A Tribute

Astrantia is a genus of herbaceous plants in the family Apiaceae, endemic to Central, Eastern and Southern Europe and the Caucasus. There are 8 or 9 species, which have aromatic roots, palmate leaves, and decorative flowers. They are commonly known as masterwort which may also refer to other plants

But this blip is not about me and my activities for, today through Facebook, I heard of the sad death of a lovely lady blipper, Jillymint. The news wasn't unexpected but it still brought a tear to my eye even though I had never met her; our only contact being through her journal and a couple of emails.
When I joined Blip two and a half years ago, her journal (TimeLapse) was one of the first that I followed; she had not long completed the 365 challenge but, more significantly, had also just discovered that her poor health was not Parkinson's but something far more aggressive; her profile update announcing the news ends with the words, "OK drama over - time to begin. Now where is that preview button." Typically, she carried on blipping whenever she could and her only complaint on line was the cost of having her Nikon repaired when she'd dropped it while, after one particularly lengthy absence she returned with,
"Boo!!!
"I bet you thought I'd gone forever."

Jilly’s forte was wildlife photography and, to that end, she had turned her garden into a nature reserve complete with an observation hide. Her ability with a camera was amazing, her timing being impecable in spite of the increasing disability, this she combined with superb artistic judgement  and post-processing skill. The best tribute to her would be for those not fortunate enough to have followed her journal to explore it and join those of us who did in being inspired by the quality of her work.
Her last blip was on the 3rd of September,
which also boasted, quite rightly, of her highly commended in the British Wildlife Photography Awards: