Decorated church organ pipes

It has long been the fashion for the organ pipes in churches to be painted. A visit to major and minor churches is sure to present an opportunity to admire this form of decoration. Most examples will be from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but more recent examples may be seen too. The examples here are in Gloucester Cathedral and appear to use the acanthus leaf as the basis for the design. The colours are brighter than is often the case.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Robin red breast

click photo to enlarge
When I was young the robin (Erithacus rubecula) was often referred to as the "robin red breast". When I first heard this it struck me as odd because the robin's breast is clearly orange. I supposed that alliterative charm appealed more than colour accuracy. More importantly, however, is the fact that "orange" as a colour name didn't come into usage in Britain until the sixteenth century and prior to that date red was the nearest colour to orange. Interestingly one of the old names for the robin was the "ruddock", a word that also means red. This robin allowed a close approach, standing on the railings, probably hoping for some food from us.

 photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Car door sculpture

I'm no fan of cars - nothing would please me more than to see the back of them and then witness their replacement by a comprehensive system of public transport that complemented proper provision for walkers and cyclists. We would gain so much and lose only a little - such as witnessing the work that automobile manufacturers and designers put into making the inside of a car door look like the output of a sculptor. This is a shot I took with my iPhone when I noticed the forms and textures of my car's door.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

The wren

One of Britain's small birds that are widely recognised by name is the wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) or, as it is colloquially known, "jenny wren". It is brown, short, rounded, with a relatively long beak and legs and a short tail that sticks up. It also has a much louder voice than you would expect. The wren is a regular visitor to gardens and, being small, suffers in harsh winters. Looking at the bird you can see why the designers of the farthing chose it to decorate the coin in circulation that was of the smallest value (see previous post).

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

The farthing

Recently I was wondering about British coins. Our current batch are, I think, a mixture of the good and the bad. One design that I find particularly unappealing features parts of heraldic figures - lions, harps etc - that mean little to the viewer who is unfamiliar with the whole from which the fragment is extracted. Another complaint I have is the relatively short duration of some of the designs. With that in mind I researched the eight new designs to be introduced in 2024 that feature various species of UK flora and fauna. I am pleased to say they look quite attractive.

The inclusion of two birds, the puffin and the capercaillie, reminded me of the only other coin to have had a bird on it - the farthing (a quarter of a penny in value) - featuring the wren. This was taken out of circulation on 1st January 1961. The farthing featured in the photographs is the sole, and quite battered, example in our collection of old British coins.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Colourful drake, drab duck

click phototo enlarge
In the world of birds it is quite common to find the male of the species to be relatively colourful in its plumage and the female to be more subdued. This isn't a universal rule, of course, and in species as disparate as the tree sparrow, the magpie, the kittiwake, the sand martin and the snipe, the male and female are pretty much identical. The distinction in colour is particularly noticeable in ducks. The most common duck, the mallard, has a colourful drake and a subdued female, the latter only sharing the purple speculum with the male. One of the biggest contrasts is between the male mandarin duck and the female, though in this case the female shares a couple of characteristics as well as having some unique features, such as the "spectacles".

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

The solitary crow

In a tall, old pine at the edge of the grounds of a former hotel sat a carrion crow looking like the lord of all he (or she) surveyed. The crow didn't call, it simply looked first one way then another. Had it found a useful vantage point from which to spot the odd tit bit? Or was it near a newly built nest, tucked away in the branches, over which it was standing guard. I mean to check it out when we pass by on our walks around the town.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

The Herdsman mural, Hereford

We came upon the mural in today's post purely by chance. A little research discovered that it is one of eight that aim to brighten up the city. I'm not the biggest fan of such things, but when the quality is good I can appreciate a mural as much as anyone. And this one is, I think, very good. It enlivens part of "The Herdsman" pub, a hostelry dating from 1900. The pub's name must surely derive from the location outside the former city walls on Widemarsh Street, along which cattle (and sheep) would be driven into the city, and where there was a cattle market.

The depicted cattle are, of course, the world-famous Herefordshire breed, and the apples may well be cider apples, the county and city being known for cider-making.

I can't explain the flowers that form part of the cattle, nor do I know quite why the robin has a visible heart, but these details all add interest to a fine piece of work, by Curtis Hylton, that is a pleasure to view.

photos 1 & 2 © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10
photo3 © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Goat willow or sallow catkins

When the catkins of the Goat Willow or Sallow (Salix caprea) first start to open they have characteristics that remind me of insects. This small tree is one of the "spring willows" that bear flowers before the leaves have appeared, usually in March. It gets one of its names from the leaves being a favourite food of the domestic goat. "Summer willows" bloom later, at the time of, or after, coming into leaf, and include the crack willow and the white willow.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Berberis buds

One of the March-flowering shrubs of our garden is the Barberry (Berberis darwinii), an evergreen with prickly leaves. It is a plant that requires annual pruning and those leaves have to be handled with care. However, the local house sparrows don't mind the prickles and can regularly be seen sheltering in the bush, indifferent to people passing close by. The photograph was taken before the flowers opened, and the buds were making a fine display, almost looking like berries.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10