords: sea,shells,brown,white,curved,macro,conch,ocean,nature,natural,history,texture,shape,tonysmith,hotpics,hot,pics,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 3827404585 - 'A seashell, also known as a sea shell, or simply as a shell, is the common name for a hard, protective outer layer, a shell, or in some cases a 'test', that was created by a sea creature, a marine organism. The shell is part of the body of a marine animal. In most cases a shell is an exoskeleton, usually that of an animal without a backbone, an invertebrate. Seashells are most often found on beaches.
The word seashell is most often used to mean the shells of marine mollusks, i.e. mollusk shells. It can however also be used to mean the shells of a wide variety of other marine animals from various different marine invertebrates.
As well as marine mollusks, many other kinds of sea animals have exoskeletons or even internal shells which sometimes, after death, wash up on the beach and may be picked up by beachcombers. These shells include remains from species in other invertebrate phyla, such as the moulted shells or exuviae of crabs and lobsters, the shells of barnacles, horseshoe crab shells, the tests (endoskeletons) of sea urchins, sand dollars and seastars, brachiopod shells, and the shells of marine annelid worms in the family Serpulidae, which create calcareous tubes cemented onto other surfaces.
Seashells have been admired, studied and used by humans for many different purposes throughout history and pre-history.
This shot reminds me of the book 'Lord of the flies' by William Golding. It discusses how culture created by man fails, using as an example a group of British schoolboys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, but with disastrous results.
Two boys, the fair-haired Ralph and an overweight, bespectacled boy reluctantly nicknamed 'Piggy' find a conch shell which Ralph uses as a horn to assemble the other children. Two dominant boys emerge during the meeting: Ralph, and Jack Merridew, a redhead who is the head of a choir group that was among the survivors. Ralph is voted chief, losing only the votes of Jack's fellow choirboys. Ralph asserts two goals: have fun, and work toward rescue by maintaining a constant fire signal. They create the fire with Piggy's glasses, and, for a time, the boys work together while erecting shelters, gathering food and water, and keeping the fire going. The possesor of the conch shell assumes leadership.
Note that no schoolboys were harmed in teh taking of this image :-)
NB: Like all the images on this stream, full size prints up to 30x20inches are available, Check my profile for how to contact me.
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(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC',
Description
Keywords: Flower Purple,Lavatera Thuringiaca,Lavatera,Thuringiaca,purple,flower,pink,stamen,365days,nature,natural,history,world,life,plant,bloom,flowers,flores,blome,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 3782852212 - 'Lavatera thuringiaca, native to eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from southern Germany south to Italy, quite likes our generally mild winters and occasionally pleasent summers. I noticed a bigger than usual show of flowers near the canal between Lostock and Middlewich
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC',
Description
Keywords: northwich,thistle,invasive,plants,weeds,scotland,flower,purple,sharp,365days,Schotland,l'Ecosse,Ecosse,Schottland,\u03a3\u03ba\u03c9\u03c4\u03af\u03b1,la,Scozia,\u30b9\u30b3\u30c3\u30c8\u30e9\u30f3\u30c9,\uc2a4\ucf54\ud2c0\ub780\ub4dc,\u0428\u043e\u0442\u043b\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0438\u044f,Escocia,nature,natural,history,world,life,this photo rocks,plant,bloom,flowers,flores,blome,edinbrugh,NaturesElegantShots,flickrflorescloseupmacros,mimamorflowers,flickrsportal,flowersarebeautiful,PhotosAndCalendar,FloraandFaunaofTgeWorld,MixofFlowers,ExquisiteFlowers,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 3734237361 - 'Thriving in Northwich, Cheshire UK
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC',
Description
Keywords: Buddleja davidii,purple Buddleia flower,365days,nature,natural,history,world,life,this photo rocks,plant,bloom,flower,flowers,flores,blome,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 3734237235 - 'Latin name Buddleja davidii.
Unusually no butterflies on this one.
