Winds of Change

A YEAR LATER......

2012-01-14T10:26:00.004Z

Its exactly a year since the Man with the Chain Saw started carving birds on the trunks of trees that had been cut down in the Park. I took my camera along as I thought it was amazing how well/badly the carvings had weathered.

The Owl stands at the entrance to the small car park. It is hard now to see that it is an owl. Which is a shame. But it just looks like an old tree trunk!

The heron has not fared well, either. Although you can see it is a heron, he is surrounded by shoots from the tree (which obviously wasn't dead in the first place!) I think it is a horse chestnut, and when the leaves come out, our heron will be invisible! Unless the Park People snip off the shoots.

The Kingfisher, on the other hand, still looks lovely, and rather smug.

Now when I took photographs last year, the frog hadn't appeared. He was bright new wood when done, of course, but again, its hard to see he is a frog. However, when I saw him in the pouring rain a few days before I took the photo, he looked lovely, as frogs do in the wet!

It was very hard to take photos from the same position, as I couldn't remember quite where I had been, and it was very muddy, and I was in danger of slipping over!

The Park is just beginning to wake up from its winter sleep. The snowdrops are up and in bud, but their heads have not turned down yet. The ornamental bushes are beginning to sprout, and the willows are definitely looking a bit springlike. The Witch Hazel flowers are coming out, but not enough to make a decent photograph!

The two swans are still here, and the ducks look as though they have paired up. I will try and take some good photos of the swans for next time. Its very cold here today, but lovely and bright, so I might try to get clicking away this afternoon.

SPRING IS ON ITS WAY !

2012-01-06T10:09:00.002Z

It is a beautiful morning today - the high winds from the last few days have dropped, and the sun is out! I wanted to take my camera with me when I took the dog for a walk in the Park, but it is too difficult to manage with a dog at the extreme end of a long lead, wanting to get on, a stick in one hand, and my camera in my third hand!! (If only!)

I had to keep the dog on the lead as he has been quite poorly - entirely his own fault, I might add, as he did a runner on me on Tuesday and found a lot of rather nasty bread. He was so ill afterwards I wondered if he had been poisoned, but the Vet didn't think so, and he seems very frisky today. His dinner has progressed from nothing at all (yesterday) to plain boiled rice and a small amount of poached chicken. Poached in the microwave, not obtained at night with a gun!

So I had to use my ears and eyes and not my camera this morning. The birds were twittering away, I heard sparrows and tits (two sorts) I spotted a robin, and the gulls and ducks on the lake were making their usual cacophony!

The snowdrops are very nearly out, the buds are there, but they have not dropped their heads yet. Bulbs are coming up, and the ornamental bushes are beginning to sprout tiny leaves.

On the minus side, the grass is exceptionally muddy in places, and the paths round the tennis courts are still flooded. The frost, plus energetic tree roots are cracking the paths round the lake in several places, and its a bit tricky for the unwary. Well, and the wary too, if, like me, they use a stick!

In our own garden the bulbs are coming up. The picture above was taken last year, but they looked identical this morning! We keep the bird feeders filled, and have had Redpoll and Siskins, plus the usual Greenfinches, sparrows, Great and Blue Tits, a Coal tit, Chaffinches and a Robin. But we have not had the numbers we had last year. Still there is a lot of winter to come yet, and presumably there is a lot of natural food around for them.

If the weather is nice I will try to get out at the weekend, and take my camera. You must be fed up with reading about the Park and my Garden!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

2012-01-01T09:52:00.003Z

The sun is getting stronger, the birds seem to be pairing up on the lake, and the days are getting longer! Thankfully, this year is in total contrast to last year's ice and snow. It is mildish, sometimes windy, nearly always wet and constantly muddy!

A Happy New Year to you all.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS !

2011-12-24T16:48:00.003Z

A Happy Christmas to all my Blog friends! I hope all goes well, that the meal is gorgeous, those round the table are gracious, happy and good-humoured, and that a good time is had by all!

We will be going to our daughter for Christmas Day, which will be lovely. She always puts on a beautiful meal, the decorations are fantastic, and the Christmas Tree touches the ceiling!

The picture above is one I took at her house a couple of years ago. I think it looks mysterious, candle-lit and Christmassy!

