.
As someone who only cleans his car when it gets particularly dirty, I only strim the grass in my garden occasionally, only cut my hair about twice a year, and generally much prefer low maintenance although my GTI gets serviced etc every 10k miles. Consequently, my garden may be described as rustic and a haven for wildlife. I live near a small river with many trees. I used to lug around a professional camera kit - Nikon and then Canon - but nowadays a compact digital Fuji Finepix EXR does the job. Obviously it has a number of limitations and I accept the compromise.
So, technically the following pics won't be the most pin-sharp or professional quality but I think the images are worth sharing.
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FRedAdmiral.jpg&hash=2039e6a7d8ed73fff8a06a9550ca959f351191c5)
^ Red Admiral. Apparently quite rare but I've always had one or two in my garden. I have a whole bunch of nettles growing and they like them. This shot was taken literally at arm's length as the beauty was in a tree. That's a bench seat in soft focus below.
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FSnails_probing.jpg&hash=24afea55185dfb0bf69d9fd0955867f991d5ff46)
^ Two Giant Pond Snails about to enjoy coitus for a couple of hours. Yes, that white 'tongue' is actually a penis. A Magpie has since smashed up one of these two - I saw it happen.
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FSnailEggs.jpg&hash=625d3ff6a4f4e8e601fa811700d1e88e09cafb3a)
^ The resulting snail eggs under a dying lily leaf.
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FLilyLeaves.jpg&hash=d508455a57775c0c0e139091018df881908df7d9)
^ Dying water lily leaves in the small pond I built. Nature's paintings.
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FLarvae.jpg&hash=ad501f6e4d3ac6b85720d84978ef0a363aedeb99)
^ Unidentified larvae - Probably Mosquito or Gnat.
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FHoverFly1.jpg&hash=be08ef235a7a67301f14f470b937574763ad670e)
^ Hover Fly (Helophilus pendulus) on water lily leaf. A regular visitor who is quite tame and allows me to get close.
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FSunflower_birth.jpg&hash=0b4c6efdf2e1623ce34e6f85e813b9ddb12135ff)
^ The birth of a Sunflower. Again a very low maintenance plant.
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FSunflower_birthbud.jpg&hash=1b2ad52363e92a299df964832d8b0c7bae7faf4c)
^ Another Sunflower head starting.
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FMayFly.jpg&hash=44c93e671f281cf7df258b080082a4b419d55830)
^ Mayfly (Drake Mackerel) - Elegance!
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FHedgehog_baby.jpg&hash=0770b6f143650037675acb23ea3df45eb7b2a315)
^ A young Hedgehog on a mission. I came across him one morning - He didn't hang around!
![](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FPondLife%2FFly_whiteflower.jpg&hash=99346332cf62d80aa95ef395521c18a0f5f721c8)
^ Another type of Hoverfly (Eupeodes luniger), a migrant species from Europe, on an unknown-to-me plant. The only things I've planted have been Sunflowers and a couple of trees.
More pics to follow in due course. Hoping you enjoy
![happy2 :happy2:](https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/Smileys/newsmileys/happy2.gif)