Amelia's photos

Flint often forms as nodules in sedimentary rocks such as chalk and marine limestones. The nodules can be dispersed randomly throughout the rock unit but are often concentrated in distinct layers. It has been used by humans to make stone tools for at least two million years. The conchoidal fracture of flint causes it to break into sharp-edged pieces. Early people recognized this property of flint and learned how to fashion it into knife blades, spear points, arrowheads, axes, and other sharp tools using a method known as flint-knapping. It is very common in Norfolk, and many buildings are faced with it. This small piece of flint was picked up in the area of Grime's Graves. See more about Grime's Graves here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grime%27s_Graves

The smallest stone, lower right, is approximately 0.8cm. The flint in the PIP is 4.2 cm

North Shropshire College Lambing Day today. This lamb was born this morning. It hasn't been tagged, the tail hasn't been docked and the ewe and lamb are still in a small pen away from the other pregnant ewes. When I first got here the lamb was lying in the straw and it didn't seem to be breathing at first. But after a couple of nudges, it eventually staggered up onto its feet, still very wobbly.

The Sunday Challenge: HEALING POWERS. I'm not sure about the efficacy of the crystals, but a measure of gin with the tonic might help the medicine go down. ;-) Hope you're feeling better Wendi.

Shadow effects using a double light source. I didn't mange to create an animal head though.

The English Bridge in Shrewsbury is a masonry arch viaduct, crossing the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The present bridge is a 1926 rebuilding and widening (re-using the original masonry) of John Gwynn's design, completed in 1774. It cost £86,000 and was formally opened on 26 October 1927 by Queen Mary, although it had been completed the previous year. Ward's bridge reused the old masonry, each stone carefully numbered, as well as a quantity of new stonework. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Bridge It is one of 9 bridges crossing the river. The Severn had burst its banks that day, and we had to climb over a locked gate to use the upper pathway. The church is Shrewsbury United Reform Church,

She Lies (Norwegian: hun ligger) is a public sculpture by Monica Bonvicini made of stainless steel and glass panels measuring approximately 12 metres (39 ft) by 17 metres (56 ft) by 16 metres (52 ft) next to the Oslo Opera House, in Norway. It is a permanent installation, floating on the water in the fjord on a concrete platform, 12 metres (39 ft) above the water surface. The sculpture turns on its axis in line with the tide and wind, offering changing experiences through reflections from the water and its transparent surfaces. The sculpture was made by Bonvicini as a three-dimensional interpretation of Caspar David Friedrich's painting The Sea of Ice (Das Eismeer) (1823–1824). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_Lies I would have liked to see this sculpture from the seaward side looking towards the Opera House, because the back-lighting was difficult.

The Oslo Opera House (Norwegian: Operahuset) is the home of The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera theatre in Norway. It was designed by Snøhetta, an international architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and brand design office based in Oslo, Norway. Construction started in 2003 and was completed in 2007, ahead of schedule and 300 million NOK (~US$52 million) under its budget of 4.4 billion NOK (~US$760 million). The gala opening on 12 April 2008 was attended by His Majesty King Harald. The roof of the building angles to ground level, creating a large plaza that invites pedestrians to walk up and enjoy the panoramic views of Oslo. While much of the building is covered in white granite and La Facciata, a white Italian carrara marble, the stage tower is clad in white aluminium, in a design by Løvaas & Wagle that evokes old weaving patterns. It is sited in Oslo’s old Bjørvika harbour area and was the first building in a comprehensive urban development project for the area. When I was there, development was ongoing, and many of the roads were either blocked or only passable through a pedestrianised section alongside the harbour. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Opera_House

The only daffodil in the whole of our garden that has manged to raise its head above the snow today.

The highwayman's hitch knot is a quick-release draw loop knot used for temporarily securing a load that will need to be released easily and cleanly. The hitch can be untied with a tug of the working end, even when under tension. Pull one end and it gets more holding power. Pull the other end and the knot is released quickly. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highwayman%27s_hitch The Clove Hitch (see PiP) is particularly useful where the length of the running end needs to be adjustable, since feeding in rope from either direction will loosen the knot to be tightened at a new position. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clove_hitch The knot was attributable to the notorious 18th-century English highwayman Dick Turpin, but sadly this isn't so. The wire is part of an extension cable which has then been wound round a roll of packaging paper. "Tangled Up In You" - Staind - Lyrics

SSC: Green for St.Patrick's Day. A fern frond against a background of an oak tree. I tried 'gilding the lily' using PicMonkey, but preferred the unadorned photo.

Arum maculatum submerged in a vase of water.

This isn't my definitive HFF photo. ;-)