The BWPA is auctioning the exhibition photo of my highly commended Fishing For Breakfast image (amongst others) on eBay starting Sunday 21st June 2026 at 6pm. All profits go to the Wildlife Trust. See BWPA website for more details

They are tied to a tragic love legend: The famous English name stems from a Medieval German folk tale. A knight, while picking the blue flowers by a river for his beloved, fell into the water. As the current swept him away, he threw the blooms to her and cried out, "Forget me not!"

Their botanical name means "mouse's ear". The scientific name for the forget-me-not is Myosotis. It comes from ancient Greek words referring to the plant's soft, oval leaves which look like the ears of a mouse

And the winning image this week for #sharemondays2026 is Lizzie’s @ledarville.bsky.social photograph from her train journey. Congratulations and good luck judging next week!

They smell best at night: While they might seem scentless during the day, these flowers release a very sweet, noticeable fragrance in the evening. Their botanical name means "mouse's ear"

They change color as they bloom: The petals of many forget-me-not varieties start out as pale pink and gradually transition to a vibrant, sky-blue as the flower matures

Forget-me-nots are legendary, tiny blooms known for their five-petaled flowers and symbolic meaning of true love and memory. Though famous for their striking blue hue, they hide several fascinating secrets—from changing colours to their surprising nickname as "scorpion grass

#sharemondays2026 A crawl around the lawn when we got a bit of nice light at the end of the day

And of course you can't have a Goose without a honk! Honks serve as the golden goose of gaggle communication, allowing geese to warn their group of predators, ward off intruders and respond to mates. Honking is also used for communication between geese parents and their offspring, known as goslings.

A Canada goose has between 20,000 and 25,000 feathers, the vast majority of these are feathers designed to insulate the goose against freezing temperatures and icy water. Flight feathers typically feature 10 primary feathers and 17 to 19 secondary feathers per wing, alongside 16 to 18 tail feathers

Did you know Canada Geese practice assortative mating, seeking out partners who are similar in size. They also stick to one mate for life, with adult birds waiting until they are at least two years old to seek out partners

Two Canada Geese chilling on the local lake. Did you known there are 7 subspecies of Canada Geese (genus Branta canadensis) including the Giant Canada Goose! These "beasts" have been recorded at nearly 10kg. The Atlantic Canada Goose is the main subspecies introduced into the UK and weighs 6kg

Not had much chance to get out last week. And the weather has not helped, unless I was doing stormy landscapes or wet woodlands! So a dip in to the archive with the Canada Geese. #birdphotography

At last, the end of the week. At least the garden got a bit of water! 🤣 Another flower shot

Some more Bluebells (I know, I'm late in getting these out) Have you had blue skies or just rain for this years summer?!

As I'm using Buffer to schedule these posts (great app by the way) I may have already succumbed to the weather! Thunder and lightning or just a damp squib. Either way some more flowers to hopefully brighten your day

Did you get bad weather yesterday. Any Wizard of Oz moments? Click your heels and enjoy the flowers

So, the start of summer and the forecast for most of the UK is heavy rain, lightning and possible funnel clouds. Oh and if the funnel cloud touches the ground its a tornado! Yay! So here's some flower shots to brighten up your week

The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) stands out as the most vibrant member of the Corvid family. The Latin designation is particularly fitting; 'Garrulus' translates to 'chattering,' 'babbling,' or 'noisy,' while 'glandarius' refers to 'of acorns,' reflecting its behaviour of concealing acorns

A dapper Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula) on the hunt for something tasty along the path. Jackdaws are one of the very few non-primates known to use their eyes to communicate. They flash their pale white irises to warn competitors away from their nests.

Where I live we have a healthy population of Common Buzzards. Here I managed to catch its wings up just before it took flight

Will look at the #ShareMondays2026 entries a little later - sorry for the delay but have a day job that gets in the way!

