Photos from the life of a Welshman

moved

2012-02-18T13:07:00.001-08:00

The link for this blog http://wildaboutwales.us/wp/

upload quota problems with google again so all my posts are now on my website.

that includes my bird photos etc,

oriental longhair.

2012-02-08T02:08:00.000-08:00

Our new kitten

Welcome to Sparkle"]

can't go around shouting the name her previous owner called her,

Goddess Skadi of Puddhaspalace*GB

reg no (GB) FB RX 1-009897

ok why not call her skadi. ? In Norse mythology, Skaði (sometimes anglicized as Skadi, Skade, or Skathi) is a jötunn and goddess associated with bowhunting, skiing, winter, and mountains and dates back to the 13th century. So a great name to call a wolf or a siberian fox,

Her sister is T-bell but she does not know it and tries to avoid her as much as possible,

Mallard day

2012-02-06T12:12:00.001-08:00

[caption id="attachment_514" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The mating game."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_524" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The mallards In Newtown come in all different colours.Lots of scuffles with the males poor rings think its mating season with this mild winter we are getting here in Newtown"][/caption]

: Two different colours of Mallard drakes.

[caption id="attachment_420" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="splashdown"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_421" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="pair of Mallards."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_422" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Hen coming in to land."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_423" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="the colony or is that a quackery."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_424" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="the quackery on the move."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_426" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="not a good shot as I was concentrating on his colours."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_427" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="make way for the landing."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_429" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="We have touchdown."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_431" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The duck and the ice crystals."][/caption]

new web site,

2012-02-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

Myegypt is about to run out and seeing I no longer live in Egypt, I have made a new web site.
eventually the site will take precedence over the blogs,

http://wildaboutwales.us/wp/

the wren and the blackbird

2012-02-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

birds and seeds.

2012-02-01T02:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterdays glimpse of the moon between the clouds

Mistle thrush

House sparrow found a crust

this is a quick post for Mary , I find the birds do not eat the coconut unless I put sun flower seeds in the half shell.
once the sunflower seeds are gone they tend to pick at the coconut

Sylvester looking as if to say "think them birds can see me behind the dried grass"

two male chaffinch the one with the feathers on the legs is here all the time and nests in the back garden

Saphy enjoying a bit of morning sun watching the birds on the feeders.
and me I have to go get some more fat balls for them.
" dont I have a hard life"

siskin, blue tit ,great tit

2012-01-30T06:45:00.000-08:00

Blue tit

Male siskin in the sunflower seed feeder

Bit of a scuffle with the siskin and the Great tit over the seeds

Enlarge the photos

Great tit

Mid winter,

2012-01-28T06:39:00.000-08:00

Female siskin only feeds in the front garden feeder

Robin on the feeder tray,

Starling on the feeder branch

Pare of Rooks on watch on the street light

Pair of collared doves on the roof tiles

starlings drinking from the turfing

Squirrel

Mallards in the mud

Female mallard

rook taking a drink in the river

Pied wagtail taking a bathe in the river

drake Mallard duck

Blackbird

A bit of sun whoopee

Not many berries about in January apart from the ivy berries

A walk through the park

2012-01-24T09:34:00.000-08:00

Male and female blackbird,

Wood pigeon

Woodpeckers bore hole in a dead tree trunk most probable had a nest in it .

perfectly circular hole

Saw another Nuthatch today ,

a preening wood pigeon

honey bees on the mohonia flower

The stone Gorsedd Circle looks as though it has stood in the park near the river forever it was constructed for the National Eisteddfod (which was held in Newtown in 1965)

to the centre of the circle of stones the bards plinth,

where a carved chair is placed. The eisteddfod is traced In 1176 CE the Lord Rhys, ruler of all Wales called together the Bards from around ...best of the Bards have gathered together to find the one deserving of the Chair.

rook in the park,

rooks on the church lightning conductor,

Fungi on a dead tree stump.