See you all again in a few days!

Have a great time!

CHRISTMAS MARKET

2011-12-19T11:04:00.008Z

We nearly didn't go to the Town's Christmas market, as when we woke up it was snowing and looked very icy. However, the weather improved very slightly, so off we went. The market is held - where else? - in the Market place, and spills out to the side streets. They had kept the various types of stalls together, so the food was nearly all in one street, the crockery and china stalls together, etc.

The Christmas tree lights were on, but didn't show up on my photograph its a big dark because it WAS a bit dark out there!

All the food stalls looked lovely. This scone stall...........

.........offered little nibbles to test them! In fact, all the foodie stalls offered tasters, and we had good time sampling various sausages. I did buy some in the end, though. ~Free range Gloucester Old Spot Pigs, hand-made on the farm. Should be good!

There were some strange things there, though.

But if it was too cold for you, then you could warm up with mulled wine, or spiced cider, all gently steaming away in big tubs.

It was a very successful market, and I enjoyed it enormously.

SWANS

2011-12-15T10:28:00.004Z

I'm really pleased to say that the swans who came to the lake in our Park have stayed now for well over a year, maybe longer. I find time flies rather quickly now!

Yesterday the were hanging around where the stream enters the lake. We have had torrential rain lately, and the stream has been at its height, obviously bringing down goodies for ducks and swans!

They are nearly always together, and we are hoping they might be a pair. Young swans do not breed for 3 or 4 years after they become adult, so perhaps these two are just waiting for their really adult years to appear!

We did have a very large numbers of Canada geese on the lake, but they have gone off somewhere else now, and gulls, mostly black headed gulls, sit waiting on the lake now until someone appears with food, and then fly around screeching, and trying to get the bread from under the ducks' beaks!

If it gets colder, with snow, then the geese will come back, the gulls will stay, and the number of mallard ducks increase. Then it will be everyone for themselves when food appears!

GREY DAY

2011-12-07T09:36:00.005Z

December has turned very cold, and this was the scene that greeted me as I opened the gate from our garden into the Park. I rather hoped I could get the walk with our dog over before those grey clouds reached us.

The promise of a bright interval never materialised over our part of the town, and the wind was icy cold!

Even the ducks didn't look too impressed!

But some very late roses really cheered me up. The glowed against the grey wall, defying the wind and cold.

Hope this is not too boring a blog but I thought I ought to let you know I was still alive!!

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO ?

2011-11-26T15:15:00.004Z

I have been trying since Tuesday - 4 days ago - to get a new blog up. But as soon as I think I have got a spare half hour - there's something else to be done.

Its been a busy week - a Committee meeting on Monday, a Members Morning on Thursday, and my Creative Writing Group on Friday. (I'll tell you about Wednesday in a mo!) All of these activities are connected with me being Secretary of the local U3A, which for those who don't know, is the University of the Third Age, a National Organisation for the over 50's, who are retired or not working. Basically, the stored and deep knowledge of its members is given to Groups who are interested. Like learning a language, Photography, Handicrafts, Painting, and where I go, Creative Writing.

Now our CW Group is putting on a performance (?) of the "12 Days of Christmas" at our Christmas Party in a fortnight, and I can tell you, if it all goes right, hopefully it will be very funny. Though I have a feeling if it all goes wrong, it will be even funnier!

Wednesday we went to one of my favourite stores, Lakeland, a wonderful store selling everything domestic. Then we went to Bramhall, where we, as usual, trawled the Charity Shops. Bramhall is a lovely little town, lots of boutique-y shops, and really nice places to have lunch. I must say, being a town in the wealthier end of Cheshire, we did find a very high quality of goods in the charity Shops.

If you are wondering what my collage is all about - its leaves. As all the leaves have mostly come off the trees now, and down onto our lawn, I thought I'd post some leaves that I enjoy looking at!

And the second photo is the lovely sky on Tuesday evening. We haven't got much of a view to the west here, but it was so colourful I had to take a shot of it.

UP IN THE FOOTHILLS

2011-11-14T15:02:00.007Z

Sunday afternoon looked like being sunny, if not very warm, so we drove up to Teggs Nose Country Park. Teggs Nose is the end of an outcrop of rock that has been quarried for years for a very pleasant building stone, used all round here. The quarry is now disused, and is part of a bigger area designated a Country Park.

