Category Archives: Flowers, Sunsets & Sundries

Bavarian August Flowers

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I have to admit it. Last year, I went a bit crazy with flower photos. This year, I tried really hard to contain myself. But now my resolve is crumbling… Bavaria is all lush and green and in full bloom this month, and now that I’m back in dry-as-a-crisp Toledo, I feel an overwhelming compulsion to drape some cheery blossoms over my blog…

Pink flowers

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OK… not technically flowers… but pretty and fluffy 🙂

Pink flowers 2

 

 Phew, I feel a lot better already 🙂

Butterfly Bounty

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Vicky’s lovely friends Frankie and David wrangled us freebie tickets to the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. We showed up there on Wednesday, bright and early, before the arrival of the wild tourist hordes.

Although fidgety by nature, when you’re surrounded by 1,500 of those dazzling beauties, some of them will actually hold still for long enough to get a good shot. As you can imagine, I went into a clicking frenzy until the red light on my camera alerted me to the battery’s defeat.

A total stunner!

The same kind as above, from the side

The same kind as above, from the side

And from the front :) These blue ones are very friendly, they seem to love sitting on people

And from the front 🙂 These blue ones are very friendly, they seem to love sitting on people

On pink flower

Black

OrangeOrchid

Brown

All that posing and fluttering about gives them a mighty appetite:

Butterflies on sponge feeder

Congregating on a (sangria-soaked?) sponge feeder

Banana

…and on a saucy banana

Fruit

Butterflies aren’t the only inhabitants of the conservatory; there’s a whole flock of brightly-coloured birds keeping them company.

There are also Rhett and Scarlett

Including Rhett and Scarlett, who bicker loudly, and then make up, even more vociferously. When they don’t have their heads under water, that is.

...and this tiny, newly-hatched baby quail

A tiny, newly-hatched baby quail…aaaawwwwww!

Flowers: Rock, Paper, Scissors

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A flower post of a different kind. Not that the real thing ever disappoints, but just for today, I’ll let art imitate nature 😉

Ceramic flowers: key hooks

Ceramic flowers: key hooks

A strip of pre-historic wallpaper. My friend has just bought a flat that hasn't been re-decorated since the 1950's. At least...!

A strip of pre-historic wallpaper. My friend has just bought a flat in the old town of Toledo. The place hasn’t been re-decorated since (at least!) the 1950’s.

OK... not quite scissors... but it's metal.

OK… not quite scissors… but it’s metal, and part of a lampshade. I’ve played around with the colours, evidently.