rabbit in the church yard,

we even have mushrooms still growing

jackdaw and the herring gull

Robin and friends in the back garden

2012-01-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

dunnock in the cane leaves

Great tit,

Magpie in flight

The blue tit in the coconot filled with sunflower seed,,

wood pigeon

Squirrel waiting to get at the feeder

Female blackbird

song thrush

I am sure I can see a bird,

Sylvester in his watch tower

Bird rescue

2012-01-23T07:47:00.000-08:00

Sitting at the computer this morning I heard a bang against the front window, a noise I hear all to often in the summer when the young blackbirds hit the window usually knocking themselves out most service and fly off after a few minutes, but today it was a female Chaffinch she lay motionless on the paving rather than the cats getting to her I climbed out of the window to see if she was ok even though she looked dead, on picking her up she moved her legs, rather than give it beck to mouth I resuscitated her by stroking with my finger then she flapped her wings , I cradled her in my hands for a minute before putting her in the cat basket on the radiator. then she started to move a bit so lifted her up again to se if she wanted to fly off seemed quite happy where she was perched on my hand covering from her ordeal. after a few more minutes I put her outside on a wire then she flew off, but not before I took her photo.

Whewn I first picked her up I thought she was dead

Add caption

The finches are Such tiny birds

Here she is in the cats cradle on the radiator

Almost recovered but still looks a bit dizzy

Here she is almost ready to fly off again.

past life

2012-01-22T12:18:00.000-08:00

Gethin Farm when we bought the property in 1986.

It took two years to renovate Gethin working all hours while still doing contract work ' Just as the work was nearing completion my back gave in, I had 3 slipped discs and that put paid to my working as a stone mason builder, to cut a long story short we sold the farm and bought the house we now live in

The front view after renovation

Rear view of the property

Rear view after renovation,

Back to 1989 when we had the farm and Rare breed pigs these were Oxford and Sandy at one time there was only 17 breeding pairs,

Our first O andS Sow dolly she loved having a good scrub and was a more like a pet dog ,

Dollies first piglet peggy,she had her first litter of 14 in mid winter . all the rest were sold as in guilt the boars went for meat,

all our animals were free range had complete run of the 13 acres we owned, they even furrowed in what we called the shelter this was a home made hut corrugated sheets on a v shaped wall with the a log in the front to keep the straw bedding in place,open front was open facing all they surveyed

this was 2/3 of dollies first litter the light coloured one in the centre is Peggy.
as you can see we never castrated our boars they were kept for 18 weeks before being culled.

we also had lots of Aylesbury ducks these are the layers One drake, all eggs were hatched and chicks sold as week olds,
We had a lot of different breeds of hens , geese and ducks , we also had a lot of problems with badgers and foxes killing the stock, we lost 12 rare breed barnvelders in one night after a badger dug its way into our hen hut, it killed just for the fun of it, never ate one only the hears and livers, then we get the do gooders saying badgers do not kill.

This is Miss Mole she went half blind and totally deaf as is a trait in border collies, she died of old age at 18,

Willow our lovely siamese she also went blind at the age of eleven,

Willow and mole were inseparable they were brought up together mole was 2 years old when willow came to live with us as a kitten,

My story on how I became a volunteer is now on http://wawpics.blogspot.com/
Join now for the whole story on where I went and what I did as a volunteer,

Great Spotted Woodpecker,Dendrocopos Major.

2012-01-22T03:12:00.000-08:00

Two female Chaffinch

Great Spotted Woodpecker,Dendrocopos Major. first time I have seen it in the Garden

Bullfinch,Pyrrhula pyrrhula. in the back garden

Bullfinch,Pyrrhula pyrrhula.

