Rocket power!

Another dull day, but not raining this morning so I donned the working clothes and hauled out the stepladder and set about cleaning the gutters - yes, we live in a bungalow! I know that the falling leaves will soon fill them up again, but at least I've got rid of the sludge and cleaned the downpipes.
 
Did a bit of sorting in the greenhouse, trying to make room for some of the plants which will need winter protection, such as Echium candicans, the Pride of Madeira, a shrub autochthonous to that island. OK, I’d never heard that word before so I hope I’m using it in the correct way - I think it has the same meaning as indigenous. Took a few cuttings of my Euonymus cornutus too while I was at it.
 
After lunch I did a bit of searching among the files for some images to enter In the next competition at the Photo Club. The subject is ‘Close-up’, but with the definition that they could be not so close as to be macro. Rather vague, but I think I know what’s meant. Rather like my Blip today, I think - close, but not too close! This was the one I Intended to Blip yesterday if for some reason my SD card hadn’t refused to download to the computer. I still can’t think why - it downloads on the camera as usual. So I swapped cards and went out for a few more pictures.
 
Primula vialii, today's Blip, which grows to around 15", is native to parts of southern China and prefers a moist soil in dappled shade, though up here it can take full sun if the soil is moist. They don’t seem to be very long lived and over the years I’ve lost them regularly. This is from a batch grown from seed - they normally flower in late spring or early summer, so this one’s obviously confused!
 
I was intending to do some more gardening, but now it’s absolutely chucking it down!
 
Quote of the Day: ‘A good photograph is knowing where to stand. - Ansel Adams.