Camera Critters: Poor Starfish

Poor old starfish. No fun in the sun for him or her - I found it on the beach at Port Eynon, on the Gower Peninsula. That's one of the less pleasant aspects of living near the coast - seeing dead marine life washed ashore.


Click here if you fancy taking part in Camera Critters, hosted by Misty.

Gower Peninsula: Rock pools at Langland Bay

One thing I love about living near the Gower Peninsula and its numerous bays, is being able to explore rock pools, such as the ones at Langland Bay and Rotherslade. I find the creatures who live in the rock pools fascinating, especially the pools that are only exposed at low tide.







I have no idea what the creatures who live in these shells are called, but I enjoy seeing and trying to photograph them. The slimy critters in this next image are sea anemones of some sort - I forget their name at the moment.

Gower Peninsula: Dog days at Port Eynon

This fellow was certainly having fun in the sun. Here he is cooling off. He's not my dog, though - I'm not a doggy person.



This Weimeraner scared me a little when I first saw it. But it passed me without so much as a sniff or a glance.

Gower Peninsula: Tortoiseshell butterfly

I came across this tortoiseshell butterfly sunning itself on a stone near the bus stop at Rhossili, one of the most stunning locations on the Gower Peninsula.

Swans on River Tawe

Dog days at Rotherslade

Animals seem to have so much more fun than humans. Look at this pair, frolicking in the surf at Langland.


Maybe if more humans learned how to love the simple things in life, the world might be a happier, more peaceful place.


Okay, this isn't strictly a Gower view. But I have a phobia of dogs, and was very proud of myself that day, for having got so close to a hairy, scary beastie.



Eek! The teeth on it ...

Update: Since I wrote this post, I am pleased to say that I have conquered my dog phobia, and now own a dog of my own.

Nice pony, Rhossili

Taken on the same day as the images on yesterday's post. Having quickly backed off from the tooth-baring brown horse, I timidly approached this one. She seemed a little aloof at first, but when I produced a pack of digestives, she quickly became my new best friend.



Foolishly, I ignored my horse allergy, and stayed with this pony for a while. I ended up feeling ill for days afterwards.

Grumpy horse, Rhossili

There were numerous ponies on Rhossili cliffs on this particular day, some friendly, some quite shy. But this brown one was positively snooty and hostile.



Look what happened when I leaned in closer and asked it for a smile.

Springtime on Gower

One of my favourite sights every year - little lambs. I met this pair on Rhossili cliffs.


Pennard cliffs provided the location for the next two pics. These lovely wild primroses appear in abundance all over Gower from March to May.


These violets are a little harder to find, simply because they're so tiny. Their size also makes them very hard to photograph, without special lenses, etc.

Ram at Rhossili

Pony at Rhossili

Taken about four years ago at Rhossili. Alas, I only had a 2.2 megapixel camera in those days.


But not even a low resolution camera could obscure the pony's beauty.


Unfortunately, I'm allergic to horses. I had to back off within seconds of taking these pics, as my eyes started to stream, and I had trouble breathing.


How I suffer for my art ...