I love the way you can see what I call the zip-lock structure of the feathers in this shot; or to be more technical, the interlocking barbs and barbules work together to give the feather its strong, flexible surface. It's also quite pretty with the dew drops on it!

Tags:   Lee Valley Country Park Feather Barbs Barbules Dew Dew Drops Discarded Feather Bokeh Grass

© All Rights Reserved

This lichen was all over the wooden bench at Dobbs Weir that we sat on to eat our lunch on a recent walk in the Lee Valley Country Park! Close up it is amazing looking stuff!

This is some kind of Candelariella lichen, but I am not sure of the species. Candelariella is a genus of bright yellow, ochre, or greenish yellow crustose or squamulose lichens in the Lecanoraceae family. Members of the genus are commonly called eggyolk lichens, goldspeck lichens, or yolk lichens.

Tags:   Lee Valley Country Park Candelariella Lichen Bench Macro Soredia Yellow Dobbs Weir Ochre Hoddesdon Hertfordshire

© All Rights Reserved

X is for XBee! XBee is a low power radio transmitter module for creating internet connected devices! (Or so my husband tells me!) XBees are tiny - the XBee board is 24.38 mm wide!

Tags:   XBee Radio Transmitter Module ZigBee

© All Rights Reserved

It's that time of year again and the Witch Hazel is unfurling into bloom! I love the way the long yellow petals uncurl from the bud!

Apparently, E A Bowles, the famous early 20th-century gardener, called Witch Hazel the Epiphany tree because that is when it is usually out (i.e. January 6), with flowers of gold and scent of frankincense.

Tags:   Hyde Hall Hamamelis Witch Hazel Winter January 2015 RHS Gardens Rettendon Essex Epiphany Tree

© All Rights Reserved

Winter Daphne in the gardens at RHS Hyde Hall! It's just a shame a photograph can't also capture the glorious scent!

Tags:   Hyde Hall RHS Garden Rettendon RHS Hyde Hall Essex Winter January 2015 Winter Daphne Pink Bokeh Flowering Shrub

© All Rights Reserved