Photography Thread
Comments
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Took this a few days ago. Nice beard.
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Have you actually managed to sleep much during this stressful time?briantrumpet said:This is exhausting.
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Was trying to get one most of the afternoon / evening but every time one stopped it would shoot off just as I had it lined up. The ones I eventually got were up high so it was tricky to see them on the display. Just clicked and hoped in the end.
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They're tricksy little critters.0
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.masjer said:
Have you actually managed to sleep much during this stressful time?briantrumpet said:This is exhausting.
masjer said:Took this a few days ago. Nice beard.
I like those eyes!0 -
I think it explains why they see you coming from 20 paces.briantrumpet said:.
masjer said:
Have you actually managed to sleep much during this stressful time?briantrumpet said:This is exhausting.
masjer said:Took this a few days ago. Nice beard.
I like those eyes!0 -
masjer said:
Have you actually managed to sleep much during this stressful time?briantrumpet said:This is exhausting.
Yes, thanks, am a good sleeper normally, and getting some decent miles in (have done about 900 miles in the first three weeks) helps.1 -
Anyway, a non fire photo. A scary tunnel instead, at Boulc. On a bend, hardly any lighting, and a 11% gradient over its 880m length. Given that it's so dark, I was vaguely happy with the outcome of the 'handheld night' setting.
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Not particularly great, but given it was a (heavily cropped) quick phone snap on auto settings as the colour was fading by the second I am moderately pleased with this.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
There has been a debate going on for years about letting forest fires in temperate regions burn themselves out or not, as in some respects they are part of the natural ecological cycle (30-60% of fires are judged to have natural causes). They create clearings and thus habitats for a more diverse ranges of plants, animals and insects, and they get rid of dead wood and excessive shade. But as yet, few in Europe or the USA are left to themselves, because nearly always close to settlements or roads/utilities, or tourist locations. Maybe in Canada's extensive uninhabited areas it's possible?TheBigBean said:You may be interested to know that Canada used to let forest fires burn as they considered them natural and a benefit to nature. Not sure of their current policy.
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I had 3 boxwood shrubs, each about 4 ft high, until the moth came by hereabouts 4 years ago, and now I have just one (which also was infected but somehow survived).briantrumpet said:Maybe a contributing factor has been the devastation on the box plants wreaked by the box tree moth, which arrived about four years ago and pretty much wiped out the box plants everywhere below 1000m, but left the plants dead/desiccated in the undergrowth.
It's the caterpillars which are the problem. The pest only arrived in Europe (from SE Asia) about 2007, but it is now almost everywhere, E-W from Chechnya to Portugal, N-S Sweden to Malta.
The northernmost boxwood forest in France used to be in southern Alsace, a bit south of Mulhouse, but in 2013 the whole forest was killed by the caterpillars in just a few months.
I've no idea how common boxwood is in the Die area, or to what extent infection has been, but I'm curious what the situation is 50 kms farther south, around the town of Buis-les-Baronnies. Buis is the french word for the boxwood shrub, and the town supposedly acquired its name over 1000 years ago because of the abundance of boxwood growing there (like Box Hill in Surrey got its name).
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jimmyjams said:
I had 3 boxwood shrubs, each about 4 ft high, until the moth came by hereabouts 4 years ago, and now I have just one (which also was infected but somehow survived).briantrumpet said:Maybe a contributing factor has been the devastation on the box plants wreaked by the box tree moth, which arrived about four years ago and pretty much wiped out the box plants everywhere below 1000m, but left the plants dead/desiccated in the undergrowth.
It's the caterpillars which are the problem. The pest only arrived in Europe (from SE Asia) about 2007, but it is now almost everywhere, E-W from Chechnya to Portugal, N-S Sweden to Malta.
The northernmost boxwood forest in France used to be in southern Alsace, a bit south of Mulhouse, but in 2013 the whole forest was killed by the caterpillars in just a few months.
I've no idea how common boxwood is in the Die area, or to what extent infection has been, but I'm curious what the situation is 50 kms farther south, around the town of Buis-les-Baronnies. Buis is the french word for the boxwood shrub, and the town supposedly acquired its name over 1000 years ago because of the abundance of boxwood growing there (like Box Hill in Surrey got its name).
Yes, 'pyrale de buis' is the name of the pest in French. Don't know about Buis-les-Baronnies - a bit far for me on the bike, so haven't been down there for ages. If I go in that direction, it tends to be Nyons. Didn't even know that boxwood forests were a thing. They are just shrubs here, and it's only the ones over about 1000m that have survived, on the whole. Just a few around this year, some of which committed suicide in my waste water collection bucket. But when they were prevalent, they were just everywhere in massive numbers, and it could be difficult to do things outdoors, such as eating, when they were at their worst.0 -
I've belatedly realised that the orange colour is probably partly due to smoke from a heath fire in Studland. 🙁rjsterry said:Not particularly great, but given it was a (heavily cropped) quick phone snap on auto settings as the colour was fading by the second I am moderately pleased with this.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Boxwood forests aren't really a 'thing', those which do exist are probably no larger than 30-50 hectares and won't be solely of Boxwood, but mixed with Yew (as is Box Hill) or Elder, and perhaps with Hawthorn around their periphery. But they are called Boxwood forests because large groups of old and high Boxwood are so rare.briantrumpet said:Didn't even know that boxwood forests were a thing.