Unfortunately when we got up there, the cloud was low, and it was a very dull day. Not really good for photography! But I hope you can see that there is a long, rther dull path to get up to where we were going. Mr. G didn't think I would make it.

But I did! However, those steps are wickedly steep, and although the old rickety railing has been replaced with a much sturdier one, I knew I couldn't get up there, so went round the long way round a sort of tump.........

........past an Ash tree, which in better weather has a lovely view to the west.......

........and up to where the old quarries start. Now the spoil heaps and rock are all covered with heather, which looks lovely in the late summer, but is just brown now.

There are great views from where we got to, even though there is much more, higher up. However, it was bitterly cold up there, with a wind so strong I had difficulty in keeping my balance and holding the camera straight and steady, so we turned for home.

Mr. G found it unpleasant, I like a good blow, and it was great to get out, and the dog had a wonderful time!

Back down at the entrance to the car park we are told its is 168 miles to London. The road here is the Old Buxton Road, very narrow and tortuous, so a New Buxton Road was built, wider, but still with bends all the way. It has the sorry title of the most dangerous road in England, as it is used by motorcyclists keen on seeing how fast they can go. There have been far too many fatal accidents over the years, and many more people injured. The Police and the Council have done a lot to make it safer, speed cameras and in the summer holiday season, the Police spotter plane all have a big presence. But there are always some idiots around.

I enjoyed my windy walk, and was delighted I could get to somewhere high enough to have a view. Now, next time its sunny, and clear, and perhaps not so much wind........

EARLY NOVEMBER

2011-11-05T15:09:00.011Z

As it was my birthday (no, I'm not saying!) this week, my daughter came over and she, Mr. G and I all went to try out the new Cafe at our local Garden Centre. It proved to be very good indeed, the food was lovely, home-cooked, and a great place to have a very pleasant lunch out.

Afterwards we wandered round the indoor part of the Centre. They had all their Christmas things out, decorations and presents galore, and although I think it was too early for such things, I enjoyed it very much! I was very taken with these tartan reindeer, who had a really perky expression on their faces!

Baubles, and all sorts of decorations looked very inviting put in baskets.

By the Gardening section we came across these model hens, which looked so realistic I could have bought them all! They were very expensive, though, and for them to look good you would want a group of them, and then you would have to have the right sort of garden (or estate, even!) There were also model dogs and pigs.

Outside, (but covered over, thankfully, as it had started to rain!) there were bedding plants......

.....and loads of beautiful cyclamen. I loved the really dark ones, but they would have been lost against the wall in our hall, so I bought a pale-coloured one with really pretty leaves!

There was a lovely display of foliage too. All told, it was a really good Birthday Visit!

From our upstairs windows, the park and our garden, are looking quite autumnal. (Sorry about the bit of clothes line at the bottom!)

There are some glowing late roses in the park, where they are sheltered from the north and east...........

........And the beech leaves make a gorgeous carpet. This part of the park will be covered with daffodils and narcissi in the Spring.

I wonder what sort of winter we will have this year?

A SHORT OUTING

2011-10-28T16:55:00.005+01:00

One sunny afternoon this week we headed for Redesmere, which is a large lake,very near us.

There is a sailing club there, and as it was a very breezy day, the little boats soon came out.

But the big attraction there are the water fowl. After a putting up with a dodgy and potholed parking spot, the Council has made it into a very much better spot for spectators, and a great deal safer

Lots of people come with bags of bread to feed the various birds, there is plenty of room for those that feed the birds, the photographers and the children.

There is no doubt at all as to who are the big greedy ones! The swans always push forward, but the gulls are pretty good at catching stuff thrown in the air! Then there is a terrific fight for the bit of food!

Mr. G took our dog Max for a walk, I went part of the way but although I got over the first style, the second one defeated me, so I stayed there and did a bit of nature photography, as I was sitting almost underneath a Sweet Chestnut tree!

PLANTING TIME

2011-10-22T11:34:00.002+01:00

Last week I bought some plants from the Garden Centre, plus tulip bulbs, but only found time to plant the bulbs and some wallflowers. Then the rains came!