Its life,

2012-01-21T15:02:00.000-08:00

rooks on the clock tower of barclays bank

This carving on the bank building is made from one piece of stone

Bell on bird watch

A rare model of a trebant sports car

Now here are two characters I have not heard from for a long time
Noddy,Bigears and bob the builder,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tiFWLINF3A noddy, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjoKn0Lvr44

Easter is coming, Evans cafe have these chock crisps with eggs and coloured chicks all the year round

My favourite fruit is in the shops, The lychee (Litchi chinensis, and also known as the leechi, litchi, laichi, lichu, lizhi) is the sole member of the genus Litchi in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae .,

strange place to put a sign next week they might have ,,We have large selection of people who were run over as they stepped off the pavement to avoid a collision with a sign,

Baba Ali is Arabic for Ali's father,
and its the only place in Wales where I will find a Sar ali,
we have a one off in Newtown,,isn't that great to know.

A pooch wondering where to go on holliday.

The VW pot shop. I once had a split windscreenVW camper van until it failed its MOT, too much rust!

and of course these are my favourite flowers the daffodils,

21.1.12.

2012-01-21T05:56:00.000-08:00

Great tit in its natural habitat,

can see why its called the long-tailed tit

Magpie

rook

Blowing quite hard but these two jackdaws hung on to the branch,

bottums up

Mallards

Blue and long-tailed tits

frost bitten fungi

daffodils are shooting up

lots of snowdrops in the park.

news

2012-01-20T15:22:00.000-08:00

taken the funny news bits off and put them on http://funnynewsbits.blogspot.com/

Newtown Powys ,

2012-01-19T00:26:00.000-08:00

Why do I say NEWTOWN ,POWYS ! simple really there are a dozen or so Newtown's dotted around the UK, and my home town is in one of the thirteen counties of Wales, the County of Powys

A brief history on Newtown link, and instead of putting the whole of my blog on here the link is http://newtownpowys.wordpress /.com
In the centre of town is the Cross building or as most people know it as Barclays bank building"]the first what one might say catalogue store is here in Newtown built in 1860"]the weather vane on the gable of the second pryce jones building, it was built 30 years after the main building."]Newtown also has the tallest house chimney stack in the uk"

1	Town Council and Robert Owen Museum	19	Railway Station
2	Market Hall	20	Agricultural House
3	County Council Offices	21	Nightclub & Cinema
4	Oriel Davies Gallery	22	Rectory
5	Castle Mound	23	Ladywell House
6	Clinic	24	Smithfield
7	Coach & Bus Station	25	Pryce Jones Stores & Museum
8	Primary School	26	Cenotaph & Gardens
9	Library	27	The Monty Club
10	Nursery School	28	Hospital
11	Police Station	29	Chapel
12	Football Ground	30	Bowling Club
13	Newtown High School	31	Masonic Hall
14	Surgery	32	Textile Museum
15	Ladywell Shopping Centre	33	Bear Lanes Shopping Centre
16	College Annex	34	Leisure Centre
17	Church	35	Newtown Rugby Club
18	Community Centre

part of Newtown where I live from the top of Dolfor Hill."]

The Tegenaria Duellica, one of the family of cobweb spiders"]

I

Figs, Miss Muffet and blue tits

2012-01-18T11:03:00.000-08:00

The fig tree in the summer house is completely leaf bare but has about50 figs half of which will survive the winter and will get ripe in May/June,

While in the summer house that I have made into a hide to watch the birds in the back garden this blue tit came in through the open glass door

It did not panic as one may think a trapped bird would do on seeing A human in such close proximity. so I took a couple of shots then I sat down and waited for it to finish cleaning what grubs it found on the fig tree,it was on the tree for about 5 minutes before it flew out on the feeder.

Chaffinch and Dunnock in the front garden, there was three male chaffinch in back the garden ,

Female blackbird feeding on the apples

Then this little fellow decided to do a miss muffet
and sat on the pillow beside me while taking snaps of the birds.

