autofantasia's photos with the keyword: wet

For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which the subject was rain , which to be honest we've not had an awful lot of this summer. Thankfully, on the day my wife and I had planned to visit Thornton Hall Gardens on the outskirts of Darlington it was somewhat overcast and we did indeed get some rain. Nothing that heavy mind you, more drizzle than anything else, but sufficient to add some moisture to the plants. The garden in question was open for charity, something they do several times a year, and it is well worth visiting. So much so that we actually went twice this week as we found there was so much to see that the initial half-day we'd allocated wasn't sufficient to get around and do everything justice. In addition to the gardens they have a small tea room and sell a limited number of plants, many of which they themselves have grown. So, if you like your gardens, are ever in the area and fancy supporting a few good causes at the same time I can thoroughly recommend a visit. You will find a few more of the images that I took for this challenge in the Notes should you care to check them out and if you want to learn more about Thornton Hall Gardens please follow the link below: www.thorntonhallgardens.co.uk Please view on black for best effect.

For this week's Sunday Challenge , which had the theme of ephemeral . Herbaceous peonies provide invaluable colour to borders and also offer cut flower material in late spring and early summer. Their large, often double flowers in whites, pinks and reds can add an element of romance and glamour to any garden. However, as beautiful as they can be, they don't care much for heavy rain or for that matter strong winds like that which we've had this summer. So, I'm afraid to say that this year their appearance and beauty has indeed been short lived as you can see from this shot taken in our back garden. Please view large on black for best effect.

So, our orders this week from the Mistress Wendi, who rules over The Sunday Challenge with a wand of steel, was simple: Get outside and do something: show us some water, a lake, a river, an ocean, a waterfall, a water drop on a flower .. your drink on the table. Apparently, the possibilities were endless and so they were. Sadly, though the weather conspired against me somewhat. Strong winds and showers meant that any thoughts I had of trying to capture some silky waterfalls went out the window. And despite my best efforts in the back garden to try and capture water droplets on flowers the weather won again ... even using umbrellas and various other props failed to keep the ghastly breeze at bay. So, my thoughts then turned to things that would be less inclined to blow about ... things like the keys to my old Scirocco. The only problem was where on earth did I put them .... oh, there they are!