But today is a lovely sunny day, very windy, but I found a pot for the Heuchera I had bought. I fell in love with it as it was so pretty. Its called something like "Silver coils" - I love heucheras!

I was going to plant the Heuchera in the pot these begonias are using, but I hadn't the heart to pull them up as they were still looking so lovely! So I've left them for a bit. The pansies are in a big trough in front of them, but I had too many for the trough so was hunting a couple of smaller pots to plant the overflow!

Its lovely to see the sun today, a real autumnal day, windy but not too cold. So many leaves have already fallen that I don't think we are going to have a long-lasting autum this year.

To all you kind friends who asked after me, following a spell in Hospital - I am fine, but I am going to see the Consultant at the end of November in his clinic, and maybe we can find the source of the trouble. But I sincerely hope it doesn't happen again, twice in one year is far too many times!

MADE IT AT LAST!

2011-10-16T09:47:00.007+01:00

I intended to post a new blog last week, but an unexpected stay in Hospital has thrown all my planning! However, we did manage to get to Leek Flea Market on Saturday.

It was also a Farmers' Market, though it seemed to be all meat, sausages, eggs and things like that. I don't think I would have fancied the meat here, which was is the full sun. (Not that the sun was actually very warm, and there was a very cold wind!)

There was the stall with the usual eclectic array of stuff....

.....but the Baby walker, or whatever it was, looked very uncomfortable for the poor baby! Someone said it was french, which could have accounted for it!!

There was a doll and a teddy - I had a doll just like that when I was a small child.

It was so cold there I had to buy a scarf from Oxfam! I tried to take this photo of me looking in a mirror that was on one of the stalls. I'm wearing the scarf, and was very glad I bought it!

And lastly it was so cold and I was very tired, I took shelter in my favourite cafe to wait for Mr.G who is far hardier than I am! And yes, I did have a piece of the cakes there, plus a good hot cup of coffee!

A LONG TIME AGO

2011-10-06T10:16:00.003+01:00

I was looking through old photos, and came acxross this one - and it started me thinking! I expect we have all got similar photos - this one is the First XII hockey team at my school. You will have to look hard to find me, but I am there!

I thought back to my schooldays - they weren't great, and I must have been a real pain in my early years there. I went when I was 10 rising 11, and it was all so different from the private school I had attended during the Second World War. But eventually I got my head round most subject and did quite well. Not Maths though. I missed a lot of lessons one year, and never caught up. Some things are still a mystery to me.

What were quadratic equations actually for?? Has anyone used them in adult life?

I didn't keep up with my ex-classmates - I moved away, and life changed. But I sometimes envy people who have stayed in the area they were born in, or went to school in, and still know what everyone from their school is doing.

But if I hadn't moved away, I doubt I would have found the opportunities I did find, and I don't suppose I would be the person I am now!

A very philosophical blog! But what about you? Did you move away? Stay in the same area? Do you now wish perhaps you had done things differently?

A SURPRISE VISITOR!

2011-09-30T09:09:00.004+01:00

A little while ago we noticed a baby plant growing in a pot of old, used compost which stood by the back door. This door opens into the garden, and there are 8 awkward steps down into the garden, which explains why the pot of used compost was still there!

We left it alone, and it grew and grew, and soon became obvious it was a sunflower. We didn't think it would get to bloom so late in the year, but now look at it!

I grant you it is not one of those giant sunflowers, but it is very pretty. The seed must have been dropped, either by a bird or one of us, as we feed the birds with mixed seed.

Talking of strange plants, in the winter we feed the Siskins and Redpoll on Nyjer seed, and every year we have a fine crop of Nyjer plants, although they never come to anything, as it is too cold here for blooming and setting seed.

But the birds seem to have disappeared this week. I don't know where they have gone, but I imagine there is such a lot of natural food, they don't need ours. It is strange though, last week the sparrows and various sorts of tits were fighting over the peanuts, but this week - zilch!

IT'S MARKET TIME AGAIN!

2011-09-25T13:37:00.012+01:00

Today (Sunday) was the monthly Treacle Market in our Market Square and adjoining street. Sadly, the "real" antiques seem to have disappeared, but there are still a lot of stalls to search

there was a lot of pretty crockery on this stall, but I wondered if anyone ever used the traditional wicker hamper for picnics? They must have been terribly heavy - you wouldn't have wanted to carry them too far!

