Amelia's photos

The rose bedeguar gall, Robin's pincushion gall, or moss gall develops as a chemically induced distortion of an unopened leaf axillary or terminal buds, mostly on field rose (Rosa arvensis) or dog rose (Rosa canina) shrubs, caused by the parthenogenetic hymenopteran gall wasp. The wasp lays eggs on the stem of a wild rose, in this case a dog rose, Rosa canina. This structure gives the appearance of a ball of moss, and its filaments are often brightly coloured, being at their best around September; starting off green and then passing through pink and crimson to reddish brown. A large specimen can be up to 10 cm in width. The larvae develop and then over winter as pupae in the now brown and dry-looking structure, emerging in May. I have never opened up a Robin's pin cushion but it sounds interesting so to do. The unilarval chambers are set in a woody core which persists after the filaments have worn off. As the larva feeds and grows within this gall, it probably undergoes five larval instar stages, the growth stages between moults. The final instar stage is reached by late October.

To the right of the photo it's possible to see the 200ft high chimney of the Hoffman Kiln. It is l a landmark which can be seen from many miles away. The smelt flue chimney, now disused, was built in 1899, using red brick (English Garden wall bond), held together by iron ties. It has a square section, slightly tapering at the top.

Blackbird Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these sunken eyes and learn to see All your life You were only waiting for this moment to be free

The Sunday Challenge this week is Inversion. I didn't really like the effects of this and and had to do something that gave me a bit more pleasure, so I followed the instructions which were given as an aid on the TSC site. The first difficulty presented itself immediately - I didn't have a Lasso Tool; but then I found the Magnetic Lasso. That tool was a tad difficult to use but by this point I became determined. The next problem was working with different layers which I've never done before. That was quite easy. Then I had to search to find where the Inversion tool was. The final process was to touch up the edges of the colourful little character. I learned a lot about the power of Photoshop, enjoyed the challenge, and will never trust a digital photograph ever again. :-) The PiPs show the original and a total inversion.

Most of these are Grey Seals with shorter snouts and flippers, and cat-like faces. I think there may have been a couple of harbour Seals in the group too, with longer Labrador-like snouts, but I couldn't get any nearer. They all seemed to be enjoying basking in the sun.

Wignacourt Tower, is located in St. Paul’s Bay and was built in 1610 by Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt. It’s the most ancient coastal defence fortification that endured the active Maltese history. Wignacourt tower was the first in a chain of a towers built around the Island. The original entry was on the first floor and could be accessed over a drawbridge up a set of steps. Sadly, the stairs were removed in the 1950s, and the ground floor entrance was added later.

Believe it or not, this is a public convenience, and very up market it is. Nearby and underneath is the remains of a British WW2 bunker, shown in the PiP. The top of Wignacourt Tower can just be seen through the fence top left.

St Botolph's Church is a parish church in the Church of England in Boston, Lincolnshire. It is notable for its extraordinarily tall tower, known as the "Boston Stump". The tower is approximately 272 feet (83 m) high, the tallest parish church in England to its roof, and it can be seen for miles around, its prominence accentuated by the flat surrounding countryside known as The Fens.

The PiP is an alternative. taken on the inside of a carriage clock.

The Nærøyfjord in Sogn is one of the worlds most beautiful and dramatic fjords. The name Nærøyfjord origin from the norse god ‘Njord’, the God of the Seafarer and the sea. It is one of many fjordarms in the 204 km long Sognefjord. In 2005, the Nærøyfjord became a part of UNESCO’s World Heritage together with Geirangerfjord.