A Golden Sunrise

Early one morning last week several chance happenings came together and I was fortunate to get these photos. I was up early, sunrise this far north in summer is early, next the sun could actually be seen when it rose, barely a cloud in sight, and lastly I just happened to be in the kitchen when it happened. I live on the westside of a hill, or to put it another way I live on the east slope of a small valley, so my garden faces the sunrise which rises over the opposite hill. The sun first hitting the slope and garden is very fleeting, it lasts only a minute or two, so can easily be missed.

As I looked out this is what I saw. If you click on the photos they come up larger.
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It was like the pampas had turned gold and the field behind.
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The trees also lit up though even though I was taking these photos one after another the heather was now in the sun.
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The pines look so bright and green.
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I am still enjoying this new camera, it definately, imo, takes better photos than the old point and shoot, although I have the new camera on auto as I do not feel ready to go it alone and use manual mode.

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©Copyright 2020 Frances Caple. All rights reserved. Content created by Frances Caple for Island Threads.

wordless Wednesday ~ the cultivated ones

A bit of Razzamatazz

This little pepper plant is looking so colourful, Anne Swithinbank did say on GQT she grows it as a house plant because it is so pretty and I agree. It certainly lives up to its name Razzamatazz. It is in its third year now and each year it has got better, and this year is the best. The plant lives on the kitchen windowsill where it gets the most sun and all I do is water it when I remember.
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This shows the four colour changes, when the fruit starts to grow it turns purple and then when it starts to ripen it goes yellow, the purple and yellow sometimes make it look bruised, but not for long as it turns bright orange and finally deep red.
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There were only a few red when I took these photos last Sunday, I took some more today as there are quite a few red now and it looks so pretty, as if the plant is covered in gems.
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I do use some of them, they are not too hot, I don’t like hot! As yet I have not tried them before they are red.

Last year I sowed some sweet bell peppers, two plants grew and like the chilli pepper over wintered. I have found them extremly frustraighting! they have had ‘a ton’ of flowers which did not set. Last year their first year they did not flower until late and the peppers were small but tasty in a stirfry. This year they started flowering early but the first flowers did not set and later only a few flowers set, yes I have tried hand pollinating, it made no difference. I am wondering if it is temperature, it has not been very warm, well sometimes not even warm outside. Those that do set, the fruit does not grow as a bell but more like a squashed granny smith.
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Anyone else had problems with sweet peppers not setting fruit? any helpful advice is welcome, thanks.