The pond at Trent Park in Enfield

Every time these pigeons tried to rest on their owner's roof he clapped his hands and they started off on another circle. The exercise regime. Brilliant to watch.

I had to go here to complete my first 10km square on the photo map website, it was about a quarter mile walk and I did have an umbrella but no raincoat and had to change all my clothes when I got home as there was no sign of rain when I left.

The other monarch butterfly photo.

Gasp! Stunning. I could look at that all day.

The traditional Victoria sponge birthday cake for a very special three year old

Has anyone seen our sledge?

Howie, that butterfly picture is beautiful

Trent Park teachers training college's original building, now part of Middlesex University

One of the first things that greets you at the RAF museum at Hendon is this Hurricane (and the
Spitfire behind it):

Tower to black-backed seagull flight number BBS01, you are cleared to land on rock74....

Lol. It should be careful, there's a Hawker Hurricane on its tail...

You see the oddest things for sale at country shows every so often. This head is actually a carving. Very good but I don't think I could live with it.

Competed in the Tom Na Bat hill race this weekend (part of the 171st Tomintoul Highland Games). This is the point where I got to the lowest part of the route, before climbing almost to the top again. You can see the line of the path (there was not much path on the course, straight through the heather) on the top right. Two people were behind me at this point, and I got past another at the finish (Out of 45 I think).

After jumping over the ditch to get back onto the road, after the second decent of Tom na Bat, I was met with this view.
The river you see is the River Avon (pronounced "arn").

Mugaboo: The pictures are lovely (but I got tired just thinking about the "run" lol!)

Christina: Good Lord. Unless one had a ranch with Scottish Highland cattle (or whatever that's supposed to depict) I can't imagine wanting anything THAT big! Love the huskies - they look ready to pull that car, never mind a dogsled lol.

Martin: cool plane pix!!

Howie: who couldn't fall in love with that flutterby? And the gull pic would have been equally as beautiful without the bird at all but nice capture (you apparently live in "God's country") : )

The weather here since spring has been stormy (to say the least). So clever critters like wasps seek sheltered areas to build their nests. This one (only 4 days work - at that point - for the wasps) was found in the back corner of our greenhouse:


(yes we destroyed it - I don't mind them visiting, but if they're going to live here, then they have to pay rent lol)

Wow, makes you wonder just how big it would have got if you'd left it. I think I'd rather not know the answer to that.

No, nasty. But it makes a really gorgeous photo.

More on the flight theme (well, it's Amelia's birthday after all):



Airshow participants on their way home, I think. So I got a private performance of formation flying.

One of the ducks at the Timaru Botanical Gardens.

If anyone wants to know what most of Middlesex looks like this is a pretty typical view. It was mainly built in the 30s along the railways and new industrial estates by them and these sort of houses go on endlessly for miles. I completed the first Ordnance Survey 10km square on Friday and had 24 to do in this one, I got 5 and then hit the olympic torch parade in the exact road I was heading to next so had to cut it short, I couldn't see it as the roads were backed up for a mile and had to turn round.

Still getting plenty of rain here.

This was my local bus stop for 28 years when I lived in Hampstead Garden Suburb

This is the building which houses the Imperial War Museum in London. (It would be interesting to
know where the big guns are aimed at. I can think of a couple of targets...)

The bat vault at the Louisville Slugger Museum, Kentucky. A very enjoyable look through the museum plus getting to see bats being made.