I went to Minnesota for a week and took a ton of pictures! Here's one of some ore docks and a ship on Lake Superior.

One of the pleasures in my winter garden is the sweet perfume of daphne. This is one of the white forms.

Just a rose

My Red Hot Poker plant was looking very sad until recently but has
suddenly sprung into life over the last couple of weeks, much to
the delight of the bees, a couple of which can be seen at work on
this bloom.

Some cute little mushrooms.

Driving through Epping Forest

They just moved in one day and have been here ever since

Oh, what a lovely family of Teddies! I love them

We are asked to remove our outdoor footwear when we arrive for Pilates classes. Guess what season it is!

Jasmine flowers - plucked, tied and ready for sale

Sharon, what a painstaking job to present Jasmine flowers for sale in that way!
For what purpose would they be used?



Just another camellia picture, but with a cooking tip;
Brush camellia leaves with 2 coats of melted chocolate.
When set, carefully peel off the camellia leaf. Result - chocolate leaves, great for decorating a fancy cake or dessert.
Be patient; there will be breakages!

I think they are used for adorning the hair at dances etc
I know my sister in law used to wear them for that. They also made covers for a chignon or bun Am I right Sharon?

Sara's right, Dawn. They're a good source of livelihood in South India. The price is determined on a daily basis based on the demand and supply situation and is usually higher during the wedding season. The thread for tying them is made fresh everyday from the stem of the banana plant. I learned to tie them during one of my vacations.

Can you imagine how gorgeous that smells all tied up in your hair?

This is a still from some videos I shot yesterday while the Red Arrows were doing a display for
the Bristol Balloon festival. I get a really good view from outside my house, some 3 or 4 miles
away from the event.

Jake - Thanks for the firework compliments, I find it very hard to get a good shot as well, this was taken from a friends apartment on the 15th floor overlooking the bay, and I put the camera on a tripod with the highest resolution possbile. I must have taken about 40 or 50 shots out of which only two or three are any good.

Here is a horse all decorated up for the fair.

Zebra, every time I look at the photo of the lights at night I'm reminded of Van Gogh's "Starry Night"
Martin, I'm so jealous of the air show being near you and seeing the Red Arrows. I find formation flying fascinating. I wouldn't like to be up in one of the planes but watching it would be amazing.

Tizzabelle. If it's not breaking any of the rules of this forum, the videos I took of the Red Arrows are on my Photobucket account. Here's a link to the page:

http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r159/martin_cube/Balloon%20festival%202011/Red%20Arrows%202011/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ20

If it's not allowed, then someone let me know & I'll delete this post.

Go for it Martin. I dont know any rules about that!

The last time I saw the Red Arrows this was as close as I could get without climbing into the cockpit.

Wow, Martin, you got some good video shots, look at those guys go!

Glad you liked my videos. (One day I work out how to post a clickable link!)

That's a great shot Flopsy. I can almost hear the roar of the engines!

At the risk of turning August into Aviation month, here's another photo I took at the Air &
Space museum in DC. A more ominous aircraft this time, the infamous V1 'Doodlebug'.

Are we hinting for an 'Aviation' fortnightly theme? Very feasible from the look of it.

One of the residents of Newport Lakes - a Eurasian Coot, I think.

I wasn't hinting, it never really occured to me to tell the truth. Not a bad idea though...