There were a couple of bookstalls, and I was very pleased to find a book illustrated by Charles Tunnicliffe. I love his drawings, painting and all artwork of his, and the black and white illustrations in this book, which is devoted to country matters, are delightful. The book is written by HE Bates, another old favourite of mine. Sadly both Charles Tunnicliffe and HE Bates are dead now.

There was one book I didn't buy - though I did wonder if there were any other sort of slugs other than terrestrial ones!

There was a stall with lovely coloured ribbons.......

........and one that was all sorts of bits and pieces. It actually was a very windy day, but you can't see it from the photographs.

On the next door stall there were some old bears and other animals.......

.........and a stall with all sorts of floaty scarves and things.

The food stalls were all together down a street leading off the Market Square. There were two bread stalls, both were loaded with really yummy-looking bread. I bought a loaf that I was promised was full of seeds and goodness!

There was also a stall selling Fungi. This was a new one for the market, and although there were plenty of "ordinary" mushrooms, there were boxes of mixed fungi, which I really wouldn't have liked to try without positively identifying them first! And then I might err on the side of caution and not eat them!

And lastly, in case you needed a sit down and a cup of tea or coffee, this maiden was there to direct you down the ginnel!

BUTTERFLIES

2011-09-17T10:06:00.003+01:00

We have had more butterflies in our garden these last few days than we had the whole of last year! These two are Tortoiseshells, but we have also had Peacocks, Red Admirals, Spotted Wood, and of course, the usual Whites. At this time of the year they love our Sedum. We have two huge clumps of this, but they are getting a bit too big for their boots now and will have to be dug up and slimmed down!

This last is a dahlia I thought would never bloom! I planted it in a tub, and then put the tub in a space in the border where there was a gap, but it sulked for weeks, until this lovely orange bloom appeared.

Sorry this is a short blog - what with one thing and another, there doesn't seem to have been much time for writing blogs!

HEATHER TIME

2011-09-08T10:10:00.007+01:00

I've been longing for ages to get up in the hills to see the heather. We finally made it on a lovely day last week.

First we called in at a reservoir I hadn't been to for at least 10 or 12 years. I was amazed at how much it had changed, and couldn't recognise where I used to walk! Trees had grown, and paths altered, and it looked a very strange place. I was also very surprised at how low the water is. Considering how much rain we have had this summer, I thought the reservoirs might be full!

Our destination was the Goyt Valley, and Errwood Reservoir. Again, the water was very low. If it gets any lower, the remaining bits of the village which was flooded to make the reservoir will be showing!

One of the little streams that feed the reservoir. Makes a lovely sound, rushing over the stones!

But there was definitely heather there. It looks so lovely against the grey stone.

And just to prove it really is heather - its here!

There are lovely places to stop and you can walk for miles from here, right across the moors. Not for me now, alas!

We drove through beautiful countryside. You can maybe get a peep from the window and see why I love it up here.

Unfortunately, the road we were on is a very dangerous road, with lots of bends and steep downhill bits. So we couldn't stop, and I had to peer past Mr.G to take it!

It was a lovely day out - I really must get us out more!

If you want to see more of my photographs, on all sorts of subjects, go to my other blog

A NOT VERY SUNNY WALK ROUND THE PARK

2011-08-30T13:10:00.009+01:00

It seems a long while since I took my camera into the Park. So although it was a very grey day, with rain threatening, I set off.

The first thing that caught my eye was the gnarled roots of the beech tree, and how the wet weather had made them really stand out. I was pleased to see that the grass was beginning to come through where they had squirted weed killer around the roots a month or so back. No, don't ask me why!

The early light through the willows and the reflections looked so calm and peaceful.

The two swans are still here, I am pleased to say but I couldn't persuade them to get into a more photogenic pose!

This Thing, for want of a better word, suddenly appeared by the skate park. No one knows what it is for. Those can't be seats, they are at an angle of 45 degrees. hardly a comfortable sitting position!

To my mind the red and yellow colour scheme this year looks a bit garish. It was quite nice before the salvias came out as there were some very dark reddish nicotinias, but they have finished now.

