Web Over Berries - October 2017

What a miserable day it was for my photo shoot at the weekend. It was cold, wet and very windy, so definitely not ideal conditions to be taking photographs in.

This was reflected in the fact that the majority of shots I took were either blurred or uninspiring. However, there were a few exceptions, which are presented here.

I thought that the best of the bunch, and probably the most colourful, was this raindrop loaded spider web that was sitting above some bright red Cotoneaster bush berries.

Isolated Showers - October 2017

Spider webs were probably the only thing in the garden that weren't blowing about furiously, so I shot quite a few of them. This one was a work in progress by an industrious Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus).

Raindrop Resting Place - October 2017

You may have guessed by now that raindrops are going to feature prominently in this week's article? I loved how fresh looking they made these blades of grass look.

River Lily River - October 2017

The beauty of the pink petals of this River Lily (Hesperantha coccinea) were only enhanced by the addition of a plethora of raindrops...

Bowdenii Blotches - October 2017

...and the same can be said of the beauty of these Guernsey Lily (Nerine bowdenii) petals too.

Budding Ivy - October 2017

The Flowering Ivy (Hedera helix) flower buds were just on the verge of opening, although I'd have advised them to stay tightly closed because of the foul conditions.

Magnificent Mahonia - October 2017

Another shrub ignoring my advice, and just coming into bloom was the Mahonia japonica. It was a little early this year, and it would be interesting to see how long lived the blooms would be, as they usually lasted well past Christmas and into the New Year.

Echinacea Ensemble - October 2017

Some blooms still going strong were the Coneflowers (Echinacea). I thought that they were looking great all grouped together. However, they were a nightmare to photograph as they swayed around on their long stems with top heavy flower heads.

Erigeron Tears - October 2017

The Erigeron 'Stallone' blooms were also doing a good job of hanging on into the later reaches of the year...

Not a Dry Eye - October 2017

...as were the Oxeye Daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare), which had now been flowering for months and months.

Butterfly Bush Bounty - October 2017

The large yellow Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) looked to be coming to an end of its flowering period, with only a handful of branches still bearing unopened flower buds.

Autumn Leaves - October 2017

Autumn had definitely arrived, and to prove it, the leaves of this Acer palmatum tree were all dressed up in their autumnal gown.

Ragwort Raindrops - October 2017

There were a few areas of Ragwort (Senecio) left in the garden for the insects to enjoy, but the terrible conditions meant there weren't any insects around to photograph.

Eye Eye - October 2017

Snails (Gastropoda) were the only wildlife I came across on my wet and windy photo shoot. This one, which I think is a White Lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis), was happily munching on the decaying leaves of an Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus).

Red Cherry Shrimp - September 2017

Finally, I thought I'd include a couple of shots of some new aquatic friends. This is a Red Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi) filtering food from a Marimo Moss (Aegagropila linnaei) ball. I recently introduced a small colony of these beautifully coloured little shrimp into one of my aquariums and am hoping they will breed.

RCS - September 2017

Here's another one climbing down a toothpick, which is securing a piece of cucumber to the substrate of the aquarium. They really are rather pretty don't you think?

So, this week I went with Web Over Berries as my Image of the Week, mostly because it was the most colourful shot I managed to get on an otherwise really cold, grey, wet, windy and thoroughly miserable day...