Boxwood itself rarely grows higher than 10-12 metres, and takes ages to reach that height if it ever does, and so in order for it to create a 'forest', it needs 'special' conditions.
Like Alder, Elder, Juniper and Yew, Boxwood is one of the first trees which will occupy open land, but eventually other genus like Beech, Whitebeam, Ash and Hawthorn will move in. The smaller, slow-growing species like Boxwood and Juniper then won't survive long in the shade of the fast-growing deciduous invaders.
However, steep slopes don't suit most deciduous trees, so Boxwood can thrive on them relatively unhindered, it prefering dry slopes, like those with a porous chalk or limestone bedrock). This explains why Boxwood is found on the steep, chalk slope of Box Hill. Similarly, the Boxwood 'forest' near Mulhouse is/was on a steepish limestone slope.
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Just consider it an early Harvest Moonrjsterry said:
I've belatedly realised that the orange colour is probably partly due to smoke from a heath fire in Studland. 🙁rjsterry said:Not particularly great, but given it was a (heavily cropped) quick phone snap on auto settings as the colour was fading by the second I am moderately pleased with this.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=n2MtEsrcTTs0 -
More Blood Moon than Harvest Moon. Similar colour tonight.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Still sharing my non-trivial joy, but on a technical note, I don't think I've ever really caught, properly, big big rain in action, without using the proxies of puddles etc.
Anyway, fingers crossed that the pompiers will be able to stand down and get some proper sleep very very soon.
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I never thought I'd say it, but Wales could do with some rain too. Tomorrow, maybe.
Third fire in the same area
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Damn, the fire took off again in the last couple of
Today's rain was just so beautiful, especially the extra, massive rain at about 5pm, to give the fire an extra gratuitous kick in the nuts.masjer said:I never thought I'd say it, but Wales could do with some rain too. Tomorrow, maybe.
Third fire in the same area1 -
After days of cloudless skies, some nice clouds were forming, ready for an attempt at a sunset pic. Now It's just smoke and blackened hillsides. The house has filled with smoke too, but at least I got my washing in, in time.
Barbequists strike again!0 -
Some more from my Italian drip feed. (The 3rd one is all about scale.)
Reality needs a break. 😉
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The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.4 -
Apparently there were a few tiny reignitions overnight, quickly extinguished, but with more rain forecast for the Wednesday and Thursday nights, they are pretty confident it's all over. But amazing after two inches of heavy rain in a day that the heat is still in a few places. Still 100 firefighters in attendance, just in case. At least there's some water about now.
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Some never go by out during Canadian winters and then start again in spring. So I was told.briantrumpet said:Apparently there were a few tiny reignitions overnight, quickly extinguished, but with more rain forecast for the Wednesday and Thursday nights, they are pretty confident it's all over. But amazing after two inches of heavy rain in a day that the heat is still in a few places. Still 100 firefighters in attendance, just in case. At least there's some water about now.
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Yes, 'zombie fires' are a thing, it seems.TheBigBean said:
Some never go by out during Canadian winters and then start again in spring. So I was told.briantrumpet said:Apparently there were a few tiny reignitions overnight, quickly extinguished, but with more rain forecast for the Wednesday and Thursday nights, they are pretty confident it's all over. But amazing after two inches of heavy rain in a day that the heat is still in a few places. Still 100 firefighters in attendance, just in case. At least there's some water about now.
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2022/08/13/what-are-the-zombie-fires-which-partially-explain-the-revived-fire-in-gironde_5993464_114.htmlSometimes lying 1 meter underground, these fires burn slowly in these peaty soils and are difficult to detect. "It's very vicious, it's a flameless fire, like burning coal," explained Anthony Collin, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Lorraine and head of the Feux scientific project that studies fire. In forests, peat is an accumulation of carbon-rich, flammable, spongy material that results from the decomposition of plant matter over time.
"When there are coniferous fires, as is the case in Gironde, the trees burn, fall and spread the fire also under the lowest plant cover that is closest to the ground, and this fire will gradually penetrate deep into the peat. So these fires are going to be very difficult to extinguish," said Stéphan Horn, lieutenant-colonel in the fire department and technical advisor for forest fires in the Yvelines departmental fire and rescue service.
We'll have to keep our fingers crossed and our eyes open0 -
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Lots of colour on the hills around here at the moment despite all the grass looking like straw. Heather, foxgloves, Rowan berries and dark green bracken plus various wildflowers that I have no clue about (mainly yellow and pink). It cheers me up and gives me hope that this was all coal spoil tips and old mine workings 30 odd years ago.
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Still no rain here. Many roadside trees have dropped their leaves and given up for the summer. Even the sunflowers below are stunted (1-2 foot tall)
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I noticed autumn coloured fallen leaves on the pavements in Stafford last week.masjer said:Still no rain here. Many roadside trees have dropped their leaves and given up for the summer. Even the sunflowers below are stunted (1-2 foot tall)
I was confused.The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
Yep, same here the last week. Leaves very pale green or yellow, I guess there’s not enough water so they’ve gone into early hibernation.pblakeney said:
I noticed autumn coloured fallen leaves on the pavements in Stafford last week.masjer said:Still no rain here. Many roadside trees have dropped their leaves and given up for the summer. Even the sunflowers below are stunted (1-2 foot tall)
I was confused.
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