So this is Alphabet month, where the prompt for each day is a letter of the alphabet, filled out by a few numbers (which this time are the first four days)
April 1st – One
One lonely dog in a box… this was taken at the awesome, amazing and astonishing exhibition of sets and puppets from the Wes Anderson film Isle of Dogs (I completely loved the film and to be honest I’m slightly obsessed by it).
#FMS_one
April 2nd – Two
Two white snake’s head Fritillaries (Fritallaria Meleagris) that I recently planted in my garden. I do love these flowers, and hope they like my garden as much as I like them…
#FMS_two
April 3rd – Three
Three taiko drummer puppets, over looked by Mayor Kobayashi, from the Isle of Dogs exhibition.
#FMS_three
April 4th – Four
Four stone cow heads looking down from a building just off Cowcross Street, near to Smithfields Meat Market, London. They are really quite eerie and stern looking.
#FMS_four
April 5th – A is for…
A is for Anchors, four of them on a crest at the Old Royal Navel College, Greenwich. Yes this was almost my submission for the previous day’s prompt of “four”.
#FMS_a
April 6th – B is for…
Barbican buildings bask beneath a brilliant blue sky. It was lovely to see the sky such a gorgeous colour with the welcome sun.
I love the brutalist architecture of the Barbican, and the balconies of the towers always remind me of the sticky-out bits of the spine (i.e. the transverse processes) although one of the Chiropractors thought I was a bit weird when I said this….
#FMS_b
April 7th – C is for…
C is for Cherry blossom. I am sooooo fortunate to have this tree outside my house (in fact my bedroom looks out onto it) and it is currently an explosion of pale pink blossom. I adore this time of year for this tree, which is really ancient and has a trunk that I can’t get my arms all the way around.
It is also a buzz with bees and you can hear such a noise from all the different types of bee that constantly fly around the blossoms.
#FMS_c
April 8th – D is for…
D is for Dog admiring his reflection in a mirror. Back to the Isle of Dogs exhibition.
#FMS_d
April 9th – E is for…
E is for eggs, of a chocolate variety as Easter was only a week ago.
#FMS_e
April 10th – F is for…
F is for funghi, spotted on my way to work in Finsbury Pavement. I was actually seen and spoken to by a lady who had also spotted the mushrooms (Honey Fungus I think) and she thought they were pretty special too.
#FMS_f
April 11th – G is for…
G is for Goose, of a grumpy look. Taken on my recent wildlife photography course at the Walthamstow Wetlands.
#FMS_g
April 12th – H is for…
H is for Heron, of a Grey variety. Seen at the edges of the Serpentine, Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park. He was very amenable and stayed for some time, I just loved the way the wind was catching his longer feathers.
#FMS_h
April 13th – I is for…
I is for Iron decoration, found on the edge of the roof of a shelter half way down the Pier at Ryde, Isle of Wight. This was at the start of my recent holiday there.
#FMS_i
April 14th – J is for…
J is for jug, part of my coffee equipment (an aeropress if you must know) and bought in Italy a couple of years ago.
#FMS_j
April 15th – K is for…
K is for knothole hidden amongst some fern fronds at Ventnor Botanical Gardens, Isle of Wight. My brain was not coming up with much until after I’d posted my photo. Then it thought of loads of ideas; this continued for most of the holiday.
#FMS_k
April 16th – L is for…
L is for Lens, of the Lighthouse at St Catherine’s, Isle of Wight. This is the original lense and casing (all 2 tons of it) from 1830, still in operation even though it was chipped during World War II when a bomb fell on the store house next door.
#FMS_l
April 17th – M is for…
M is for machinery, that moves the louvres of the hot house at Osborne House, Isle of Wight
#FMS_m
April 18th – N is for…
N is for (The) Needles, Isle of Wight. The iconic stacks of limestone that extend from the western tip of the Island. This was the first time I was able to make it to the viewpoint as I really don’t have a head for heights.
#FMS_n
April 19th – O is for…
O is for Oratory of St Catherine (better known as St Catherine’s Oratory, or the Pepperpot). This is the only Medieval lighthouse still in existence in the UK. It used to have a chapel attached until King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. Now replaced by the 1836 lighthouse which is closer to the sea.
#FMS_o
April 20th – P is for…
P is for Peacock. This handsome chap, who seemed to quite like having his photo taken, was one of a number that live at the Garlic Farm, where we were staying whilst on the Isle of Wight. Blooming noisy things.
#FMS_p
April 21st – Q is for…
Q is for a Quern (a primitive hand powered millstone) found at Bembridge Windmill, Isle of Wight. I was really delighted to be presented with a Q for alphabet month, especially a nicely decorated one like this one, which was there for you to play with.
#FMS_q
April 22nd – R is for…
R is for Red Squirrel. The Isle of Wight is one of the last refuges for the native Red Squirrel in England. The Eastern Grey Squirrel and it’s black* variation have pushed the reds out. The Island has a squirrel watch in place and any greys seen are dealt with (They are technically vermin**)
#FMS_r
*Yes, there are black squirrels, first found in at the Fairfields Hospital, outside Letchworth Garden City, and now spreading to Hitchin, where I grew up.
**I’m not a fan of Grey/Black squirrels, they are (to me) just rats with bushy tails and good PR.
April 23rd – S is for…
S is for Sun, sea, sand, shelter and shade on the Esplanade at Shanklin, Isle of Wight
#FMS_s
April 24th – T is for…
T is for the Tunnel leading from the Old Battery to the Observation post overlooking the Needles, Isle of Wight.
#FMS_t
April 25th – U is for…
Uniform. The soldiers who worked within the Laboratory at the Old Battery at the Needles were handling gunpowder to make their explosive shells. The danger of iron things creating a spark was so great they had to remove their uniforms, with the steel buttons, before entering. This was a replica to show where they hung them up.
#FMS_u
April 26th – V is for…
Venus Fly Trap flower. These delicate flowers are carried in Spring on top of long stems (see the bonus picture below) so the pollinators are not tempted to land on the traps and get caught (and eaten). Isn’t nature wonderful?
#FMS_v
April 27th – W is for…
Windmill, at Bembridge.
#FMS_w
April 28th – X is for…
Ten (?!) thanks to the Romans. This X is part of the new sundial outside Walthamstow Central Station. Or it might mark buried treasure, so X marks the spot…
#FMS_x
April 29th – Y is for…
Yew hedge, which has been heavily pruned (which you can do with Yew) at Mottistone Gardens on the Isle of Wight
#FMS_y
April 30th – Z is for…
Zebra crossing, which seems to be continuing onto the wall as well. This was taken on Chiswell Street, near to the Barbican.
I’m over the moon as this photo was chosen by the FMS PaD facebook group admins to be one of the Notable Nine for this day. This is when they choose the images that they think are the best for that prompt, there are anything between 4 and 9.
#FMS_z
Bonus picture – M is for…
M is for Muscari (also known as Grape Hyacincths) and a bee. These lovely blue bulbs were everywhere on the Isle of Wight producing swathes of blue around the island.
Bonus picture – V is for…
A view from the side to show how tall the flower spike is for a Venus Fly Trap, you can also see one of my Pitcher Plants. Yes, I like growing carnivorous plants.
So that’s it for Alphabet month, I hope you enjoyed the photos. I was fortunate enough to have been chosen on the last day as one of the good photos, which is a real honour and a complete surprise. It’s not a competition, but having a photo chosen is such a pleasure.
There will be a constant (some might think endless) stream of photos on my Instagram feed, so if you can’t wait until next month then follow me there. There will be another summary of my photos next month.
So thank you for looking through this series of photos.
Tim
