It's a Wrap

 It's Friday and finally the weather forecast is something I'm happy to come out from behind the sofa to watch.  Ever late to the party, I considered today - on the brink of a heatwave - that we really should have bought a water butt to enable us to safely refresh the pond water.  Can I blame my idiocy on this morning's second dose of AstraZeneca?  I reckon so.

Much of this week has been clogged up with admin and other mundane activities.  However, we did have a knock on the door from a local former musician who now supplies vinyl wraps, requesting to purchase some of our rust paint to add a creative final flourish to his VW T5 in the form of a rusty bumper.  Gareth willingly assisted, showing him the best technique for texture and depth of colour, much to the bemusement of the neighbours, who are very much a part of the manicure your lawn/rush-out-and-sweep-a-single-leaf-off-the-drive/clean-and-valet-your-car-every-Sunday brigade (they don't get it).  This prompted an amusing conversation about gorilla rust painting and who would make the most amusing victims.

Anyway, this van is purple, with a Marvel's Suicide Squad-themed wrap.  It was simply too pedestrian as it was.  It needed a rusty bumper to make it stand out.  

A couple of days and a few photo messages later, the customer is really happy with his "swampy, rusty looking bumper" and dropped off a crate of Thatcher's cider as a thank you.

You think the man on the van looks insane?  Here's my latest self portrait or postcard from the edge, taken during one of our recent cold, wet, housebound days.  My other accessory is a latex Elf ear (I have no memory of why I purchased Elf ears, but I knew they would come in handy).  I shared this with a local Facebook photography group.  No one mentioned the obvious.  Perhaps they were afraid to ask.  Eventually, one tentatively commented "Elvish...?"

Our daily exercise has taken us to Kinver this week and after a lifetime's knowledge of our local area, it's always exciting to discover a new route.  We started at the usual viewpoint and I took my usual silhouette shot of whoever happened to be passing at the time.  The greyhound threw some cool shapes.

One of the best views from the top.

Eventually we wound down and back to a different car park at the far end of the National Trust's land and followed a different footpath.  This one took us away from the Edge and through an area of enormous Beech trees, leading to this stunning bluebell woodland glade....

...and onto a beautiful cabin in the woods, complete with woodcutting tools...(see inside),

....past an interesting farm/commune...

and back through some wonderful Hobbiton-like scenery...

and this glorious rapeseed field.

Back at home, I soaked up Rankin's Great British Photography Challenge.  I was initially sceptical that it was just another formulaic show and a direct copy of Masters of Photography.  However, there were some key differences.  First up, no one goes home.  Secondly, Rankin really seems to take an interest in the contestants as people and artists, nurturing their talent and sharing the benefit of his experience.  One thing I was very pleased about was when Rankin congratulated Jackson on his submission for the "Nature is Fragile" challenge.  It was a badger skull in woodland, with foliage placed in and around it. In true Blue Peter style, here's one I took earlier.  Genuinely, I took this a couple of days beforehand.

Sadly I don't have access to Anna Friel (the Celebrity challenge), but maybe I can count this portrait of Flynne, a well known Irish local VW enthusiast with ankle bothering dreadlocks.

On Monday evening, we also paid a visit to the local fair (it's been years!)  We didn't go on any rides (some of the most terrifying experiences I've had have been on fair rides), but happy to capture events for posterity.  Despite the sometimes questionable safety of these ride and terrible, pumping music, I think I would miss them if they were gone.

For some reason, this reminds me of Happy Mondays' Step On video.  I kept imagining Shaun Ryder's profile to pop up above the Blizzard sign.  (Just me?)

Back to reality and garden-wise, I've photographed some of the latest garden visitors,

Honey Bee

Brown Butterfly

potted up some pretty annuals,

a Dahlia...

...and some gorgeous black Violas.

We've also transformed the rusty old wheel barrow buried in undergrowth at the top of the garden, into a herb garden.  I may have mentioned that we don't have many sunny areas in our garden.  This way, we can chase the sun!

Included in this arrangement is a Bronze Fennel from The Hairy Pot Company, the brainchild of Derek and Caroline Taylor, whose hairy pots are planted directly into the ground with zero waste.  You can read about them here.  Kirton Farm Nurseries Ltd home of the Hairy Pot Plant Co

The wisteria's also out and smelling wonderful.

And so as another day comes to an end, feast your eyes on these images taken two nights ago, during the rise of the May full moon "Flower Moon."  The cloudscape was incredible.  I was disappointed not to see a UFO dropping below it.

Bank Holiday looms.  Ours is to include a National Trust visit with friends and a picnic. I have a blanket and some G&Ts.  The rest will come together I'm sure.  Have a good one!