A small bed of antirrhinums are lovely - they are one of my favourite flowers.....

.......particularly the pure white ones against the very dark red.

Back just before it started raining, I love the way the water drops stay on the alchemilla leaves.

And my Echinaceas are doing well now I have managed to keep the slugs away in the Spring!

Its the last day of August today, should be Summer. But its cold and wet and feels more like October or even November! Don't know where our summer went!

BITS FROM THE GARDEN

2011-08-21T16:56:00.005+01:00

Looking carefully where I went this afternoon I saw this tiny patch of moss on our stone wall. It had even sent baby outliers from it, presumably to colonise more wall!

And then I looked a few inches further on and there was another sort of moss, with moss "flowers".

It's amazing what you can see if you look down!

And I was very lucky to capture this visitor to my African Marigolds. I'm all for protecting and helping bees, and we never use insecticide in our garden.

Which probably explains why some things get eaten!

Speaking of looking and vision in particular, I was so fed up with not being able to see properly with what were supposed to be new glasses, with the latest prescription, even if the firm I went to had had to remedy a mistake by one of the opticians in the firm, that I took myself off to another firm, of independent, long-established opticians here. (The previous one was a "chain" firm, all rush and grab your money!)

To my total amazement, he said that I had been "over prescribed with prisms" and that I would be far more comfortable with 4 instead of 16, and my lenses would not be so heavy, etc. (For those of you who are lucky enough not to have to wear glasses, the prisms helped my eyes worked together. If I didn't have them, I would see double. As I tend to without glasses)

Well, I got my glasses, and do you know, he is dead right? I am far more comfortable, and can see better with these new ones, which I got yesterday. Not only that, this firm (if you pay to join an Eye Care Plan) will scan my eyes annually, and give me all sorts of other benefits as well. As my eyes are rather difficult, I was glad to pay the reasonable monthly charge and have my eyes looked after. I'm going for the scan on Wednesday.

ODDS AND ENDS

2011-08-02T13:54:00.007+01:00

There were a few "curiosities" that we came across on our holiday.

This golden stag (or reindeer, I'm not sure) looked out from one of the old houses along the Bergen waterfront. There were other statues on some of the other houses, but it was raining VERY hard and I decided one photo was enough!

Looking down to avoid puddles, or rough ground, I saw these two drain covers. The first one is in Bergen, and ship represents the overseas trade that made it so prosperous, and the other one was in Stavanger, but I don't know what the story behind the two figures is.

Whilst struggling (on my part) and walking (on Mr.G's part) through Stavanger Old Town we came across the Canning Museum. It was very crowded and we didn't go in, but in the front part there were tins and tins of sardines, kippers and mackerel fillets on sale. Some were in ordinary oil, some in chilli sauce, or just plain tomato. Needless to say, I had to buy some. The kipper fillets were lovely, we had them with salad, but the sardines surprised me as they were teeny weeny little fish, packed in a criss cross fashion, not nearly as juicy as the ones we are used to. But nice though!

And lastly, and nothing to do with Norway, I saw this cot for sale in the flea market in Leek (Staffs). They were asking £95!! I think it must have been a hospital cot, probably back in Edwardian times, and I wondered how many little children had sat and cried in it over the years?

Do you ever wonder about the story things like that cot could tell us?

GARDEN SURPRISES

2011-07-27T10:59:00.007+01:00

When we got back from holiday, the garden had got a bit rampant! So while Mr.G got on with mowing the very long grass, I prowled round with my camera to see what was there.

These yellow lilies actually are always there! I have had them for years, always in the same pot. I tried to repot them once, but couldn't get them out of the original pot, so left them in peace. And they reward me every year with these lovely yellow blooms.

What was a surprise were these lilies. I had bought them as "pinky-orange" but they turned out to be this glorious deep red!

These lilies were another surprise. I bought, for a few pence, some sad-looking lily bulbs that were already sprouting. I planted them and gave them some tender loving care, and they surprised me by producing four stems of flowers, all different colours! Unfortunately they didn't all flower at the same time, but I had one pink, one pale yellow, one orange and one deep yellow with brown spots! Think I'll keep them in the same pot and see what happens next year.

