The Corona Chronicles ~ 5

Here we are again, it’s kinda like that movie Groundhog Day, only more people are dying every day so perhaps not. Sorry, just watched last nights Panorama on the lack of PPE for frontline workers in the hospitals, and seen the exposure of the incompetence, and stupidity of the government, and the lies they have told. It is criminal. There is still not anywhere near enough protective kit for the length of time this virus is going to be with us. The programme made me so angry, and I cried over it. Probably not the best thing to have watched straight after Phil has gone to work his first night shift this week.

My hubby.

He worked some shifts last week, and it isn’t easy to do 13 hours in full astonaut kit sometimes for 3 or 4 hours at a time during an operation. In ICU the nurses do it in 2 hour swaps, so they get a break, but there’s not enough staff to do that in theatres as they’re either off sick or seconded to ICU πŸ™„.

I heard on the news we’ve become 2nd only to Italy in the European Death Race, go us.

OK sorry, sorry, Fek me I don’t mean to be a doom and gloom merchant, but it’s just so astronomically sad, and it didn’t have to be like this.

I needed to get that off me chest!

Onwards ever onwards, what is going on with the weather?? It’s been almost summer-like here for about 3 weeks. I guess really this is what Spring used to be like before clouds took over. I have been musing that perhaps because there is so much less shit being put into the atmosphere from planes and boats and trains and cars, that there’s nothing to make many clouds from any more. πŸ™‚ It has been so cool to see video’s of animals ‘taking back the world’ too, this makes me smile. 😊

I have returned to playing with Potatoshop Photoshop to make twirly things out of normal photos.

I made this from the photo of the sunset I posted in my last Chronicle.

Wardley Sunset

and this from a collage of iphone selfies I took on our travels abroad, that I then made into a Wedding Anniversary card for Phil (8 years last Monday!) I’ll spare you the original 🀣

Groovy

I’ve also been esconced in my shed with bits of wire, water,dandelions, and little people.

seed
Seed Forest
Shelter in a storm
Wiggles
Domination
Hanging On
Bound

A fair amount of mess was made in the process. I need to perfect these somewhat, they’re not bad for first attempts but hopefully I will regale you with better ones next time.

Ther has been an affaire du coeur in our garden last week. We had two hedgehogs snuffling together in a mating ritual that was a) funny as fek, b) interminable and c) noisy. The chap Hedgehog (they’re called Hogs, and lady hedgehogs are called Sows, but they seem too cute for that), snuffles around the Lady Hedgehog, going around her in circles and snorting at her nether regions. It goes on for ages. We kept popping out from watching our movie to see if they were still going, and he was snuffling for about 3 hours all told. Dammit though they went off to the dark part of the garden where the cameras can’t pick them up, still I got videos of the 2 of them in the garden and it’s up on the Youtube Hedgey channel. (Link in the menu) If they did The Deed, (and I so hope they did!) the hoglettes will be out and about at the beginning of July. Fingers crossed they turn up on camera.

So that’s it folks, hope you are all well, keeping your chins up and staying frosty.

Day 354

Well Christmas is looming, and though it’ll be a very quiet one here (Phil is working) I do like the bling that goes with it. Today my hair & nail lady Kendall came to tart me up a bit, so my hair is all lush and the roots are the same colour as the rest of it 🀣 and I have sparkly-dipped nails. Kendall always asks me to do a picture of the nails for her instagram/facebook business pages, so of course I did, hers is in colour though.

Day 354 ~ bling!

I sometimes wonder if, at the great age I’ve reached, I should just give in to the oncoming decrepitude, but Kendall has been ‘doing’ me every 3 weeks for over 10 years now, and in the chats we have while she works, we have such a good laugh, and know all the ups and downs of each others lives, that I can’t bear to give that up! I’d miss her so much. So onwards ever onwards, I will go to my grave without grey hairs, and sporting sparkly nails. πŸ˜€

Day 294

Whilst wandering around the model show at the weekend, I came across a trader selling portable lightboxes for macro/small stuff photography. At Β£14.00 I didn’t think I could go wrong. And I didn’t! I set it up at home this evening just to try it out, and it’s very good and very neat as it packs up into a small bag about 8 inches square. Nope I don’t know what that is in cm but google would tell you :). It comes with 4 backgrounds, and has a dimmer switch for the lights, which you work via USB leads to your laptop. Here it is in action..

Day 294 ~ New toy.

Here’s the result,

and now I have to clean my lens as it showed up every bit of dust and dirt πŸ™„πŸ€£

Any ways this will be useful for Phil to photograph his little men or smaller tanks too, which is good as he paid for it 🀣.

I don’t think any macro photographers follow my blog, but just incase, here’s a link to their website http://www.greenstuff.com and the for the lightbox CLICK HERE

Day 286

Back to rain and gloom here today, it seems a bit extreme after such a lovely day yesterday, but it’s how we roll up here. Not very inspiring for photograhy, but todays Sunday Challenge group theme is bags, so I got out the macro lens and shot my roll of non P.C peddle bin bags. I suppose I ought to source a non plastic variety really. Sometimes it’s hard to be an eco-warrior.

Day 286 ~ rubbish bags

Day 178

We are having a Sahara couple of days, as Europe swelters at 45 degrees C (113f) the winds have finally blown some hot air our way. A cloudless blue sky, 2 loads of washing done and dry, white watch strap mark on my arm πŸ™‚ and Bar-B-Q for this evenings dinner. Making the most of it before Sunday when we go back to winter. πŸ˜€

Day 178 ~ viola

It almost makes me weep not to shoot the vibrant yellow, mauve and purple that these flowers are!!