Summer Lovin’

Summer Lovin’

Firstly, apologies for being missing in action over the past month. It’s not that I’ve been that busy, it’s just that I’ve somehow not felt the inclination to blog (or fatigue has intervened when I have wanted to write a blog post).

So what have I been up to? A lot of family history research. Having researched my family tree for years, I didn’t think there was too much more I could learn, except there’s always more to learn! I’ve discovered that one ancestor was in the newspapers so often he might as well have had his own column. If anyone is interested, I might just do a post on it.

Last weekend, I took part in a silver clay workshop held at a new local craft shop. Nine of us learnt how to prepare and make a fine silver clay pendant using silver clay. I really enjoyed it and would definitely like to do more.

Marigold
Marigold
Marigold
Marigold

Anyway, it’s a bank holiday weekend here in the UK, so I’ve been out in the garden (both mine and my Grandad’s) taking photos. The plants I bought from our local garden centre are thriving, but whilst my pumpkin plant looked promising, I think the slugs got to it. Never mind, I’ll try again next year.

Dahlia
Dahlia
Dahlia
Dahlia

The bees have been about in abundance. They love the heather and I love following them, trying to get some nice shots. It’s not easy though!

Bee

Bee

Bee

Bee

Bees

Bee

Wasp or Hoverfly?
Wasp or Hoverfly?

I find butterflies even harder to photograph. For a start, we don’t get so many butterflies around here these days. When they do visit the garden, they don’t tend to sit long and flutter off the moment I get near. I was indoors when I spotted this fella, but it kindly hung around long enough for me to grab my camera, get outside and take a few shots.

Butterfly in the garden
Butterfly in the garden

I hope everyone’s having a good weekend!

21 comments

  1. Kelly says:

    Gorgeous blooms and excellent shots of the bees! They’re such important insects for pollinating our vegetables and fruit trees! I know here wasps are responsible for the figs, but I still don’t like them! (wasps, that is) I’m not sure what that is in your photo.

    I’m with you about photographing butterflies. They always seem to flutter off just as I’m prepared to take the shot. Well done on that last photo!

  2. Researching family history sounds interesting! I learned a lot about my genealogy since I have some relatives who did a lot of research. For example, I learned that my grandmother’s family came from Madrid, Spain.

    Anyway, amazing photos and rich details!

  3. Hi Nikki,

    I certainly don’t publish blog posts as often as I used to, as I was finding the pressure of having publishing deadlines was just getting to me too much, along with all the everyday ‘real life’ challenges. Now, whilst I still like to keep on top of responding to comments and a little blog hopping, I am much more relaxed about the whole thing.

    Family history is always a popular subject, although I have to admit to allowing my mother-in-law to do all the hard work in that department, which she is more than happy to do, as she finds it an interesting hobby to have.

    Hubbie likes his nature photography as well and we have literally hundreds of butterfly and bee shots, amongst other things, some of which he shares from time to time on Instagram, although he tries not to let that overtake his free time, in the same way as I treat my blog.

    You have captured some great moments, although I especially like the butterfly 🙂

    Yvonne

  4. Barbara says:

    HI Nikki, your photographs are amazing. I was trying to do the same thing while out walking yesterday. All I managed was a butterfly with its wings firmly closed and a very fuzzy bee! The weather is so lovely I just might try again today.
    I would certainly be interested in a post about your ancestor. I keep trying to research my family, but it all gets very expensive and my subscriptions keep running out, so I’m giving up for a while.
    Enjoy today – you never know when it might start raining again. 🙂

    • Nikki says:

      Hi Barbara, I’ve currently got a subscription with FindMyPast (having been an Ancestry customer on and off for years) and have certainly gleamed more information from them. Ancestry have had free access over the bank holiday weekend (ending tonight), so I’ve had a little browse there too the past couple of days.

  5. Jo says:

    Wonderful photos. It’s been some time since I’ve done any research on my family tree, I too got to the point where I didn’t think there was much else to learn but when Who Do You Think You Are comes back on TV, it always gives me the inclination to pick up again where I left off so I might put a bit more work on it again soon.

  6. Leta says:

    First of all, these shots are gorgeous! Also, it’s so interesting to study your own family tree. I remember doing one few years, it was very wide one, haha. Anyways, I’d love to hear about yours!

    -Leta | The Nerdy Me

  7. rashbre says:

    Lovely pictures of the bees. We had lavender in the front garden at the last place which was a real bee magnet. There were so many that the whole of the lavender hummed.

    It’s already on my list of things to do at the new place.

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