Photograph Works

Through The Fence

On our walks allowed under the lockdown strictures, we sometimes pass the grounds of one of the Cambridge University colleges. The grounds adjoin a road, and then as one walks into the parkland, the grounds back onto what is effectively a moat. The moat divides the grounds from the public parkland.

When we first moved here I thought the water might be a branch of the river Cam, but the river is about three hundred metres further north.

The water here is just a ribbon that goes from point A to point B, and at the moment it is covered in fine green algae. I’ll photograph it at some point.

This scene however, is looking through the fence by the road. Can you see the bluebells just within the frame at the bottom? And a horse chestnut tree dominating the scene.

The thing is that I shot this with my phone (and iPhone 8) and I think that’s a done a pretty good job.

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Comments

33 responses to “Through The Fence”

  1. philosophermouseofthehedge

    Lovely depth in picture. Nothing like a bright accent, too

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  2. Deb Weyrich-Cody

    Chestnut blossom are so incredibly beautiful. Lucky you to actually have some at eye level! Catalpa are also similar, now that I think about it… Oh wait, not sure if you’ve ever seen them in Britain David? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalpa_bignonioides

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    1. David Bennett

      Generally in the UK, no, but because we are in Cambridge there are a couple of Indian Bean Trees in the grounds of the colleges and one on the Green that is about 200 yards from where we live. As far as Horse Chestnuts go, there is an absolute cornucopia of them here in Cambridge – and an avenue of them along the road by where the ‘through the fence’ tree is. This year has been very good for their blossom.

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    2. Deb Weyrich-Cody

      This may be a duplication (but totally worth it; )
      https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/trees/2019/06/22/catalpa-trees-of-this-age-and-size-are-so-rare-in-toronto-this-showstopper-in-regal-heights-has-secured-a-high-honour.html

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      1. David Bennett

        Yes, there are several Catalpa species.

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        1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

          The Northern one is what I’ve seen growing here. (And i do realise that’s very awkward language, but I’m honestly too tired to work it out… :/)

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          1. David Bennett

            I’m glad you said that, because in one of the colleges here there is a Bignonia that is not an Indian Bean tree – and I keep getting them mixed up – 🙂

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            1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

              Blast it, I may have lost my description of the ‘bean pods’ actually don’t contain beans, but are very well insulated against the cold

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              1. David Bennett

                Quote: The ‘beans’ are the tree’s bean-like pods, which are very slim and almost perfectly cylindrical and can grow up to 16 inches in length. These pods contain winged seeds and remain on the tree throughout the winter before splitting and releasing the seeds.” End quote.

                I remember being surprised at how rigid the seed pods were – but then that was always later in the season. The tree on the Green near us has low-handing branches, so I will try to make it a point to examine a new pod.

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                1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

                  They are incredibly strong because of of all that insulating fibre and almost childproof if you attempt to open them before they’re good and ready:/ The timing is critical for finding mature seed.

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                  1. David Bennett

                    Ah, good to know.

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                2. Deb Weyrich-Cody

                  Keep an eye on them for me would you David? With these restrictions I find myself ‘noticing’ things that’ve been right there all along (and I’m already a lot more observant than most, I reckon; )

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                  1. David Bennett

                    I will. I might be able to make a video !

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  3. Deb Weyrich-Cody

    While their Native range is far from here, I have seen a few here in Ontario♥️

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  4. Deb Weyrich-Cody

    And is that Nettle in the absolute foreground, right David? And perhaps with a baby Chestnut just behind it?

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    1. David Bennett

      I should go back with my ‘proper’ camera, but yes I think it is nettle and maybe deadnette – or they could be flowers dropped from the horse chestnut. I need to go back and look!

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      1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

        No, I mean I see a wee babe of a Chestnut growing there as well. It only has a few (maybe five?) leaf sets. Or it might also be an Engelmann’s Ivy? Sorry, once I really get looking… ; )

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        1. David Bennett

          I shall make it a point to take my camera next time and to take a better photo.

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      2. Deb Weyrich-Cody

        (And there are no flowers, it’s all greenery what I’m looking at; )

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        1. David Bennett

          Yes, – better photo needed – and I need to actually look at it properly when I am next there.

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          1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

            I love it when I see previously unnoticed details.

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            1. David Bennett

              ‘Seeing’ is a discipline. It’s like peeling back layers of fog.

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              1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

                True. See more by not looking. They say that our peripheral vision actually notices more, particularly in lower light situations.

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                1. David Bennett

                  Definitely so. And our capacity for noticing small things that are ‘out of place’ is amazing.

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                  1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

                    Aye, an Inherited means of self defence…

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  5. Deb Weyrich-Cody

    Blast! Prematurely hit send:/
    Pod walls are thickly covered in fibre and contain very thin (and also furry) flat seeds that quietly float away when pods dry out – but only when warm breezes finally arrive… It took me YEARS to discover this phenomenon and only serendipity allowed that I actually noticed them floating away… : )

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    1. David Bennett

      I’ve never seen the pods split open – the climate here may not suit them ripening to maturity. On a different tack, the plant we see here that sends clouds of spoors across waste ground is Rosebay willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium). It grows about three feet tall and has pretty pink flowers, and it grows everywhere that isn’t tamed or cultivated. It has a near neigbour named Codlins and Cream – lovely name, eh? Similar colour flowers.

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      1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

        Wow, that’s a keeper! Check out all the medicinal uses David: https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Epilobium+angustifolium
        And here we call it Fireweed as it is often a pioneer species after forest fire. This plant brings back fond memories of camping trips long past: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamaenerion_angustifolium

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        1. David Bennett

          I’m getting an education – it has so many uses. And I like the name ‘bombweed’ for the way it grew in shell craters. Reminds me of red poppies that grew on the WW I battlefields after the end of hostilities.

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          1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

            Speaking of Red Poppies and WW1, did you happen to see the display a few years back – hundreds of thousands of ceramic poppies arrayed around the Tower of London? “It took 300 of us a year to make 888,246 flowers…”
            https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/mar/05/how-we-made-tower-of-london-poppies-paul-cummins-tom-piper
            No real mention of the Potters who did the work, but the rest of us know they did; )

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            1. David Bennett

              Yes, we couldn’t help but see it here. It was on the news several times. I had mixed feeling about it. On the one hand, people fought to protect themselves from oppression as they saw it. On the other hand, ordinary people paid for the ideas of those who did not have to take a front row seat.

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              1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

                Ah yes, well there’s always the idea that wars would be much shorter if fought by the Generals…

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  6. Deb Weyrich-Cody

    Oh dear, here I am looking at this photo again (it popped up under your new posts of this week: ) and also really ‘noticing’ for the first time that there may be Valerian at right rear of photo and perhaps Snowdrops scattered foreground on the left? I love this photo!

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