Andrew Trundlewagon's photos with the keyword: close up

Hexagon: pomme et pomme de terre.

Flowers from our Christmas cactus, which, true to form, skipped Christmas and decided to flower in mid-February instead. For most of the year it is a very unimpressive looking plant, but it produces these lunatic flowers. It blooms in response to shorter days and longer nights so growing indoors under house lights probably confuses its flowering cycle. The parent of the Christmas Cactus, (or Schlumbergera), is from Brazil:- Copied from Wikipedia "Schlumbergera truncata occurs only in a small area of the coastal mountains of south-east Brazil, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, located in the southernmost part of the tropics. Sites where it has been found include the Organ Mountains (Serra dos Órgãos) in the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos and in the Serra do Mar near to the city of Rio de Janeiro. Plants grow at altitudes of 700–1,000 metres (2,300–3,300 ft). Because of their altitude and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, the coastal mountains have high humidity – warm moist air is forced upwards into higher, colder locations where it condenses. S. truncata usually grows on trees (epiphytic),[3] or on rocks (epilythic)." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlumbergera_truncata

Watermint growing beside a small lake.

A bee balanced on a goldenrod frond.

Jewel weed (Impatiens capensis; L'Impatiente du Cap) growing beside water. If you look closely there is also a very long-legged spider hiding under the leaf behind the flowers. I didn't see it until I got home, which I suppose is a lesson to look more carefully when I take the photos.

A spotted orchid growing on Edburton Hill, South Downs, Sussex.

Sticky sage (Salvia glutinosa), a very aromatic plant with a slight lemon fragrance, grows very well in the shade. Popular with the bees.

A young grasshopper hiding among the flowers.

Tradescantia flowers (spiderwort) after a light rain. They open in the morning and close in the afternoon, avoiding strong sunlight.

An eastern black swallowtail butterfly

Tiny purple perilla flowers. They are only about a few mm across but a big hit with the bumble bees.

A white tailed deer from last autumn.

A redpoll (sizerin flammé, Carduelis flammea)- visiting the garden. These are tough little characters. They spend summer in the cold of the Arctic and come down here for the winter.

Dark eyed Junco. Although these small birds are resident here all year, their numbers increase in winter as they move away from their breeding grounds which extend far North to the sub-arctic

A broccoflower (Romanesco broccoli) showing natural fractal-like veggie geometry, Fibonacci spirals etc. Tastes OK too if it's not boiled to a mush.

The tiny flower of the spotted coral root orchid, a woodland flower that survives by taking nutrients from fungi. It has no chlorophyll and no leaves. St. Bruno, Quebec

A small piece of polished Brazilian agate, photographed with a cell phone and magnifying lens. Curves and circles, a fractal-like swirls frozen in stone.

The summer has irretrievably slipped into the first days of autumn, the days are shorter and the nights cooler, the insects chase the last few days of heat in the long grass.