November 2014 – ROLLING HARBOUR GALLERY

THE ‘POMODORO SPHERE’, TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN

Published on November 24, 2014November 24, 2014 by Rolling Harbour2 Comments

A short trip to Dublin brought the chance to wander round Trinity College, always an enjoyable experience. I’d either failed to notice the strange sculpture on the Berkeley Library forecourt on previous visits, or it has only arrived fairly recently. On a grey rainy day, it looked unpromising from a distance. Pomodoro Sphere TCD 12

On closer inspection, it was fascinating. The large bonze was donated to TCD by the artist, Arnaldo Pomodoro. As the TCD website says, “other similar works exploring this spherical format are on display at locations such as the United Nations plaza in New York, the University of California at Berkeley, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, and the Cortile del Belvedere at The Vatican Museums. This sculpture underwent a major conservation project in 2008 which brought the surface of the piece back to its original condition while also restoring its complex sub-structure and pivot.”

Here are some photos taken as I walked round the work. I was struck both by the reflected ‘cityscapes’ – possibly post-apocalyptic – that seemed to appear, and by the complexity of the construction.

Arnaldo Pomodoro ‘Sfera con Sfera’ bronze (click here for artist’s biography, pdf)

Click here to read the poem ‘Six Ways of Looking at a Pomodoro’ by John Scattergood (pdf document)

Credits: TCD website for info & links; all photos RH

RINGED TEAL PAIR PREENING IN LATE SUNSHINE

Published on November 19, 2014 by Rolling Harbour6 Comments

This sequence shows a pair of Ringed Teal preening in late autumn sunshine. The series of images shows the movements of both birds and the marked variations in the colouring of the male over a few minutes. At one stage the vivid green sheen of the wings gave way to dark blue. I was also trying to use the water behind them to create an impressionistic effect, which has worked in a way.

DORSET SHEEP: THE RAM, READY TO PLAY THE FIELD…

Published on November 12, 2014November 13, 2014 by Rolling Harbour4 Comments

Sheep supposedly have peaceful, grazey lives. Counting them is allegedly soporific. But in reality they lead busy and productive lives. No sooner do they lamb than it’s time for the circle of life to begin again for them. In the evening sunshine the field gate swings open. A truck’s catch is slipped. Enter the ram, harnessed for action to mark his conquests and raring to go…

Some photos were taken after the ram had been investigating the 7 ewes in the field rather closely. Two had lambed, 5 were pregnant. The ram is demonstrating a FLEHMEN RESPONSE – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flehmen_response which explains it better than I can, and with a particular reference to sheep.

THE FLEHMEN RESPONSE

FIRST OF THE WINTER LAMBS IN DORSET

Published on November 10, 2014November 11, 2014 by Rolling Harbour6 Comments

In September I posted about the 7 pregnant Poll Dorset sheep that a young farmer in our village had put in our paddock. I predicted “pastoral scenes, evenly-cropped grass… with pre-Christmas lambs in prospect…”. The sheep were removed for a month or so to let the grass regrow. Yesterday morning there was an unusual sound coming from the field. Rounding the corner of the house we saw a single tiny lamb, 2 days old, mewing rather piteously.

Number 2: the first in its field… Totnell Lambs Nov 3

It was soon joined by twin lambs a few days older Totnell Lambs Nov 12

Then came the 2 mothers. Then the 5 still-pregnant sheep waddled into the field, all due to lamb within the next 3 weeks. Here’s one of the proud mothers. Totnell Lambs Nov 11

The sheep and lambs were numbered so it was easy tell which belonged to which. But whereas the mothers also knew their own lambs, it was taking the lambs a while to cotton on to the numbering system…

Correctly matched Totnell Lambs Nov 7

Number 2 has still to get the hang of the system… Totnell Lambs Nov 1

Number 2

Number 2 and one of the twins

Pretty lambs all in a row

Settling in

OTTER STUDIES

Published on November 6, 2014 by Rolling Harbour6 Comments

There’s no great kudos in finding these particular otters. They are Asian short-clawed otters and they are one of the attractions at WWT Barnes, where a number are kept in a spacious enclosure. There’s plenty of water for them, obstacle courses (pipes and so forth) have been set up, and they look sleek and well-fed (as well they might be, with feeding times twice daily). I managed to see 3 at an uncrowded time, and one in particular seemed to enjoy being admired.

BLACK-HEADED GULLS: FUN IN THE SUN

Published on November 1, 2014 by Rolling Harbour2 Comments

Halloween. Frequently a wet, cold and dreary day concluding with dubiously decked-out children ‘scarily’ collecting sweets with watchful parents in the shadows (and the odd teenage chancers ditto, but without the parents ). But this year on a warm sunny October 31st I went to have a look at some birds. To start with here are some black-headed gulls (winter plumage) enjoying a serious bathing and preening session at WWT Barnes.