I don't know what this little flower is called, but I call it the Balloon flower, as the buds look like hot air balloons. Its been growing happily in very little soil in a trough at the edge of our patio. I think its roots might have gone down cracks in the wall (of which there are plenty!) and found something to grow in!

I never managed to get to a garden centre before it was too late, and in desperation I went to our local B&Q (a do-it-yourself superstore). They are not known for taking care of their plants, and I found these looking very sad, so I complained to the checkout woman, who promptly looked at them, and sold them to me half price. Again a bit of TLC produced firstly this golden marigold, and then......

.....this lovely dark one. They share a trough with a dark-leaved begonia, the sort that has little dark red flowers, and it all looks great!

And lastly, although I try to get rid of the crocosmia "Lucifer" they are very persistent, and this year have lovely large red blooms. I do have a clump in the "right" place, but perhaps I'll let these stay, as they look so good against the grey stone wall.

SAILING SOUTH AND HOMEWARD BOUND

2011-07-19T11:38:00.008+01:00

We left the High Arctic, and after a day and night across the Arctic Ocean (thankfully not as rough as our outward journey!) we arrived at the Lofoten Islands. There are a myriad of islands along this very mountainous chain, with no big towns, just small fishing villages.

The mountains were rugged,and in strange shapes. Our Ship anchored just outside a tiny settlement.

There really was very little there. The Shuttle buses, for which we had to pay rather a lot, went to a slightly bigger village, where there was still very little, so we decided to explore the immediate vicinity.

We climbed a small hill, from where there were very lovely views. Afterwards, Mr.G (who gets a bit fed up with my slow walking speed!) went off along the shore, and found some interesting birds to watch. I went back to the Pier, and found the Princess Line had provided free coffee, perhaps to make up for the shuttle bus charges!

Another day and night's sailing took us to our last port before home, and at long last south of the Arctic Circle. Stavanger has a pretty harbour, but the Ship dominated the scene, and looked totally out of proportion!

We wandered rather aimlessly about, and found a small market selling fruit and vegetables and the inevitable knitted sweaters etc.

And found the first of the many sculptures around Stavanger.

There were some old roofs along the harbourside, mainly cafes and tourist shops at ground level.

I really wanted to see the Old Town, the largest surviving wooden house settlement in northern Europe. It is a beautiful area of little wooden houses and cobbled streets along the west side of the harbour The houses were originally built for the families working in the canneries in Stavanger. Nearly all the houses are white (only a few are allowed to be another colour) and they vary in age from less than 100 to about 300 years. The houses are lived in and most are privately owned.

It was well worth seeing, but I found the very hilly bits and the cobbled streets very tiring, and there was just nowhere to rest, not a cafe in sight!

We eventually found a cafe in the new town, and I collapsed with a coffee and a muffin. But I could do no more and left Mr.G to go round the rest of the harbour, and find some good bits I missed, while I went back to the Ship and rested.

And that was virtually the end of our holiday. Oh yes, we crossed the North Sea again for a day and a night, and then landed in Southampton, where our coach was waiting to whisk us northwards.

It was, all told, a fantastic holiday, and I am so pleased we had the opportunity to do it. But if I went on a cruise again, it would be a smaller ship! Far too much walking for me! But I couldn't fault the ship for the quality of the food, cleanliness, service, and entertainment.

Now I'm dreaming of another cruise!

UP IN THE ARCTIC

2011-07-12T10:25:00.011+01:00

So that you can see where we actually went on our cruise, I have doctored a map, and put a red line to show you our route. Hopefully the map will enlarge when you click on it and you can see it properly. I'm afraid my hand wobbled a bit doing the route, but you can get the general idea!

Tromso is well above the Arctic Circle, and is a pleasant town, with lots to see. We didn't get across to see the Arctic Cathedral, as it was a long way, but we did get to some interesting museums. The Polar Museum had some fascinating accounts of explorations across the Arctic, and to the North Pole, but there was also a lot about trapping and hunting, which I found rather distressing. Killing for food and clothing for the local people, yes, but there were so many seals and land animals killed for their skins which were exported across the world. I suppose it was just that way of life, but it all got too much for me and I found a chair to sit on and look at other things! Tromso market, like other markets in Norway, major in woolly sweaters, scarves, hats, gloves etc. I bought a lovely woolly hat for the winter.

