Monday Mystery

Only two guesses for last week's mystery photo, thanks for trying.



Ragged Robin got it right again as it showed



me with my feet up, wearing slippers.

Maybe this week's cropped photo will be easier to identify

 

If you would like to make a guess as to what it is a close view of please leave it in the comments.
Comments, and the answer, will be revealed next Monday.

Droning On

One of the things I have hankered for over the past few years is a drone. One with a camera as I fancy taking some aerial photography for a change. It would show a different aspect of the village and local farming. First things first though. Would my remaining 'little grey cell' be capable of fast enough decision making to control one? A decent drone with HD resolution still and movie taking abilities can be an expensive investment. About a decode ago I bought a model helicopter with the same ideas in mind and found its operation outside my abilities.

A few days ago I spotted a drone on sale on Amazon. It is designed with children in mind and doesn't have a camera but it was an ideal price for trying out and learning to fly one. Even better was the price. With the sale discount plus a discount voucher it cost me less than £19.  It seemed too cheap to be of any real use but having read dozens of really good reviews and watched a user video on YouTube I ordered one.

 

On unpacking the first task was to remove the propellers and add the guards which protect the drone in case of collision and make it safer to use. The controller seems small but I soon got used to operating it.



Here it is, hand held to show the size




Well, I've had a couple of practice sessions with it in the garden and am delighted to find it relatively easy to control. Once it has been paired with the controller a press of the take off button and it rises to about 8 feet in the air and hovers automatically. Only one crash so far and the protectors saved the drone from being damaged. I was going to try videoing it in operation today but it has started to rain and strong winds are forecast . That will have to wait for another day.

Foul Flower

My Stapelia plant was relegated to the greenhouse a few years ago.
In spite of being somewhat neglected it continues to thrive and flower.





The reason for moving it outside?
The flower attempts to imitate rotting flesh both in colouring and scent.

More Hot Lips

Last November my Salvia Hot Lips were just small plug plants



They spent last Winter in the unheated greenhouse and were planted out in the Spring.
Today the three I planted against an East facing fence have grown to be lovely bushy plants



They have flowered continuously for over six months attracting bees and hover flies.
I would love to have photographed one of their visitors . I tried but it wouldn't co-operate.
It was a hovering fly of some sort. A type I had not seen before or since. At first I thought it was a bee fly but the markings were wrong for that. Its rear end had very distinct longitudinal black and white stripes. Not once did it land on anything but hovered all the time while feeding. I spent ages perusing various sites but could not find a photograph of anything which had remotely the same markings.

Maybe Mammatus

On our way back from our early morning walkabout I could hear geese in the distance. Unfortunately they were too far away to photograph but I noticed a junction between two cloud formations which stretched right across the sky.





The cloud furthest away was darker than shown in the photos and the nearer definitely had the appearance of Mammatus cloud.

Monday Mystery - Feel the Heat Version

Last week I asked you to spot the two letters making up the 3D shape in this video



The letters J and C were correctly identified by Ragged Robin.

      


The making of the movie



The 3D shape on my home made Arduino driven turntable.
A single LED light. Black background material.
Nikon Coolpix on a tripod.


This week I have a thermal image taken with the SeeK thermal camera attached to my iPhone



What did I photograph?

Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Monday Mystery - the Movie

Something a little different this week as you will soon see.
First - last week I showed:



The Weaver, Adrian, Ragged Robin and Kris correctly identified it as part of



a Horse Chestnut seed (conker).
My thanks to those who had a go.

This week I have a video for you.
Some time ago Adrian (Adrian's Images) was experimenting with a computer program which combines two capital letters to produce a 3D shape. Adrian kindly sent me a design which I printed as a 3D object. There are two letter combined to make the shape. Can you see what they are?



One is easy to spot the other not quite so easy though it may be easier on this close up video than it is in real life.

Soundtrack is "Instinct' a royalty free music file from Bensound.
https://www.bensound.com/

Please  leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Red Sky in the Morning

Yesterday morning we went walkabout at just the right time to see a beautiful Sunrise



I keep hoping to see a purple Sunrise or Sunset. They have been seen and photographed recently by others. The purple colouring is a result of high altitude aerosols from volcanic eruptions scattering blue light..

Monday Mystery

Another week has flashed by so here we are with a new Monday Mystery photograph.
First, last week I showed this close crop



which Dave and Adrian correctly identified as part of



a pine cone. The slightly unusual colouring was a result of it being very wet after a heavy shower.
Thanks as always to all who made a guess.

This week it may be easier to identify what this is a close look at



If you would like to make a guess please leave it in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

How Did She Do That?

I found Penny's identity disc in her bedding along with ...



... the remains of the reasonably strong split ring which had connected the disc to a D ring on her collar.  It must have taken quite a lot of force to open it out that much. My guess is she caught a claw in it while having a scratch. In that case I would have expected her to kick up a fuss as she has a very low pain threshold.

Popped Acer

Colour popped and border added