Little Miss Muffet

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey,
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

Goldfinch .Carduelis carduelis, 217.1.2012

2012-01-17T06:57:00.000-08:00

Two Goldfinch .Carduelis carduelis,

Pair of Greenfinch corduelis chloris,

Collared dove Streptopelia decaocto

Rook Corvus frugilegus,

Robin erithacus rubecula,

The Crested duck is still on the river, this time it has brought its offspring

Mallards preening themselves.

Three poses of the Song thrush.turdus philomelos,

Blackbitd,

Pair of Mute swans,

Dipper cinclus cinclus

Dipper diving for fish

Spotted flycatcher Miscicapa striata.

wood pigeon Columba palumbus,

icicles from an overflow pipe

Saphy and Sylvester in a cuddle.where is its head

A frosty back garden at 10.00

Todays sun up

Two new birds in the apple restaurant today

2012-01-15T04:14:00.000-08:00

This is one for squirrel Sunday even though its frozen the squirrel was at the feeder at 9.00 today

We had about 30 minutes of sunshine today So I made a hide in the summer house. where the next shots where taken from.

The Siskin Carduelis spinus, first decent shot of her on the front feeder
by decent I mean I can tell what it is not Guess. last time I saw it I thought it was a greenfinch, but the markings around the eyes gave it away.

A new bird in the apple restaurant today the female Blackcap ( Sylvia atricapilla) Ok no black cap but then the females are contrary,

Male Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla; from what I can make out. there is nothing else like it in the book.

male and female Chaffinch

The Great tit

Dunnock

The robin enjoying a five minute break of sunshine

It was a pleasure today watching 3 of the long-tailed tits. for the past week Ive had one visiting the front feeder only

Sylvester loves it when I join him birdwatching in his garden

Here he is on his watching post in the apple tree restaurant wondering where the birds have gone.

Not for from Sylvester was this Female blackbird hoping the cat will not eat the apple,

A frosty Saturday walk

2012-01-15T00:38:00.000-08:00

I was feeling much better today best I have felt in a long while going out in the cold is no problem its the rain and damp weather that gets to my old bones, my blood levels are getting back to some kind of normality about time too , its almost 6 months since I was diagnosed with diabetes, thank goodness its two and not one I have to cope with. Just have to remember to stay off any kind of sugar and take the pills. my eyesight is getting back to normal I am now taking 2 photo shots instead of twenty-two, I have also been given digital hearing aids so I can now hear the birds rather than using my eyesight only for getting a photo. the first bird I saw and heard today was the bullfinch it was on the ground foraging under the hedgerow too dark to get a good shot ,then it flew high up in the trees then it was a case of moving so I was with my back against the sun not that there was any coming through the mist just a glare.

Quite a few robins about today about a dozen sightings this one wanted to be in the frame when I was on the river bank taking shots of the frosted plants it flew in at first to close for a shot as I had the 100x400 zoom lens on, so I had to take a few paces back as the lens will only focus at 6ft +. but then thats nature if I had a normal lens on the bird would not come within 50yards never mind 50 inches.You can see my frozen plants and things on
http://photowales.blogspot.com/

sun at midday,

Starlings in the trees

by the time I got to the river the mist had started to lift a little.

Blackbird under the cover of the trees having a good old scratch in the dead oak leaves looking for fallen acorn and thorn berries,

Mallards in full breeding plumage she will not sit now until the end of March.

Birds in the front garden

2012-01-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

Early birds

2012-01-13T02:09:00.000-08:00

Blue tits are always on the feeders first light

Dunock

blue tit

Male blackbird Waiting for the crumbs

Robin in the early morning sun

birds in the front garden,

2012-01-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

These two shots are on as they are the only ones I managed to get of the greenfinch,
the past two days have been so dismal I have only managed to get shots through the front room window and that also makes the shots darker .

there was about 30 tits on the feeders today I may try and get a video tomorrow

even the sparrows are venturing inside the cage to feed.

the chaffinch was real busy in the shrubs catching whatever grubs came its way,

there are four Dunocks in the front garden they only feed from whatever the tits spill from the feeders the ground

Blackbird

2012-01-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

Juvenile male blackbird

This is a female Blackbird never seen one with white spots before. but then a few hundred yards down the path in the park i came across a male with a white spot.

squirrel sunday

2012-01-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

as soon as it saw me it was off up the tree with its acorn,

this one started to come down the tree then it saw me and disappeared

I managed to get quite close to this one and had a few good shots of him.. no cutting these are the actual photos.

