Poppy

Taken with the 60mm lens, using a filter 'drawing' effect, with the font sverige script.
Another bright sunny day here,  the fields are gradually drying out after so much rain but water is still standing in the cornfields.  Hope they dry out before harvest time.  Our garden sunflowers are still struggling to grow and we aren't expecting to see any flowers soon, if ever.  Still, a lot of fun was had planting them and they have been watered over-enthusiastically!

Lavender palette

Using one of the lavender images to make a palette for Color Me Weekly.  I used a gradient fill on the background and a 'glitter' brush for the different colours. It's still sunny!

Summer scents

A painterly effect added to the lavender image, then the sponge effect applied.  Summer seems to have arrived at last!  Spent yesterday at the Sunderland Air Show along with a quarter of a million other people; HI was in his element  (and it was his turn for the camera!)

Thriving

Most of the flowers in our garden (and we don't have a lot!) are dropping petals at a furious rate due to the rain but at least the hydrangea loves the downpours.  Snails and slugs also abound but I can't bring myself to photograph them - I'm sure they must serve a purpose but does anyone know what it is?!

Thought for the day

Weathering the summer

We talk a lot about the weather here!  Whilst folks in the US are keeping out of the heat, we are sloshing about in wellies and reading about streets becoming rivers and homes being under feet of water.  Fortunately that hasn't happened to us although we would like to see some sun! The sunflowers we planted with the GCs are only about 10cm high, so the competition for the highest sunflower may be off!
These pics were taken at Blyth when there was a thick sea mist; it was rather strange to walk on the beach and hear the waves but not see them.  Hope you are having good weather wherever you are!

Revelation

Since I mentioned the pod-opening I thought I'd show the result.  Amazing to think they will all turn black and escape through the 'vents' one day (you can tell I'm not a biologist!).

Pick a poppy

Playing with poppies to join in with Color Me Weekly palettes.  I opened one up to see what was inside - white, not black, seeds.  I suppose they turn black as they dry out.  Then we can cook with them!

Orchid

Adding borders to an image - Day22 of Kim's Beyond Layers course.  Finding out how to add a frame to an image. Going to try out other methods and effects.  Although I knew how to do this I'm finding that Kim is demonstrating other more effective methods.  It's a great course and I love discovering new things!

Scotland

Whisper

A 'whisper' image for the  Beyond Layers course with Kim Klassen.  Taken in Scotland after a short holiday with lots of good weather when other parts of the UK were under water.  It's often the other way round!

High Noon

An English meadow

Vintage dandelion

Still  fascinated by this seed head,  this time I added one of my textures, hue blend mode, using natural light next to the window, with a black background, using my 50mm lens.  Hope you are all enjoying this great weather!

Dandelion dance

On the edge

Another image using the old dandelion head using my own textures.  Trying out some new ideas.  Might even use a fresh dandelion seed head next!

Blown away

It doesn't seem a week since I last posted an image for the Beyond Layers course!  I'm cheating a bit as the seed heads weren't actually being blown away but some loose ones had got caught in the seed head.  The set up was taken with window light with white boards to reflect the light using my 60mm macro lens with Kim's 'luminous' texture at multiply 60%.  Hoping to get out if it stops raining to find some bluebell woods this week.

Putting it all together

I'm finding this new blogger quite difficult - I like the familiar and trying something new always makes me think I'm going to do dreadful things to the computer.  So here's something else new, with help from the Beyond Layers course video by Kim Klassen, a few photos from a holiday on the west coast of Scotland last year.  We never tire of going there - always something new to see!

This and that

After deciding to add the 'wandering' photo, we decided to take a 6 mile journey by bus to Whitley Bay.  Two hours later we arrived!  We certainly wandered but weren't lost!
I've just finished making some hearts to hang on the drawers of the 4 grandchildren who live nearby - just need to deliver them now.  Hope you're all having a good week!