Spring has sprung..

 

snowdrop, originally uploaded by andyskelton-a Blog a day http://andrewskelton.net.

.. the grass has riz, I wonder where the birdies is?” As I write this, the sun in it’s full magnificence is cascading through my window, warming me nicely, Actually, it’s getting in my eyes now… damned sun!

Did you know, and “not a lotta people know this“, there are at least 75 varieties of Snowdrops, some of which are so rare that bulbs for the scarce varieties can fetch as much as £265! This isn’t the first time there has been large amounts of money spent of plant tubers, in fact this sum pales into insignificance compare to the tulip mania that occured in the 1600’s in Holland. One batch of 40 bulbs went for 100,000 florins – by today’s money that would be £1,000,000 or £25,000 per bulb!

Other signs of spring have been apparent this week, having gone out for a walk at lunchtime to the meadows that run alongside the Thames near where I work, I heard and then located a Skylark (LBJ – in birdwatching parlance) loftily calling from the wing. An unmistakable trill call, once you’ve heard it you’ll instantly recognise it in future so much so it’s been many years since I heard one but amongst all the other calls and sounds, I was able to recognise it’s song and then spot the bird in flight.

Back to the image;whilst we have snowdrops just outside our front door, this photo was, again, taken at Kew Gardens. A simple image, with the bloom isolated using a wide apperture on the lens (f2.8). Taken without a tripod (I have to write to get special dispensation to use it in the grounds there), the curse of camera shake was and still is a constant adversary, the 150mm macro lens I have lacking Image Stabilisation. I presume special dispensation will have an associated cost, but with a year’s membership to Kew it seems an easy choice to make. Blooming Marvellous opportunities abound.

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