Amelia's photos

Mottisfont's walled gardens are home to the National Collection of pre-1900 old-fashioned roses, which are in full bloom just once a year. The perfume was heady. I was very lucky to get a photo with no-one in the frame.

One can easily spot the chicken of the woods mushroom by its impressive size and vibrant yellow-orange colors. This large polypore has surprised many a nature lover the first time they found it! Yet did you know they're also edible, and considered a delicacy in some parts of the world? This mushroom has a lemony, meaty taste. Some think it tastes like its chicken namesake; others describe the flavor as being more like crab or lobster. Whatever your opinion, the chicken fungus makes a great substitute for meat in almost any dish. These vibrant colours look attractive but at the same time threatening, and I wouldn't try eating this fungus.

Bishop Bridge spans the River Wensum at the western edge of Norwich's Cathedral Quarter. The bridge was built in 1340, and is still in use, making it one of the oldest active bridges in England. In 1578 when Elizabeth I passed across Bishop Bridge on her way to visit the Earl of Surrey. Throughout the medieval period a gatehouse stood at the western end of the bridge to control access. The gatehouse was a part of the bridge until 1791 when it was torn down. The only remnant is a semi-circular projection(which can be seen in the photo) on one side of the bridge that formed part of a turret.

Considered a good luck charm for travellers, the bright blue flowers of Germander Speedwell are meant to 'speed' you on your way. It has upright spikes of bright blue flowers with four petals and a white middle (giving it other common names such as 'Bird's Eye' and 'Cat's Eye')

Today's Sunday Challenge is: Double exposure You can do this either by post-processing, or in camera. I found this challenge impossible using Photoshop, but was encouraged to have a go, using different programmes, by Chris and Sami. Because I'm running a bit late and had to practise for a couple of hours, and also because it has rained heavily today, I didn't take any new photos. Instead I chose two photos that are about 3 weeks old, one of the sea at Beaumaris and the other a cairn. I used Pic Monkey to blend the 2 photos. I continued to process the photo using Pic Monkey.

The PiP shows an attempt at double exposure using Pic Monkey.

Today's Saturday Self Challenge, SSC: Statues or Monuments

For the Scavenger Hunt. #20 A Flag Troops from the UK, the US, Canada and France attacked German forces on the coast of northern France, on 6 June 1944. It was the largest military naval, air and land operation ever attempted and marked the start of the campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied north-west Europe. D-Day involved the simultaneous landing of tens of thousands of troops on five separate beaches in Normandy. The beaches were code-named UTAH and OMAHA (the landing beaches of the American troops; GOLD and SWORD (the landing beaches of the British troops; and JUNO (the Canadian beach). American soldiers managed to land on Utah Beach without major casualties. But at nearby Omaha beach, the US force suffered serious losses. About 3000 Australians were involved in D-Day and the Normandy landings, with Australia's main contribution offering support in the air. On D-Day alone, as many as 4,400 troops died from the combined allied forces. Some 9,000 were wounded or missing. Total German casualties on the day are not known, but are estimated as being between 4,000 and 9,000 men. Thousands of French civilians also perished, mainly as a result of bombing raids carried out by allied forces. THE PITY OF WAR.

Tofay's Sunday Challenge: Negative Space.

The tidal changes in this harbour are quite substantial. The maximum high tide recorded in the tide tables for Amlwch is of 8.5 m and a minimum height of -0.3 m. The tide was visibly coming in when we were here. tides4fishing.com/uk/wales/amlwch#_tidal_coefficient