Black and White Cropped Square

Also taken at Bingley Show, this is my entry for the July theme for my online photography group: Black and White Cropped Square. I noticed the shadows of the guy ropes on the sides of the canvas marquees. They looked like something I could play with a bit in an image. In the end, I think this picture has more the feel of some kind of torture chamber than a tent!

Balloons

So colourful, I could not walk past without taking a photo. Just looking at them makes me smile.

Plants

Another category in Bingley show is for plants and flower arrangements. I've lately started to appreciate the beauty of bonsai and I was rather attracted to this graceful little tree. I also liked the way the bonsai was displayed on round, red mats that referenced the Japanese flag. 

Among the cut flowers, sweet peas always delight me - for their glorious colours and their heavenly scent. 

Handicrafts and produce

It's such fun exploring the handicrafts and produce marquees at Bingley Show (though I was melting in the heat under the canvas!) My friend's mum, who has won prizes several times in the past for her knitted toys, is now selling them through her daughter's craft shop, so she's no longer eligible to compete as an amateur. Somebody equally talented appears to have taken up the vacant place; her doll and teddy were really cute.

The muffs below are called Fidget or Twiddle Muffs and are made for people with dementia, whose restless hands appreciate something to stroke and play with. 

There was a category for multi-coloured jelly! (Whatever next?) It made a nice picture. 

The home-made wines and liqueurs also made a nice picture - and, no doubt, a tasty drink.

Who knew there were so many sizes and colours of eggs? 

People watching

The lady was watching the dog-show. Her dog was watching the people-show.

Limousin cattle

My other favourite bit at Bingley Show is the cattle section. I love to watch the judging of these huge beasts. They are as polished and primped as cattle can be, though they don't always do as the handlers want them to. A little tickle under the belly with a sharp stick usually makes them behave. I don't know why like them so much. I hardly ever eat meat and I certainly don't like walking through fields with cattle in, but there is something amazing about being so close (safely) to such magnificent animals.

The bulls in my photos are Limousin cattle, bred for beef. They originated in France.

Bird watching

The Wise Owl birds of prey display is possibly one of my favourite bits of Bingley Show. They are such beautiful birds and it is a privilege to get up close to them. Wise Owl rescue and rehabilitate birds (for example, after accidents) and then release them into the wild again. They also have a mobile display team, which was doing demonstrations at the show.

One of the stars is the gorgeous Barn Owl, Bubbles (above, bottom right and also in the photo below). He was happily flying through tunnels made by children's linked hands, stopping every so often to have a good look at things. You can hire him to fly up the aisle to deliver your wedding rings at your wedding. That must be quite a sight!

The other birds pictured are:
Top left -  a pretty kestrel, whose name I don't know
Top right - Ghost, a Gyr x Saker falcon
Bottom left - Gizmo, a White-faced owl

Bingley Show day 2017

It doesn't seem long since last year's Bingley Show but it came round again, the 136th show. The day started off very wet and I was wondering whether I should brave it. The lower field in Myrtle Park can become a mud bath in inclement weather. When it stopped raining, I set off. By the afternoon, the sun had come out and it was really quite warm. I should have taken a sunhat!

There's a nice view from the upper park down into the lower field, where the classic cars and vintage tractors were parading in the show ring. In the foreground are displays of the most modern vehicles, including a Yaris Hybrid very like mine. It was like bumping into a relative! I didn't actually bump into any relatives, but I did bump into a lot of people I know - camera club colleagues, friends from church, former workmates. All part of the fun of the Show, which is still a big event in the local calendar.

Crafty

Bingley Show 2016 - 

Do you recall the winner of last year's knitted handicraft section, a delightful Teddy Bears' Picnic?

The same lady has been busy again, this year taking both first and second prizes with some harvest mice and a bears' knitting circle.  Very clever and very cute. The detail is amazing. 

The Sheep Show

Bingley Show 2016 -  Can sheep laugh?  It seemed to me that these two were having a good giggle...
They were part of the 'cast' of 'The Sheep Show', a new innovation at this year's Bingley Show.  I didn't see all the show so I don't know what they were involved in - but I did watch one of the sheep being shorn. It looked like hard physical work for the shearer, made more difficult as he was keeping up a running commentary through a head microphone all the time!  The other sheep appeared to be watching intently and with some concern. I never realised they had such personality.