Even though its mid winter its so mild the squirrels are about, and lots of them today in the Newtown county council office area gardens,

around my house.

2012-01-06T06:50:00.000-08:00

Without the worms and slugs making compost would be hard work

party time for the yobs on the footpath at the back of the house

sunrays over Mochdre hills

lichen on the crab apple tree

It was a gate now its a style

something to look up to

a lonesome pine

a bare sycamore tree.

Mushrooms in the hedgerow.

the gorse is in full bloom

Yesterdays post is on http://photowales.blogspot.com/2012/01/in-my-garden-6112012.html

sun u over our house

blue tits on the feeder

chaffinch in the apple tree

two tits arguing over on apple

the squirrel is here again after the sunflower seeds i put dawn for the finches

maybe them birds will come to have some apple.

the red robin is coming into flower

some bug has borred a hole in this laurel berry

sylvester in the apple tree

Newton from the water reservoir on the hill at the back back of our house

The hills above Newton looking towards Llanmerewig

Newtown football field home to the Robins with St Davids Church and pryce jones building in the background
http://newtownpowys.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/pryce-pryce-jones/

The Lone oak tree on Llanmerewig hill

Brimmon hill,,, in the centre of the photo is where the proposed new by-pass for Newtown will be

The Gate to nowhere,

Fungi in a dead elderberry tree

Early catkins

Jelly fungus on a rotting branch

Crab apples

The yobs pub pre 1972 before the council made a path between the council estates this area was the orchard for our house

The monkey puzzle tree next door,

Vesty loves the great outdoors sitting in his favourite place on the apple tree

its been raining again

2012-01-05T01:29:00.000-08:00

A week before the rains 29th 12. 11

St Mary's church from the Bridge 3.1.12

5.1.12 the heavy rain has ceased and the river has gone down about a3 ft in 2 days.

to much about today just a few squirrels hunting for food

enlarge the photo to see the daffodils shooting up just above the squirrel in the grass

now the river is down a bit it is very torrent as it hits the submerged rocks that are visible when the river is low.

the stream coming down from the bryn

another photographer taking advantage of the break in the weather.

still mushrooms and fungi about

fungi and moss growing on the flood barrier embankment wall near the severn long bridge

Lot of flowers coming out in the park area like these snowdrops on the river bank in a week they will be in flowers .

A rook on the clock tower Cross buildings the building itself is looking very shabby with all the plants growing in the brick and stonework.

3rd January 2012

2012-01-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

Not a day to go out but needs must as I had to go to the doctors surgery to renew subscription form for my medication tablets, I set off at 11.30 with Quite a blue sky even though there was a lot of sleet & rain earlier, I had to take 3 library books back so that was my first port of call no charge even though the books were 3 days overdue, but as the young lady said the library was closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday. had a chat with the librarian when I left a few minutes latter it was hailing again, well it is January one would not think so ,

just outside the library there was a cherry tree in full pink blossom. notice the sky as it starts to cloud over

The surgery is not far from the Library on park rd, so stayed in the shelter of the foyer until the shower passed. May as well go to get some banana,s seeing I am in town anyway and I had taken the last one in the house before I came out much to Pam's annoyance,

Tuesday is market day in Newtown usually there're lots of stalls but it was so cold wet and miserable only two stalls had opened, the usual fruit and veg stall and a warm clothing stall

By the time I reached the veg stall near the severn bridge as I was on my way home along the river, the weather had really closed in and it was real heavy rain and sleet

The river was almost up to the footpath and I have not seen it this high since I came home 5 months ago.

