Late-July photo round-up

July has proved to be a rather nondescript month weather-wise (except for the first week, which was fine). No meteorological records have fallen, which is probably a good thing; local farmers can't complain about drought or flooding. 

Below: a female red deer takes fright as I approach from the south and bounds off into an abandoned apple orchard. There's a significant population of deer in this area; I have a one-in-three chance of seeing one on an evening walk around here, so I have my camera and lens set to catch a photo opportunity. Looking at this deer in mid-air, I can note the commonality with the cat; same mammalian body plan, the main difference being between the head of a carnivore (eyes on the front of the head for hunting) and a herbivore with eyes on the side of its head to watch out for predators. Red deer lack a proper tail; evolution evidently has no need for one.

Below: end of July and there's more than half an hour's evening daylight less than on the longest day in late June. The sun sets just before half past eight, and yet the hottest days (and nights) of the year are still ahead. The northern hemisphere is still warming up.

Below: a lovely Nysa 522 van in Milicja livery, photo taken on the set of the TVP series Wojna zastępcza, ('Proxy War') being shot in Warsaw's Krakowskie Przedmieście. The series, to be aired later this year, is set during Poland's transition from communism to democracy.

Below: summertime, and the tourist trams are running in Warsaw. This is an ex-Poznań Konstal 102N, built in the late 1960s, making its way along ulica Prosta. More information here.

Below: back in the countryside. View of a farmhouse from within the forest, Gaj Żelechowski. 

Below: wild hop cones at the end of July. These will be ripe for picking in mid-to-late September, by which time the hottest of days will have passed... I pick the ripe cones and boil them to make a hop extract, which, when cooled and diluted with cold water make a excellent thirst-quenching alcohol-free beverage.

Two train pics. Below: southbound push-pull double-decker semi-fast Koleje Mazowieckie train being pushed to Skarżysko-Kamienna via Radom (engine at the rear). It has just left Chynów station and is approaching the level crossing near Widok.

And finally – the InterCity Witos express heading to Warsaw, having left Przemyśl on the Ukrainian border less than five hours earlier. The train is hauled by EPO8 007, built in January 1976 (it will be celebrating its 50th birthday in five months' time!). Quite rare to see these old locos hauling expresses on this line, EPO9s and EU44 Husarzs being more common.

This time two years ago:
Late-July photo round-up

This time four years ago:
Stewardship of the Land, Jakubowizna

This time five years ago:
The cost of Covid complacency

This time six years ago:

Uprising commemoration - Day Three

This time seven years ago:
Ahead of the Big Day

This time nine years ago:
Once in a blue moon

This time 11 years ago:
A return to Snowdon - Wales' highest peak

This time 12 years ago:
On the eve of Warsaw's Veturillo revolution

This time 14 years ago:
Getting ready for the 'W'-hour flypast

This time 15 years ago:
A century of Polish scouting