More birds

Bingley Show 2016 -  More birds from the Wise Owl display. This attractive creature is an American Kestrel. Smaller than our native kestrels, it has such exquisite colours and markings. This one is called Peanut. Maybe it eats them?

And here is Orville, the Little Owl, again. Cute and comedic, these owls are the only owls that you tend to see during the day. With those big eyes and such a stern look, he reminds me of a teacher! "What are you doing, girl!?"

The birds

Bingley Show 2016 - The birds of prey on display on the Wise Owls stand were all rescue birds. They rehabilitate them where possible and return them to the wild. Some, for various reasons, cannot be re-wilded. They become tame and used to being handled and are ideal for 'close encounters'. It is particularly good that children are able to get close to them and learn to appreciate them.

The beautiful Barn Owl above is called Bubbles. Barn Owls are native to Britain and the light plumage makes them look like ghosts, swooping silently in the twilight. My (country-living) sister had one that roosted in her barn/ garage. I've only ever seen one in the wild once but they are unforgettable. 

The pretty bird below is a Gyr x Saker Falcon called Ghost.

Encounters with animals 5

Bingley Show 2016 - I'm not sure I've ever bothered to go in to the 'Mice and Cavies' tent before. But the cavies (guinea pigs) are full of personality in their own little ways. When I was a child, my best friend had a hamster. I remember it escaped its cage and was eventually found and rounded up in the coal cellar! Hamsters and mice are nocturnal though, which might tend to make them a bit boring as pets.

Encounters with animals 4

Bingley Show 2016 - My favourite show tent is the one for cats. The pedigrees on show are so beautiful and so varied. I always have a soft spot for the British Shorthair Silver Tabbies, but there only seemed to be one this year and I couldn't get near to take its photo. There were several of the huge Maine Coons (below). They're gorgeous too and very soft and cuddly, like big hearthrugs!  I'm not sure what the breed above is. Its squashed nose suggests some kind of Persian or Exotic Shorthair, with a slightly curly coat? I'm no expert! Anyway, it also was gorgeous and seemed very much loved. I wished I could have got a lower viewpoint but there is always a metal mesh barrier so you can't crouch down and shoot low.

Encounters with animals 3

Bingley Show 2016 - Little girl meets even smaller owl.... a Little Owl, in fact, one of our native species. The birds were being shown by Wise Owl Birds of Prey, a Yorkshire-based organisation that rescues and rehabilitates birds of prey and offers displays and educational 'experience' days.
I have a gorgeous photo that shows more of the girl's face and her delight but I'm not comfortable blogging that one. (I am always wary of showing children that I don't know personally.) And the owl wasn't looking at me either! Never work with children or animals (birds)!

Encounters with animals 2

Bingley Show 2016 - This huge albino Burmese Python is a good deal less strokeable than a donkey (well, I think so!) but still fascinating to a small boy. The reptiles were from a place in Shipley called 'Into the Wild' that offers photo shoots, parties and encounters with various exotic creatures.

Encounters with animals 1

Bingley Show 2016 - It hardly seems possible that a year has passed since the last Bingley Show but it's that time of year again. First day of the school holidays... warm, dry, even sunny in parts - that in itself is amazing! So what better place to go with my camera than Myrtle Park in Bingley for the annual one-day agricultural show.
I visit it most years and it's always fun but it does get harder to find new and different angles to photograph. This year I seemed to be drawn to watching children encounter animals. I love to see their wide-eyed wonder and simple joy. I don't think this little girl was old enough to ride on a donkey but she liked stroking one nevertheless. Even the donkey seemed to be smiling.

Ball pool

Bingley Show - I have never seen these before, though they were a popular activity at the Show. Tumbling about in a plastic ball floating in a pool wouldn't be my idea of fun but the children seemed to love them. I thought it made a pretty photo, as the wet plastic created a diffused effect.

Soulmates

Bingley Show - Such a beautiful bird... this red kite and its handler seemed very much in tune. I took several photos whilst they did an interview for the local radio station but this shot, in repose, was my favourite of them all. The falconry display was by SMJ Falconry, based in Oxenhope. They had a number of hawks and owls with them but this red kite was the star of the show for me.

I want to be over there...

Bingley Show - I was amused by this little West Highland Terrier, who clearly wanted to be somewhere else.