During the past few hours the river had already been on the path as we can see with the flotsam on the path.

St Mary's church from the Bridge

Long bridge and the path is my walk home

A wet Dolerw bridge sorry about the rain on the lens but it was raining quite heavy

The high rolling river severn under Dolerw suspension bridge

And a shot from the dolerw bridge

Another cherry tree in blossom this one is in the park

Dolfor stream as it enters the Severn

Dolfor stream and muddy path looking towards the river

Lots of Robins about

The copse behind my house in the winter we can see the rails of the water reservoir

the hot pepper plant is still alive Just About.

this is my granddaughters dog who came to visit us for the new year

A water drain outlet in the flood barrier wall

the robin usually the wrens are in this area but the river is high so they will have moved to their winter home most likely in the park

A magpie in the conifer tree

Its so mild there are still mushrooms about.

The path just outside my house as I was leaving makes a nice reflection of the bare tree

this and that ,Egypt Aug 2010

2012-01-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

all these photos are genuine.

Bought by the bucket phul to keep away the stench of the garbage that hangs around the streets. also with the rubbish here the dogs and cats and rats will have a good meal tonight'
some will be taken out of the city to the outskirts and dumped in the nearest canal. so more of egypts wildlife will be fed

So tired; this spice seller has fallen to sleep while filling a bag of spice up,

lots of bones around now its Ramadan and all have meat with the breakfast.Ie,
after sunsetramadan street bunting

This that and a few donkeys

Both horse and donkey here are under fed,

Lots of this and that in Luxor not many take any interest in this and that neither do they take any interest in the donkey,
unless its to abuse, some donkeys are treated fairly well ; the farmers treat there little workhorse with pride others pride themselves in how strong there animal is;
look how much it can pull; others take more pride in the cart the donkey pulls , spend more on the carts upkeep and appearance than food for the donkey that has to pull it,

some boys just like to ride up the wrong side

this street has just had new pavement not to walk on but to show the locals that a new road is being put in and no more can they trade on the street the cops or on their way confiscating any food stuffs off the pavement'
the cops lorry is approaching, while normal trading,
,
this sequence of shots shows how quick they can close shop. the shop has its shutters open

all cleared and the shutters are down. hooray we fooled em.
the shadow shows its midday
.

things that gets noticed

Well well;this one does not have any underwear, and he got noticed. a few more tourists got a snap shot he was in the main street market area even cops walking past. wonder if he had been mimiking Alexander the great, he stands proudly with his phalus erect on the wall of luxor temple.

strange how one notices a deserted street,

and signes that are not noticed even though I walk this street every day,
and I get hassled. in future will point to the sign,

freebees, not really just that everybody sells this kind of rubbish its quite safe beeing left out in the street. the guy most likely had a sale, got himself stoned and forgot to close shop. could be the guy with his knob hanging out.
,

The lone ranger. or is it silver, hi ho. just delivered its lemons.

yep its still ramadan bunting is everywhere,

how much off this dress. depends how short you want it I suppose. 60% will get to show yer arse when bending down.

Me and my camera what next,

Give us our daily bread,

This little donkey must have a hard job pulling this cart the bock wheels hub bearings have broken up so the wheel is running on the axle. and leaning on the cart this will act like a brake on all the time, made even harder when it is loaded with half a ton of bagged lemons,

while in the market i took this photo and wondered if the hard working donkey also had the lemons on its cart this day.

lmost every street in luxor has a government subsidized bread shop each piece is 5 piastres,
there is one hundred piastre's in one pound ( LE) so for one pound they can have twenty pieces, they buy so much of it half I reckon is thrown away or kept to feed the chickens and the rats,

nice fresh Filia bread tomorrow it will be like a rock,

This is the only horse and cart allowed into the market street, delivering the flour,

Its the lock up good job the crisp boxes have been invented, or it would be open house,
fair play The owner sells the produce mainly mineral water at Egyptian price, that's 2.50 le
per 1.5 litre bottle, most outlets sell to the tourist anything up to 12le.

the shop is situated direct across the street from the entrance of Luxor Temple,
also has its own tourist attraction. notice the woman in the doorway, one euro photo one dolla.
its market day again and that's where I am heading, its a month since my last visit so maybe there will be some new seasonal fruit and veg in.

