Posted on May 5, 2024
If you’re ever short of a bay leaf, look no further…

Category: Flowers Tagged: #cellpicsunday, Bay leaves, Cellpic Sunday, Close-up, Laurel
Posted on April 21, 2024
I am generally terrible at recognising flowers. I know a rose when I see one, and I can spot a daffodil a mile off. Apart from those common examples I am more often than not on rather shaky ground.
However, I do know what a fuchsia looks like. This specimen was, quite literally, bought off the back of a van last Sunday morning in our local village and almost immediately installed in a hanging basket by Madame.
The only way of getting a decent shot of it in situ was to use the front camera on my iPhone from underneath. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this result. Bonus point if you spotted the snail.
Obviously there’s been some editing going on. Cropping, of course, plus lightening of the image, which was very dark due to having to have the phone pointing at the sky. I also tweaked the texture and clarity, all in Lightroom.

Category: Flowers Tagged: #cellpicsunday, Cellpic Sunday, Flowers, Fuchsia
Posted on April 14, 2024
The crown of this London Plane tree is showing the first signs of new growth.

Category: Uncategorized Tagged: #cellpicsunday, Cellpic Sunday, leaves, London Plane, Spring, Trees
Posted on March 31, 2024
This is the mairie (town hall) of our nearest town, Bellac. In France, even the smallest villages have their own mairie, but not many of them are as large or elegant as this. Our own local one is much more ‘functional’ – and smaller, unsurprisingly for a commune with a population of well under a thousand.

Category: Uncategorized Tagged: #cellpicsunday, Architecture, Bellac, Cellpic Sunday, Mairie
Posted on March 24, 2024
Taking the nectar from a grape hyacinth…

Category: Uncategorized Tagged: #cellpicsunday, bees, Cellpic Sunday, crocus
Posted on March 17, 2024
Last weekend, I could hear the rain battering against the windows, but when I looked out, the sky was bright blue.
We all know what that means : rainbow. Or, in this case, a double rainbow.

Category: Uncategorized Tagged: #cellpicsunday, Cellpic Sunday, double rainbow, rainbow
Posted on March 10, 2024
During a recent visit to the UK we stayed at a hotel near St Pancras and Kings’ Cross stations. This is the rather unexpected view from our room.
I cropped the original to establish some symmetry between the two walls and darkened the shadows on the left one for a more pleasing contrast.

Category: Uncategorized Tagged: #cellpicsunday, Cellpic Sunday, hotel, statue, Windows
Posted on February 18, 2024
Of late, an entire murmuration of starlings seems to have taken up residence in the trees in one of our fields. Obviously they’re harmless, but when they’re perched on every available branch, just looking at you, they do impart an air of menace.

Cellpic Sunday 18 February 2024
Category: Uncategorized Tagged: #cellpicsunday, Cellpic Sunday, starlings, Trees
Posted on February 4, 2024
Perhaps it’s just my imagination, but there seems to be more moss than usual at this time of year, perhaps accounted for by the very wet winter we’ve had.

Cellpic Sunday 4 February 2024
Category: Uncategorized Tagged: #cellpicsunday, Cellpic Sunday, Moss
Posted on January 28, 2024
As I’ve mentioned on many occasions, out here in the sticks we are surrounded by sheep. They easily outnumber the human population, not only of our commune but all those for miles around.
The nearest sheep to our house are actually just across the road – a small flock of about a dozen that belong to our neighbour. This ewe must have been feeling particularly adventurous, because it somehow slipped through the gate or over the fence (or under – they can be quite enterprising sometimes, although mostly they’re just terminally thick) and came trotting down the side of our house. She cropped some grass and then turned round and went back home.

Cellpic Sunday 28 January 2024
Category: Uncategorized Tagged: #cellpicsunday, Cellpic Sunday, France, Rural, Sheep