What are you up to?

[snoball]

Brian your floral photos are amazing, regardless of what kind of camera they were taken with. Arty, love the sunrays. Ian, that's a huge field of sunflowers!

 

[laf.art]

Found this bloke lurking in the woods

 

[joe1It]

Brianvds,
they are all wonderful shots. .spectacular flowers in every shot, like close-ups. wonderfull

Artyczar, what an incredible view.

Maybenartist,

beautiful and immense field of sunflowers.

The art. funny or mysterious photo

 

[laf.art]

Here's another ha ha

 

[brianvds]

This time of year, sticky sap often exudes from the thorn trees. They are all closely related to the species from which gum arabic is derived. Perhaps an idea to start my own mini paint factory...

 

[Maybenartist]

That sticky sap reminds me of how Ridley Scott's art department depicts an alien.

 

[brianvds]

That sticky sap reminds me of how Ridley Scott's art department depicts an alien.

"Some sort of secreted resin..."

"Secreted by who?"

"Or by what?"

My hair standing on end all over again...

 

[snoball]

I wonder if that sap would rosin a bow like pine sap does? One of my Pine trees was scarred and drools in the fall when the sap is going down and my son gathers it and heats it to take the impurities out and uses it for his fiddle bow.

 

[brianvds]

I wonder if that sap would rosin a bow like pine sap does? One of my Pine trees was scarred and drools in the fall when the sap is going down and my son gathers it and heats it to take the impurities out and uses it for his fiddle bow.

I have no idea. As far as I know, pine sap is a bit like turpentine, whereas thorn tree gum is actually edible and quite nutritious, so perhaps the two are very different. But I don't really know.

 

[Iain]

Found this bloke lurking in the woods

And what were you doing in the woods?

We know. "Walking the dog".

 

[brianvds]

And more adventures in cell phone photography...

I cannot remotely afford a smart phone. But a year or two ago I got one as Christmas gift. Since then, I have probably made about three phone calls on it. But it's really handy for reading books and watching videos. And the camera is a marvel.

 

[Maybenartist]

Photos are great!
I use my smart phone for exactly the same. Sometimes I watch netflix or Prime on it linked to the TV. But mostly I just rest the phone on the arm of the sofa and watch direct. Its smallish, but big enough to watch and read subtitles as I watch a lot of non English movies.

I took this pic on my phone, it's the local area where I live and the tide is out.

 

[snoball]

Brian, those are some of the sharpest macros I've seen with a phone cam.

 

[brianvds]

Photos are great!
I use my smart phone for exactly the same. Sometimes I watch netflix or Prime on it linked to the TV. But mostly I just rest the phone on the arm of the sofa and watch direct. Its smallish, but big enough to watch and read subtitles as I watch a lot of non English movies.

Me, I find it perfect for watching videos in bed.

 

[brianvds]

Saw this fellow in a shrub yesterday. It angrily glared at me for having dared to see through the camouflage:

Not that I would pick it up anyway - this one belongs to a family known as gaudy grasshoppers, and they protect themselves chemically. Pick one up and it starts exuding a foamy liquid of such sickening smell that you will not even dream of eating it. Not even ants will touch them.

 

[snoball]

Is he as big as he looks? Or is the plant just smallish?

 

[brianvds]

Is he as big as he looks? Or is the plant just smallish?

Quite big for an insect - almost as long as my index finger.

 

[snoball]

Quite big for an insect - almost as long as my index finger.

That is huge! I notice he is missing a leg.

 

[brianvds]

That is huge! I notice he is missing a leg.

Perhaps something grabbed him and the leg popped off. Whatever it was, it ended up with a mouthful of seriously noxious grasshopper goo.

An expert has since given me a precise name:

Green milkweed locust - Phymateus viridipes

 

[Artyczar]

Wow!