Back to Dawyck

For the first time in weeks the sun was out and as the Botanical Gardens in Dawyck also reopened for the season yesterday we set sail there. Not really of course (we took the car) but it seemed to tone in with this detailed photograph of the wind vane on Dawyck House. This house is still in private hands and thus not part of the garden visit but the house itself is visible from various viewpoints within the grounds.

I've tried to blip the weather vane before but with my other camera and without much success. The Lumix is great for macro photography but distance shots are not it's strong point, but my new Canon has a super zoom and this enabled me to capture this galleon in it's full glory. It became my blip for today.

And while I was at it I also zoomed in on the bell tower of Dawyck chapel which stands within the confines of the garden itself but is also closed to the public (you can hire it for weddings though if you are interested). It's a very Italianate structure as you can see above.

 

I discovered that the Canon can also get close up and personal but that this requires me to be further away and zoom in so next time I will bring the Lumix too for my macro shots. I'm rapidly turning into a fully fledged photographer with multiple cameras hanging around my neck! 

I will always love the details of things such as the lichen above

and the radiating evergreen leaves above. This picture is exactly as it came out of the camera and the colour was almost luminescent and stood out among all the other greenery in the garden.

I think I take a picture like the above one almost every time we are in Dawyck, so I must like it a lot. Birches are among my favourite trees because of their beautiful white bark and their elegant slimness.

The full glory of the snowdrops hasn't quite arrived in the gardens yet but a few bunches here and there were already visible, harbingers of the snowdrop festival that will be taking place all over the Borders in the coming months.

We were really pleased glad to be back and even splurged out in the shop on a peanut butter feeder for the birds in our own garden,  as well as enjoying a wee cup of tea. The difference all this made to my mood was amazing! A little bit of sun and the whole world seems a much better and more enjoyable place! Thanks so much for everyone for all the encouraging comments on my previous post. They helped! A lot!