What are you up to?

[snoball]

Ian, glad you escaped injury. I certainly hope that her insurance takes care of the damages and that you don't wake up sore tomorrow or next day! She was probably texting.

 

[Maybenartist]

Ian, glad you escaped injury. I certainly hope that her insurance takes care of the damages and that you don't wake up sore tomorrow or next day! She was probably texting.

Thanks Margaret.
Driving the wrong way on a bypass I think her mind was definitely elsewhere. However, I'm glad neither party was injured. My car suffered much more damage than hers which isn't quite fair seeing she caused it, whatever! Next time I'm buying a Hummer! And watching out for stray lunatics

 

[snoball]

Get a Hummer and have a cowcatcher installed on the front. In case you call them something else in the UK, that is the thing on the front of a locomotive that scoops things off the tracks.

 

[Maybenartist]

Might as well just go the full hog and get a snow plough

 

[joe1It]

Brianvds, wonderful photos, beautiful places and animals and vegetation, wonderful.

Maybenartist I am very sorry for the mishap, it must have been terrible moments, sorry for the car, fortunately, you are well that it is the important thing, not bad the idea of looting the train or taking a sweeper for more peace of mind

 

[Maybenartist]

Thank you for your sentiments Joe. No one makes cars like Italians

 

[Artyczar]

I'm not a huge fan of newer Ferraris, but I stayed in Modena, Italy for about a month and it was the most lovely city of earth. I love the super old ones though, like from the 60s. Those are works of art. I have seen one at the Petersen Museum once, a midnight blue one, and it was crazy beautiful.

Wait, no it was a '52 Barchetta. That's right. It was black, not blue.

 

[brianvds]

Brian your "boring" province reminds me of the Oklahoma prairie. Not boring unless you are tired and sleepy and then there is nothing to keep you awake while driving.

True. People dislike driving through it for that very reason. When you drive from here down to Cape Town, first you go through that grassland, then you hit the Karoo, which is semi-desert, and it takes hours and hours and hours. I suppose it can get on one's nerves after a while.

 

[brianvds]

Some more ventures in amateur photography...

 

[Maybenartist]

Nice clear shots, Brian. Do you have humming birds there? I ask because they seem to love feeding from the strelitzia in the last photo.

 

[brianvds]

Nice clear shots, Brian.

Thanks, but all credit to the modern cell phone camera.

Do you have humming birds there? I ask because they seem to love feeding from the strelitzia in the last photo.

No hummingbirds, but we have sunbirds, which look very much the same and occupy the same ecological niche, and they do indeed also enjoy these flowers. In fact, I often see all manner of other birds also helping themselves to nectar from these.

I will upload a photo of a sunbird as soon as I manage to take one. It's difficult, because they never stay still for more than a fraction of a second.

 

[Artyczar]

We have a feeder on the porch and many of the hummingbirds fight over feeding off it. They get pretty rowdy too.

 

[brianvds]

We have a feeder on the porch and many of the hummingbirds fight over feeding off it. They get pretty rowdy too.

People put up such feeders here as well - it's a constant battle to keep the bees out of them.

Some more photos from my morning walk. Some O'Keeffian imagery (I'm sure StLukes will be delighted), plus ironic photo-commentary on our violent society, in which everyone and everything cower away behind bars...

 

[Artyczar]

Beautiful!

We have enough other flowers around here for the bees to keep busy and avoid the one little feeder on the porch. The hummingbirds that come to that feeder are "regulars." One in particular likes to guard it.

 

[Maybenartist]

Brian, your photos of plants shows how diverse the plant life is there. They're cracking shots, especially if they're taken with a phone.

I used to awaken at 6.00 am, sit on the porch and watch hummingbirds feed on the bird of paradise plants that we had in the garden. I'd set my camera on a tripod. However, I could never get a great shot.
Possibly too busy with a large mug of coffee and by the time I got to the camera they would have flitted away. They're rapid little devils.

 

[Artyczar]

I always feel like my cell phone pics are just boring as all hell, but here's the other morning here from the porch.

 

[Artyczar]

And this is a few miles from our house in the park:

 

[brianvds]

Brian, your photos of plants shows how diverse the plant life is there. They're cracking shots, especially if they're taken with a phone.

Well, it's mostly suburban gardens, so diversity is guaranteed.

I find that with this sort of subject, and given the right light conditions, the cell phone actually takes better pictures than many a "real" camera.

 

[brianvds]

And this is a few miles from our house in the park:

View attachment 4715

Surprised at how well this one came out, Like I lamented before, in my experience the cell phone camera struggles under very bright light. My shots taken in such conditions tend to come out a bit fuzzy.

 

[Maybenartist]

Field of sunflowers near here.