Back to basics

From the start of our self-imposed isolation in 2020, which pre-dated the UK government's lockdown directive by a couple of weeks, for the rest of that year, when I started trying to take photos every day, and through my first year of Blip in 2021, I often joked about photographing the weeds in my garden. There were, and are, plenty to choose from, and I only rarely went anywhere to photograph anything else. Four years on, we are still shielding J from the risk of severe illness if she contracts Covid, so we still avoid indoor spaces (except for the many unavoidable hospital appointments) and although we do go out, for both local walks and family outings further afield, we choose uncrowded outdoor spaces. My photos are a bit more varied since I started trying hard to make time in my day for a walk, even if it's often up the same lane up the hill, but when all else fails and the cats don't co-operate, we still have an abundance of weeds.

The cuckoo pint has become increasingly invasive in the past couple of years, and although it's colourful, it's becoming quite a nuisance. However, the interestingly shaped and blotched leaves and their almost shiny surface texture created interesting patterns in a brief sunny interval, and although I may be stretching the definition of an abstract photo, it's those patterns, shapes and textures rather than the plant itself which are my subject.