Slipping in a quickie (Days 347 - 353)

Day 347 - Trees up

Well I'm blogging a couple of days early between my Christmas visitors leaving and New Year visitors coming. Christmas week is always hectic - I have no idea how it manages to sneak up so quickly when I  have 12 months notice of it arriving each year. But I finally got my tree up on the 22nd just before my mother arrived.

Day 348 - Bananas

I must admit to being a bit 'bah humbug' as the shops are so busy and commercialism appears out of control. My cupboards are full despite my best efforts to cut down and the whole thing seems to be a bit bananas to me!

Day 349 - Mystical tree light

Working right up to the wire with a full workshop on Christmas Eve brought the usual winter challenges of managing the weather and keeping clients happy.  No problem with this group as they came fully prepared for the weather and nothing was going to dampen their spirits.

Day 350 - Otter has fish starter for his Christmas lunch

Christmas Day and a lovely walk along the beach.  The sun shone in between hail showers and a large dog otter sat lazily eating his lunch as we stood and watched.

Day 351 - Boxing Day dook

These brave and hardy souls joined in the annual Boxing Day dook at Lamlash pier.  A quick swim to the end and then a climb up the ladder before launching back into the drink.  Some wore full wet suits whilst others fancy dress or normal swimming costumes.  The RNLI provided safety, along with mulled wine, soup and cakes. There was a great turn out to watch the fun. Definitely worthy of two photo's.

Day 351 - Jumping off the pier

Saturday saw a beautiful sunny winters day with fantastic light and snow capped mountains.  A tad chilly on the tops with the wind freezing ears and noses, where hat and gloves were essential. But the views were spectacular (an album of the mountain pictures will be posted on my facebook page tomorrow).

Day 352 - Frozen mountains

And today everything was coated white - no snow just very thick ice.  Again the skies were clear and it was beautiful for walking with the camera and taking lots of pictures.  Now home with the stove lit and tea in the oven.  

Day 353 - Frozen wonderland

On the home stretch (Days 296 - 305)

Day 296 - Wet

The last few days have tested my ability to be flexible and roll with the changes.  Today started sunny but after an unforeseen delay the dog walk ended up being quite late in the day and after all the good weather had disappeared.  However it was made much more enjoyable walking with friends and their dogs.

Day 297 - A quick photo job....

You would not believe the amount of times I knocked this ball off the tee before I managed to get the shot I was aiming for (not this one shown). Good job I don't play golf!

Day 298 - Another very wet day

Carrie joined me and Watson for our run today, which was very wet and the fords that have to be run through were running quite high.  But they both enjoyed it and run side by side most of the route.

Day 299 - Stunning day

 Wow what happened, the weather has done one of its dramatic u-turns and the sun shone all day.  The light was fantastic and I took the opportunity to go for a long walk instead of doing any work.

Day 300 - Bonfire night

 It seems fitting that day 300 should be marked with fireworks.  I really feel that I'm on the homeward stretch of this challenge now. The evening stayed fine and my regular class had asked for a change of night so they could practice some firework photography. I think they were quite pleased with the results (lets not mention the amount of images that were deleted).

Day 301 - Disaster

Today I dropped my camera and smashed it.  This is the first time in nearly 30 years that this has happened.  It just fell as I went to put it in my car.  It was horrible to hear the glass shatter but it seems to be mainly the lens and filters.  The above shot was to see if anything was working afterwards.

Day 302 - Moonlight

After yesterdays disaster I nearly forgot to take a picture today and was fortunate to have another clear night so I could grab this shot before I went to bed.

Day 303 - Canicross training

 A slow and very wet run up Glen Rosa for us both today.  It was quite hard with the dog on a harness as he had to keep slowing down when the path was rocky to let me keep up.  But we really enjoyed it and only saw 2 walkers when we were out.

Day 304  - Old tree

 I keep getting caught out with the light as it is drawing in so early now.  This was taken about 4pm and the light was seriously fading.  I know one day this dead tree will fall but for now I love the shape.

Day 305 - Fall back photo

Now I'm getting near the end I feel that I can do some of those photo's that I have kept in reserve for a 'rainy day'.  I pass the Machrie Moor  post box most days and its a great feature on the island.

Favourite things (Days 274 - 284)

Day 274 - Scowling cow

Most young animals are quite cute and fall into the category of my favourite things. This little calf has lost one of its ear tags - I bet that must have stung a bit.  Maybe that's why it's scowling.

Day 275 - Stunning sunset

 A calm evening with a stunning sunset that lasted over an hour as the sky turned through pinks to yellows - neither of which can be shown in monochrome.  But it was a pleasant way to spend and hour or two - sat on the beach having a natter and taking the odd snap.

Day 276 - Evening clouds

I am strangely fascinated by clouds and the wonderful shapes they make, especially when several different types have formed in the sky.  Dusk provides lovely light to photograph them, catching the detail without worrying too much about exposures.

Day 277 - Evening outside the Glenisle

Monday evening and it's the evening class group.  The nights are now dark enough to practice their night time photography skills. This evenings challenge was to block items, such as people or cars from the picture on long exposures. A useful trick as it's frustrating to have to start again if the bus goes passed.

Day 278 - Not a favourite

Today picture does not fall into favourites, in fact it's an irritation.  Dumping.  I'm sure someone will have salvaged it by now as it only needed a bit of TLC.

Day 279 - Sheep

A circle of sheep.  Why is this a favourite thing?  Because they looked up instead of turning away.

Day 280 - Ailsa though the drum

This old oil drum provided a challenge for today's workshop students as I asked them to photo Ailsa Craig through it.  The easy way is to bend over and shoot backwards between your legs!

Day 281 - Dull dyemill

Today I got totally carried away with the autumn colours and forgot to select an image that was more suited for black and white. But I just love this time of year.

Day 282 - Leaf

Again I'm swept away with the colours of autumn but I did manage to remember (just) to take a leaf that stood out and this yellow sycamore leaf was clinging on to the dark branch.  I don't thing it will still be there after the wind of the last couple of days.

Day 283 - Bramble leaves

Why do leaves of different trees go different colours in autumn?  Beach trees go yellow and brambles go red. Some trees seem to go straight to brown.  I'm sure someone knows the answer.

Day 284 - Guilty pleasure

Oh dear, clearing out the cupboard and I came across a stash of 'Gu' pots. I use these for loads of things but it was embarrassing the amount that had collected in the back of the cupboard.So if anyone wants one I took them all to ARCAS in the hope that someone will be able to use them.  I now I have an excuse to go and buy my favourite pud.

Finding the money tree (Days 241 - 252)

Day 241 - Forest track above Lamlash

The cani-cross training continues and Watson is getting really good a tripping me up - I can't believe its only a couple of weeks before our first event!  Good job it's just for fun.  But I have to say that he ran really well on the way home after running along the forest trails above Lamlash.

Day 242 - Brodick Castle Gardens

Today I had the pleasure of photographing in the gardens of Brodick Castle which were in full bloom. The formal walled garden is set around a sun dial and further areas include some water pools and the Bavarian summerhouse.

Day 243 - White tailed bee?

A short walk today with the dogs and there were lots of small bees around with noticeably white bottoms. They are probably white tailed bumble bees but I'm no expert on this.

Day 244 - Mushroom season

It's the time of year where mushrooms spring up everywhere, and this was no exception.  Standing about 5 inches high, and lucky for me on a bank so I didn't have to lay on the floor, it caught the sunlight. I don't actually like mushrooms so having to decide if the are safe to eat or not is never an issue.

Day 245 - High on Sannox

A scorching day with clear blue skies and a heat haze that July or August would have been proud of. The dogs forged through the bracken and the brambles snagged at me.  Despite the glorious weather there was no money in this tree.

Day 246 - Flagging Bowser 

Bowser is struggling again with his back and when he has walked far enough he takes himself back to the car and patiently waits for me to arrive.  The only snag is, he waits at the back of the nearest car he finds (or any car if we've walked direct from the house)!  I have to watch out for him disappearing so I can retrace my steps to find him.

Day 247 - Hazy heat at Lamlash

Another hot and hazy day, this time the walk is at Lamlash.  The dogs were in and out of the sea to cool off and the water shimmered. The yachts barely moved in the flat calm waters.

Day 248 - Seals taking a break.

A bit chillier this morning and grey!  What a shock to the system, I thought the sunshine was going to last forever. But all the seals were out taking a break and were in lazy mood, paying little attention to my careful manoeuvres.

Day 249 - Dragon Fire

This is the dragon head on the Viking boat that will be burnt later this year at Corrie and Sannox.  It seems such a shame to destroy such a lovely piece of work.

Day 250 - Low flying aircraft

I felt my hair part when this passed me by.  I was on the beach just north of Dougarie and I think you can tell by the angle of the shot just how low this was flying and so close to the shore.  I think there may be an air show somewhere near?

Day 251 - Roots

I love this tree and how it is clinging to the rock.  The branches look more like roots and it fans out across the cliff face.  But this is not the money tree.

Day 252 - Money Tree

 On one of my frequent walks I have noticed a tree acquiring some money.  Mainly 20 p pieces wedged into the bark, mostly at head height.  I have no idea who or why this is being done, although I have seen it before at some popular mainland sites.  At least if I ever need money for a pint of milk I know where to go!

Shoot and run (Days 232 - 240)

Day 232 - Scaffold around the old Lamlash Church

The last 10 days have been fairly frantic with weddings, workshops and plenty of commercial jobs to complete. Most of the photo's for the project have really be grabbed along the way - some on my pocket compact as flash cards filled up with jobs and batteries were charged.

The conversion of the old church into residential property seems to be taking a while but with the scaffolding up I'm sure it will suddenly be finished.  Looking forward to seeing them.

Day 233 - Brambles

I love this time of year, so much colour in the berries, the mushrooms are starting to appear in great numbers and there is still plenty of wildlife around.

Day 234 - Cooling swim

Still managing to get some cani-cross training in with Watson despite the busy week.  He enjoys a swim when we're near any water and it's good for him to cool off and see the training as fun.

Day 235 - Graveyard shift

 Monday evening class and a trip to a couple of graveyards for tonight's exercises. I like the old graveyards as the stones tell more of a story giving a feel for the people who have gone before.

Day 236 - The happy couple

Today I had the privilege of  photographing Vivienne and Angus's wedding.  The swans floated by when we were on the bridge and stayed in shot for a short while.  It was a beautiful day.

Day 237 - Bambi

Full day workshops and an island tour taking in the deer at Lochranza, including this little 'bambi'. So cute.

Day 238 - In full sail

More workshops and back to Kildonan. The day was hazy and it gave a mystical feel to the sailing ship.  I wish it had been a little closer as I think it would have looked spectacular.

Day 239 - Nuts

Today it's editing day and I try not to be too distracted by the wildlife outside my window.  But it is good to give the eyes a rest and focus on something a little further away every so often (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

Day 240 - Lunch grab

Another quick lunch time job but the upside is I get fed at this one. And what a view from the restaurant at Altachorvie.