Allotment Safari
07th August 2020
An earlier post provided an insight to time spent on a local allotment site, where a plot was taken on in what I now refer to as a 'Baldrick Moment'. Besides growing fruit and vegetables, predominantly donated to a local charity (Sanctus) which provides hot meals for those that require, it also allows some space to experiment with some more unusual crops, which may not necessarily be at the forefront of the growers mind. During lockdown, Sanctus changed to providing take away meals, and were preparing upwards of 2000 meals per month a number which is staggering.
However, the other outlet for this space is photography. The plot was deliberately planted with fragrant plants around some of the borders to attract pollinators, and as I am on the bottom of a row of plots, is also close to some rough ground and hedging which encloses the site which is ideal habitat for various bugs and beasties.
It is quite amazing to witness the considerable array of insects which visit the area over the season, and the camera is never too far away - just in case. The insects, bugs and beasties can quite easily be categorised into friend or foe, friendly being those who don't attack and eat the growing attempts, and the foe all those who in one guise or another are looking for a decent meal. Ultimately whether friend or foe, all have a role to play in terms of the activity. A collection of images taken on the Allotment site can be seen in the gallery 'Allotment Safari', and is continuously being added to as new specimens are captured.
The image which accompanies this brief post was taken during the initial lockdown, and is a large white butterfly which found its way into my poly tunnel. Apart from targeted contrast improvement there is little photoshop post processing with this photograph, and was fortunate the light literally allowed a reflection of the butterfly on the poly tunnel side and thus provide an image with decent symmetry.
However, the other outlet for this space is photography. The plot was deliberately planted with fragrant plants around some of the borders to attract pollinators, and as I am on the bottom of a row of plots, is also close to some rough ground and hedging which encloses the site which is ideal habitat for various bugs and beasties.
It is quite amazing to witness the considerable array of insects which visit the area over the season, and the camera is never too far away - just in case. The insects, bugs and beasties can quite easily be categorised into friend or foe, friendly being those who don't attack and eat the growing attempts, and the foe all those who in one guise or another are looking for a decent meal. Ultimately whether friend or foe, all have a role to play in terms of the activity. A collection of images taken on the Allotment site can be seen in the gallery 'Allotment Safari', and is continuously being added to as new specimens are captured.
The image which accompanies this brief post was taken during the initial lockdown, and is a large white butterfly which found its way into my poly tunnel. Apart from targeted contrast improvement there is little photoshop post processing with this photograph, and was fortunate the light literally allowed a reflection of the butterfly on the poly tunnel side and thus provide an image with decent symmetry.