Gavin Johnson's photos

Spring is approaching fast, and at WWT Slimbridge yesterday we saw the first ducklings of the season. I'm not sure I've ever seen them out and about this early before.

One of the more polite seagulls (technically a Herring Gull, I think) in apparent conversation with visitors on a bench. HBM!

The vaulted arches supporting the roof of the medieval tithe barn in Bradford-on-Avon. Impressive 14th Century civil engineering.

We had a rare sunny day yesterday, so visited friends in Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire. This is the medieval Tithe Barn, dating back to around 1330; one of the largest tithe barns in the country. (https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/bradford-on-avon-tithe-barn/history/)

This is a photo from last year, but this morning's weather feels very similar! In the misty background is the church at Frampton on Severn in Gloucestershire. It's a charming village, with what is said to be the longest village green in England, and is about 22 acres (9 hectares) in size. There is a cricket pitch at one end of the green, which is, conversely, one of the smallest in England! (https://www.cotswolds.com/listing/frampton-on-severn/280028301/)

Réttir, or sheepfolds, can be widely found in most habitable areas of Iceland and the rounding up and gathering of sheep into the folds from highland pastures in the autumn developed over the ages into an important social event. The summer pastures in the highlands of Gnúpverjahreppur-county stretch along the banks of river-Þjórsá westbound to the highlands, reaching Arnarfell-mountain. The stretch spans about 120 km and the sheep, which are rounded up on horseback, are then driven back to Skaftholdsréttir-fold. Historical records, mentioning Skaftholtsréttir-fold, are limited but it is believed that there has been a sheepfold on this location since the 12th century. In Sturlunga-saga, the fold is mentioned and named as a meeting place in 1283. Skaftholtsréttir-fold boasts a circular shaped common area, known as almenningur, with triangular shaped stalls, or dilkar, leading from the outer walls to the common area. Neighbouring counties rounded up sheep into the fold until 1881, until Reykjaréttir-fold was erected and took its place and now only sheep from Gnúpverjarhreppur-county are sorted in the fold. Skaftholtsréttir-fold was renovated and rebuilt in 1954, but collapsed almost completely when an earthquake shook the area on June 17, 2000. Rebuilding began the following summer and shortly after a group of about 300 volunteers founded the Friends of Skaftholtsréttir-society to fund the reconstruction of the fold. [Incidentally - this description was on a sign at the sheepfold. Rather than retype it all from another photograph, I asked Claude AI to do it for me, These AI tools definitely have their uses, even if their responses shouldn't always be trusted.]

The quote ("Aut viam inveniam aut faciam", in Latin) attributed to the Carthaginian general Hannibal about crossing the Alps, seemed appropriate for this shot from quite a few years ago. This was taken in Mexico, at an old Mayan temple site. I thought it was a great example of how nature will find a way to break through and reclaim land from humanity over time. Also, it's a good example of why you shouldn't plant a tree too close to your house! :-)

HWW! A photograph from a tourist trip to Venice a while back. After seeing the iconic sights, we spent a couple of days walking off the beaten track, through the smaller streets and canalsides, finding fascinating pockets of local life. With perfect, but entirely accidental timing, the skies cleared and the sun provided an additional halo to this statue of the Madonna on the corner of a property wall. We saw several statues around the place which had a structure above them to protect from the worst of the weather.

This ancient image is from the last millennium, scanned from a late-90s 35mm negative. In Singapore, at the foot of a bridge near the Merlion statue, there is (or at least was) a group of bronzes of kittens playing near their mother. When I walked past, a real cat was taking a nap near its metal cousins. I haven’t visited Singapore in a long while, so I expect it’s changed almost beyond recognition.

Once from the archives because we haven't had a sunny, warm day here in a while. This bench with a breathtaking view is in the Exotic Garden in Monaco (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardin_Exotique_de_Monaco), looking down into the principality from the hills. This was taken a few years ago - I know the garden closed during the Covid pandemic, and I'm not sure whether it has reopened yet. When open, it's definitely worth a visit when you're tired of admiring supercars and megayachts!

I was looking though my photographs from a visit to Iceland and came across a few that I'd taken inside the amazing Harpa concert hall in Reykjavic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpa_(concert_hall)). It's an incredible structure of metal and glass; with multi-coloured and reflective geometric panels that hint at the lava columns in the surrounding landscape. It's one of the most interesting and attractive buildings I've visited.

We had dinner at Gloucester docks last night and the water was perfectly still.

Fun fact: It's believed that there are now more giant redwwod trees in the UK than there are in their native range in California. Thanks to the Victorian era passion for collecting (stealing?) plant specimens from all over the world and bringing them back to Britain, there may be as many as half a million redwoods in the UK. Beacuse they are only 150 years old or less, most are mere saplings compared with their Californian cousins, and will take a few more centuries to get to a great height. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68518623)

HWW! The shot was taken underneath a viaduct in Stroud, Gloucestershire, where the railway crosses the Stroudwater Canal and the river Frome. I haven't seen this construction before, where there is an arch at the top and bottom of the structure. I'm sure there are load-bearing reasons for it. The arches make for a pleasing symmetry and perspective, I think.

A photo from this weekend's walk in the woods. It's definitely a bracket fungus; I think it's Turkey Tail

We had a day without rain for the first time in a long while, so I was able to get out and admire some of the wild (or at least self-seeded) Snowdrops in the area. I haven't figured out how to get these to display as a 'picture in picture' group like some people do.

We had a day without rain for the first time in a long while, so I was able to get out and admire some of the wild (or at least self-seeded) Snowdrops in the area. I haven't figured out how to get these to display as a 'picture in picture' group like some people do.

We had a day without rain for the first time in a long while, so I was able to get out and admire some of the wild (or at least self-seeded) Snowdrops in the area. I haven't figured out how to get these to display as a 'picture in picture' group like some people do.