It was nice to see the council had tarmacadam the area around the old house,
also good to know this lovely building won the case over the demolition, not many have

lots of fish on the market all are caught by the local fishermen ,
This is the fish the kingfishers and herons catch,

then we have the spices to go with the bread and fish.
= chicken food

onions, garlic and okra,

The Buffalo cheese is a local delicacy and eaten with the bread

next blog is on my walk back from the market, almost got run over by a locomotive.

pretty flowers

2012-01-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

I tried to help but all the authorities in Egypt did was down my web sites not only is the plant a problem but the pollution of 380 cruise boats on an 80 mile stretch of the nile from Luxor to Aswan does not help.
Nile pollution photos from the last week of my stay in Egypt May 2011
http://nilecruise.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/2926/

Such a pretty flower its a putty its so distructive

Common Water Hyacinth (E. crassipes)

One of the fastest growing plants known, water hyacinth reproduces primarily by way of runners orstolons, which eventually form daughter plants. It also produces large quantities of seeds, and these are viable up to thirty years. The common water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) are vigorous growers known to double their population in two weeks.

OK you have had the nice part of this beautifully flower now for the reality of this plant,

this and a lot of the Nile land in Egypt is Inundated once an year where the seeds or the root of the plant is germinated and grows like wildfire most of the seeds that or in the land will grow in the water without rooting in the land these for the most when the Nile recedes will go down the Nile as flotsam the rooted plant is left for the farmer to clean up but what they do not realize is if this plant is not cleared away and burnt it will grow more vigorously next time it gets inundated, resulting in what you see in the next photo.

the plant needs 6 pints of water a day and as soon as the nile river recedes the plant on higher land will die off.

here as soon as the Nile water has receded the farmers try to clear the land to sow corn whether its maze or cereal corn .

this pile of hyacinth will be moved to the path where there is still water just so the have dry land to walk on.

some may get burnt they will even feed the animals on it the seeds go through the animal which in turn goes back on the land.

There are economic impacts when the weed blocks boat access. The effects on transportation and fishing are immediately felt. Where the weed is prolific, there is a general increase in several diseases, as the weed creates excellent breeding areas for mosquitoes and other insects. There are increased incidents of skin rash, cough, malaria, encephalitis, bilharzias, gastro intestinal disorders, and schistosomiasis. Water hyacinth also interferes with water treatment, irrigation, and water supply (Opande et al., 2004^[3])). It can smother aquatic life by deoxygenating the water, and it reduces nutrients for young fish in sheltered bays. It has blocked supply intakes for the hydroelectric plant, interrupting electrical power for entire cities. The weed also interrupts local subsistence fishing, blocking access to the beaches (LVEMP, 2004^[5]).

rainy weather

2012-01-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

Not been out of late due to the rainy weather its also not a good time of year for wildlife photography, Light Etc,
so I am going through my Pre digital photos from Iraq, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Israel the places where I worked volunteering building orphanages Etc, already I have done a few posts from my archive photos 2005 to date they are on http://welshfirst.blogspot.com/
also there are lots of my photos on the following blogs,

the nile life blogs are of life in Egypt where I lived for 8 years. until Egypt became Islamic and a dangerous place for Christians to live.
If you cannot get on some blogs thats because the egyptian authorities have taken them down. Ie blogs on the riots in feb 2011. and the corrupt judicial system in Egypt.
A new post has been set up from wales where the Corrupt Regime cannot take them down
http://westbankluxor.blogspot.com

