Amelia's photos

I think this is a late clutch of ducklings as most other ducklings that we have seen this year are now almost fully grown. She had 4 ducklings and I managed to get all four of them in shot in the PiP, but they are so quick moving, and the second photo was taken against the sun, so I had to lighten it, consequently the colour is no longer true. The second PiP shows that white ducks can have yellow ducklings which are absolutely adorable.

SC51 post 25 June - A picture is worth a thousand words.

The club in Church Street shut down after its last lunchtime session on Sunday, October 9th 2022 The club’s chairman Ian Alderman said it was ‘with sad regret’ that he needed to announce the closure. The statement said, “The rising costs of utilities and other operating factors mean the running of the club is no longer a viable option."

I think this part of the cliff is largely composed of relatively hard Otter Sandstone, but someone may be able to put me right on this. Other parts of the cliffs are made up of Otter mudstone and are far more likely to collapse.

Where Charles Darwin went to school before he went to the University of Edinburgh.

Today's Sunday Challenge is: A photo with a historical story. This is a sculpture of Charles Robert Darwin who was born in Shrewsbury on 12 February 1809, at his family's home. It is placed outside the library in Shrewsbury, with the dates of his birth and death. Darwin was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended from a common ancestor is now generally accepted and considered a fundamental concept in science. From September 1818, he joined his older brother Erasmus in attending the nearby Anglican Shrewsbury School as a boarder. The school is still run as a public (private) school, whose notable alumni include Michael Palin, the DJ John Peel and Richard Todd the handsome actor. Darwin is most well known for his book, 'On the Origin of Species, first published on 24 November 1859.in which he stated that the diversity of life arose by common descent through a branching pattern of evolution. The PiP shows Shrewsbury School and the associated boathouse.

An almost deserted beach in Sidmouth. We caught an early bus from Otterton to here using our senior citizen's bus passes. One of the few advantages of getting old. ;-))

I saw at least two of these flitting around the local churchyard, and spent some time waiting for one to land near enough to get a photo. Please excuse my lack of visiting or commenting on your photos. We had a severe electric storm with lots of rain and high winds on Monday late evening. Climbing roses have been blown down from fences, flowers are now sodden and turning brown, and the garden has turned into a disaster area. I have so much tying in and dead heading to do now. It's going to take 3or 4 days to get it all looking reasonable again. The PIP shows two roses in a small part of the garden. The main rose is highly scented and is called Penelope. The rose behind that is Rosa × odorata 'Mutabilis'. This is what it looked like about a week ago and up until Monday evening.

We were first in to this National Trust property. and so it was easy to get photos with no-one in them. We left at 12.45, and it was very busy. The gardens were looking spectacular..

Sunday Challenge 49 post 11 June - Bridge This bridge has been closed for the last 6 years while canal restoration was undergoing. The canal here is now fully in water and canal boats can now navigate to the next winding hole, but must then turn and come back again.

The weir on the River Otter in Otterton. There is a fish pass at the side of the weir that can just be seen.

Erigeron karvinskianus and Helianthemum species growing on a wall at Chirk Castle.

Common names include Sea Fig, Western Iceplant, Coastal Iceplant, Baby Sun-Rose, Angled Pigface, I can't understand the 'Pigface' name. Carpobrotus edulis is a southern African plant. Introduced to Europe, the plant can be found entirely naturalised in some coastal habitats, particularly sea cliffs and sand-dunes in the south west of the UK. The plant tends be quite invasive, spreading and forming continuous mats over large areas. It does look stunning, but there may some problems with it. First of all it is not indigenous, and is colonising this area to the detriment of other natives such as thrift. Also it is a succulent and holds on to water, becoming heavy in wet weather. Whole mats of it can become dislocated from the cliffs causing rock falls.

Common names include Sea Fig, Western Iceplant, Coastal Iceplant, Baby Sun-Rose, Angled Pigface, I can't understand the 'Pigface' name. Carpobrotus edulis is a southern African plant. Introduced to Europe, the plant can be found entirely naturalised in some coastal habitats, particularly sea cliffs and sand-dunes in the south west of the UK. The plant tends be quite invasive, spreading and forming continuous mats over large areas. It does look stunning, but there may some problems with it. First of all it is not indigenous, and is colonising this area to the detriment of other natives such as thrift. Also it is a succulent and holds on to water, becoming heavy in wet weather. Whole mats of it can become dislocated from the cliffs causing rock falls. I'm not sure what the policy is in Budleigh. Maybe in certain areas the plants should be eradicated to allow indigenous species to thrive in order to prevent more coastal erosion.

This is a photo of the Church of St John the Baptist in Ruyton XI Towns, and it dates in part to the 12th century with the tower being dated from the 14th century. The structure in the left foreground is the remains of the site of a medieval castle. The bench is surrounded by dog daisies, Leucanthemum vulgare, which have spread throughout the churchyard and look stunning at the moment. The church clock hasn't worked for about 9 months. It needs a new battery operated winder to lift the small weights. The battery operated mechanism replaced the old hand wound system in 2008. We used to wind the huge weights up, and it was a very good workout. When we temporarily left the village in 2007 to live in Norway, no-one wanted the job, so a battery operated system was installed.