Buddleja, often spelled Buddleia is a genus of flowering plants. It is now included in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, though in the past was previously classified in either the Loganiaceae or in a family of its own, the Buddlejaceae. The generic name honours Reverend Adam Buddle (1662\u20131715), who was a botanist and a rector in Essex, England.
The roughly 100 species are mostly shrubs, a few being trees
the largest species reach 30 m (98 ft) tall, but most species rarely exceed 5 m (16 ft) tall. Both evergreen and deciduous species occur. They are native throughout the warmer parts of the New World from the southern United States south to Chile, and widely in the Old World in Africa and the warmer parts of Asia, but absent as natives from Europe and Australasia. The species are divided into two groups based on their floral type, those in the New World being dioecious, and those in the Old World being monoecious.
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC',
Description
Keywords: 365days,purple,lavender,lavendar,summer,green,flower,flores,buds,village,nice,macro,close,up,closeup,tubes,canon,lens,nature,natural,history,world,life,this photo rocks,plant,bloom,flowers,blome,Hotpicks,hotpics,hot,pics,pix,picks,hotpix.freeserve.co.uk,hotpix!
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 3690682981 - 'The second of my summer garden lavenders in flower from the village of Grappenhall, Cheshire UK.
Essential oil of lavender has some well known antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. It was used in hospitals during WWI to disinfect floors and walls. These extracts are also now used as pleasent fragrances for bath products. the oil should not be ingested however. Topically, lavender oil is cytotoxic. It increases photosensitivity as well. Lavender oil is cytotoxic to human skin cells in vitro (endothelial cells and fibroblasts) at a concentration of 0.25%.
I read an article about lavender and tea tree oil, contributing to gynaecomastia. This is an abnormal breast tissue growth in prepubescent boys. The use of shampoo and similar products, containing lavender and tea tree oils, in some boys resulted in this condition. Professor Leuan Hughes, who was a child hormone specialist at Cambridge University suggested that 'these oils can mimic oestrogens' and 'people should be a little bit careful about using these products' Well yes, clearly (!)
Lavenders are from the mint family, probbaly explaining its fragrence. There are 39 species in Lavandula. The genus includes annuals, herbaceous plants, subshrubs, and small shrubs native from Canary Islands, North and East Africa, Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, Arabia and India.
They are occasionally found growing wild as garden escapees, well beyond their natural range. However, since lavender cross-pollinates easily, there are countless variations within the species. The color of the flowers of some forms has come to be just referred to as 'lavender'.
Lilac, purple or blue flowers are borne in whorls, held on spikes rising above the foliage. Over near Kings Lynn, 'Lavendin' is the most cultivated species for commercial use. This is because its flowers are bigger and the plants are easier to harvest, although Lavendin oil is regarded to be of a lower quality than some other harder to cultivate and harvest varieties.
Another natural shot in purple www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/4172147895/
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC',
Description
Keywords: wild,horse,horses,new,forest,hampshire,dorset,holmsley,christchurch,365days,newforest,pony,animals,wildlife,life,nature,lynhurst,lyndhurst,england,uk,gb,britain,tonysmith,tony,smith,hotpix!,#tonysmithhotpix
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 3690683323 - 'Near Holmsley, Dorset. England UK
A chot from nearer the coast here www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/3690684063/in/set-72157617...
(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC',
Description
Keywords: macro,butterfly,UK,www.thewdcc.org.uk,thewdcc.org.uk,wdcc.org.uk,Warrington,society,District,Camera,club,photographic,photography,SLR,DSLR,group,GYCA,Bellhouse,bellhouse Club,insect,insects,small,flying,summer,50D,canon,nature,natural,history,this photo rocks,tonysmith,tony,smith,hotpix!,#HotpixUK,#TonySmithHotpix
Description: Tony Smith image Flickr 3664445817 - 'Side on view of orange, black spotted Monarch butterfly insect. Macro shot with fresh air macro tubes.
Another close up shot www.flickr.com/photos/hotpixuk/3690682981/
(c) Hotpix Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC',