http://newtownpowys.wordpress.com/ whats happening in my hometown in Wales

http://wildaboutwales.wordpress.com/ wild life around Wales

the nilelife blogs are /1/2/3/ 4 and 5

http://www.nilelife5.blogspot.com/ Click on the photos to enlarge

http://skywatchegypt.blogspot.com/
http://egyptplants.blogspot.com/
http://birdinginegypt.blogspot.com/ myegypt bird blog
http://egyptwildlife.blogspot.com/ birds of Egypt
http://egyptswildlife2.blogspot.com/ birds of Egypt
http://www.nilelife.blogspot.com/ photos from around Luxor Egypt
http://www.nilelife2.blogspot.com/ photos from around Luxor Egypt
http://egyptdragonflies.blogspot.com/ Dragons and damsels
http://insectsonwings.blogspot.com/ butterflies and bugs
http://myegypttours.blogspot.com Tombs and temples of Egypt
http://mydeserttrip.blogspot.com/ new in the process of building lots of photos of the white desert already on. 30/11/09

My web site is http://myegypt.co.uk/ and has 9 pages on Egypt's tombs temples Etc

my blog that exposes some of the cons /scams in Egypt

http://bloodylyingbastards.blogspot.com/

december 2003 Santa run , happy new year 2012

2011-12-31T11:10:00.000-08:00

Nad oedd y redeg santa yn rhedeg hyd yn oed am 10 mlynedd cyn iddo gael ei ddwyn oddi wrth y Gymraeg, pam y mae'nrhaid yn Llundain,
The santa run did not even run for 10 years before it was stolen from the welsh, why does it have to be in London

http://www.mungos.org//events/running/santa_5k_run?gclid=CLLHi-KBra0CFSFItAodW1EX1A

no santa run in Newtown this year 2011 last year they ran for help for heroes but the santa run originally started for local charities

http://www.santarunnewtown.org.uk/

History
This was originally conceived and performed in 2001 local charity "Dial A Ride" who charge £10 for registration (which closes the week before) and each participant must raise £20 in sponsorship: it was all for a good cause.

When & Where The Santarun Wales usually takes place in the town of Newtown in Wales around the last week of November or the first week in December.
What to Expect About 5000 people jogging 7.2kms in Santa suits. Each year the santas try to set a new record and better the previous years attempt- but don't think this isn't a legitimate long distance run as some participants have ran done the Santa run Wales course in less then 19 minutes.

was not this that caused the fight

2003 a fight broke out between some of the santa's who had a few to many Christmas cheers,

And seeing we missed the santa run 2011, there is always HOGMANAY

Festival in Scotland

Hogmanay Festival : The silence of night suddenly broken by the whisper of flames. Hogmonay Festival in Edinburgh: 100,000 people singing Auld Lang Syne at the same time.

It's only pure debauchery as a city empties all it's watering holes. The world’s biggest street party rivalled only by the Carnival in Rio. Dance, drink and wear a kilt!

Hogmanay Festival - When & Where 31st December every year. In Scotland, the best place is Edinburgh.

2011-12-26T13:40:00.000-08:00

Ffestiniog Railway, you can read up on the trains etc on this link the train today was the green one. Iarll Meirionedd the red train also called by the same name was also pulling as the track was slippery.

shots taken as the train passes Llyn Mair,
the shot taken of the river Glaslyn from Tan-Y-Bwlch station.

Tanygrisiau. The Moelwyns protect the village from much of the wind from northerly gales in the winter and give the village a pleasant southerly aspect with relatively mild weather considering its location high in Snowdonia. However rainfall in the upper end of the Ffestiniog valley can be very high all year around

The birds are Widgeon( Anas penelope) duck, a Curlew(Numenius arquata) Oystercatcher ( Haematopus ostralegus), Redshank(Tringa totanus).