When you drop your snack you've just spent five minutes hunting for! #birdphotography

So, last week I was joking about the pair of Grebes going on a honeymoon after the mating display. And guess what, they did! Looks like no fluffy humbugs this year. Very disappointing! So, I’ve gone all dark and moody! Tell me which one you think I should enter into the BWPA competition

A male Blackbird hopping off with it's breakfast! #sharemondays2026

It's not very often you see the out stretched wings #birdphotography

Mr Grebe and the Atmospheres #birdphotography

Given that the Great Crested Grebes have (hopefully) mated there is now the wait for the fluffy little humbugs. Here's some from previous years that were born a lot earlier

After nearly 3 months a female finally turned up for the lonely male and they did the dance. This happened within 2 minutes of me turning up and it all went in a blur, I didn't even realise they had stood up till I looked back at the images. Fingers crossed for humbugs

A lovely encounter with a pair of Long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) collecting food for their young at the reed beds at #Lindowcommon, Wilmslow. Sadly the nest was in a very exposed small Gorse bush and on return the nest had been predated, probably by a member of the Corvid family #birdphoto

Early morning Moth in the Meadow #macrophotography #appicoftheweek #jessopsmoment #alphacollective #SonyAlpha #sonyvisuals #SonyWorldClub

Colourful Cuckoo Flower #appicoftheweek #jessopsmoment #alphacollective #SonyAlpha #sonyvisuals #SonyWorldClub

Cuckoo Flower #flowerphotography #sunrise #macrophotography

After much deliberation, here is your #sharemondays2026 winner! Congrats @geoff-franklin.bsky.social and good luck selecting next week 😃 A wonderful abstract image!

Well that wasn’t easy! But here is your #sharemondays2026 shortlist… I’ve only got Oxeyes for you @sarahlonges.bsky.social New Growth in the Pines @geoff-franklin.bsky.social Yellow, Blue, Green @dutchnewchurch.bsky.social Dave the Rave @ianbarnesphotos.bsky.social

Thankful for swivel screens! #Macrophotography #flowerphotography

This week it'll mainly be the plants I've stumbled upon (and not on!) #plantphotography

Water Forget me Not (I think??) #sharemondays2026

When the circumstances are just right the lake in the early mornings can produce some lovely soft, misty, atmospheric conditions. I was lucky enough to be asked to write about this in Outdoor Photography magazine issue 314 @OPOTY

Sometimes the Grebes do come closer to the near side of the lake to fish and can be quite unperturbed by humans (they don’t like dogs though!) #appicoftheweek #jessopsmoment #bbcwildlifepotd #birdphotography

A peek at the local patch one early misty morning Sound on for the dawn chorus

The local lake isn’t that big (200m length by 90m width) but even with a 600mm lens the Grebe can seem pretty small when it’s on the far side. And to make things a little trickier there is a fence that goes all the way around so I can’t get as low as I’d like. Make the best of what you have

Maximum imposter syndrome judging all these images from fantastic photographers Changed my mind a few times but my shortlist of four for #sharemondays2026 are @helenaludwig.bsky.social @onathird.bsky.social @circa35mm.bsky.social @sarahlonges.bsky.social

This is the single Great Crested Grebe who didn’t pair up this year. It got to the stage where it started displaying to a Coot. Now, I don’t know if this is the same one as last year or an inexperienced youngster. Curious if there’s a way to age Grebes

Each year I try and photograph the pair of Great Crested Grebes that arrive at the local lake and their little humbug offspring. Sadly, the female has not turned up this year so no mating display and no little humbugs. So, here’s a dip into the archive for this week

Moorhen on a wander #sharemondays2026

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) on the lookout for food and rivals #appicoftheweek #jessopsmoment #AlphaSpringUK #AlphaSpringUK #bbcwildlifepotd

A lonely Great Crested Grebe caught amongst the light and shadow Sadly, the female Great Crested Grebe has so far failed to turn up. At least 16 days late now so not looking good #appicoftheweek #jessopsmoment #AlphaSpringUK #bbcwildlifepotd #fsprintmonday

The backlit reeds almost looked like a choir about to sing Common Reed (Phragmites australis) #appicoftheweek #jessopsmoment #bbcwildlifepotd #fsprintmonday