Backlit crocus

A day of ups and downs. There was lovely bright sunshine early this morning, but I had too much of a headache to venture out in it. By the time the headache had cleared a bit, a grey miasma had returned, so I accepted my fate and went to Sainsbury's instead! I found some half-price ecologically-friendly wooden floor cleaner while there, and when I got home Pete and I tackled the first stage in the restoration of our rather battered parquet hall floor. It's amazing what a deep clean can do - I'd never realised there was so much ingrained dirt!

The sun came out briefly after lunch and I grabbed the opportunity to take a couple of photographs of the spring bulbs. I loved the colours in this crocus picture, but a snowdrop with water droplets, which can be seen here was a close contender for my blip. I let the chickens out while I was in the garden, and was delighted to find that all three are now laying. It might be omelette for lunch tomorrow!

A quick dash to the DIY shop to get decorating supplies meant I was late taking the dogs for a walk, and the sun was already setting by the time I got to Ferry Meadows to hunt for waxwings. I found them in the top of a tall willow, but light levels were so low that they could only be seen as silhouettes. However, it was very peaceful walking round the lake in the dusk, with the soft sound of blackbirds singing from the surrounding trees. The nearly full moon was a soft gold, and reflected wonderfully off the lake. On the last stretch I watched a pair of swans swimming companionably in the moonlight, gently sipping water. I had a go at capturing them, and my efforts can be seen here.
I was quite pleased considering I was using the telephoto lens hand held at 1/15s!