We sailed from Tromso and headed for Honningsweg, very close to North Cape, the northernmost point in Europe. The scenery here was just bare plains. We took an excursion across the big island plains to two very isolated fishing village. The big industry here is dried fish, of which an enormous amount is exported to Portugal and Spain. (I really do not know what those countries do with such a lot of dried fish!) On the way we saw several family groups of reindeer, grazing on what lichens and grass they could find.

On our coach trip we had a really splendid guide, a Norwegian woman who had lived all her life in Honningsweg, and loved the freedom from crime there, the friendliness and the pure fresh air. They made the most of the summer months, as they have 4 or 5 months with very little daylight, of course.

We left Honningsweg harbour just before midnight, and the photo above was taken, I assure you, at midnight!

The next day we sailed across a very rough Arctic Sea, so rough they put tape across the doors to the Promenade deck so no one could go out, as the winds were so great, and the waves so high it would have been dangerous.

Early the following morning, Mr.G woke me and said "You must come and see this!" which I did and there were these fantastic snowy mountains gliding by in the distance. The sea was blue, the sky was a lighter blue and the mountains were dark blue and white with snow. It was truly magical.

We followed the snowy mountains and glaciers all the way to the little town of Longyearbyen. This town formed round the coal mines, which are still very active, and coal is a major export. There really isn't much that is beautiful about Longyearbyen......

However, there is an excellent Museaum and Tourist Information place there. Quite the best Museum I have been in. We were rather amused, though, as we all had to put blue plastic covers over out shoes! It turned out shoes would have damaged the floor and the way the exhibits were arranged - very touchy-feely!

As we left, the sun sparkled on the sea, which was much calmer than when we came! We felt sad, though, to leave those mountains, and to feel we were now on the way home (even if we had 6 days left!)

FURTHER NORTH

2011-07-07T10:43:00.009+01:00

After leaving Bergen we sailed up to Geiranger Fjord, one of the most beautiful and narrowest of Norway's Fjords. The whole journey was spectacular.

The entrance started fairly wide.....

but got narrower as we went further in.

There were dozens of waterfalls down the near-vertical sides of the fjord. Even the tiny streams had considerable force, and the bigger ones spread out over the rocks like foaming lace.

We landed at the tiny town of Geiranger, and took an excursion bus (one of the only two horrendously expensive excursions we did!) up Mount Disnibba.

Halfway up we stopped at what was once a trapper's shelter, for a coffee and a Norwegian pastry, and I was amazed to see the adjoining lake was frozen! it was also fairly chilly!

At the top we looked down at the valley below, and in the far distance we could see the fjord, like a tiny tear drop. If you look hard at the photos, in the distance, where it is blue-ish, you can just see the fjord, and I think the tiny white splodge is our ship!

SPEAKING OF THE SHIP.....

It was huge. Three times round the Promenade deck was said to be a mile. There were a lot of determined walkers, doing their miles, but I stuck to a gentle stroll.

Inside was all bling and opulence. The Atrium in the middle of the ship was 4 stories high. This is looking down to the centre. There were various entertainments there in the afternoons and early evenings.

And lastly, we were taken on a very interesting tour of the Ship's Galley. All stainless steel, and immaculately clean. The cakes in front were for our visual delight!

Next post I will take you to the Arctic!

CRUISE OF A LIFETIME !

2011-07-01T10:48:00.006+01:00

We had the most fantastic holiday! Now of course, I've had to come down to earth, but I'm enjoying picking photos for a new blog!

Our first port of call was Bergen, Norway. It is reputed to rain 360 days of the year in Bergen, and yes, we managed to pick a really wet one! However, we got around, well kitted out and more or less waterproof!

Bergen is a very pretty town, with a lot of history behind it. In the 18th Century it was one of the important ports in the Hanseatic League, trading fish, furs and other things across Europe.

We found the Fish Market at the harbour, mostly specialising in shrimps, crabs and other shellfish, plus cod and haddock.

Old Bergen still exists, although mainly for tourists now. The warehouses and trading buildings still stand, each with a narrow frontage and stretching far back.

Between the buildings are narrow alley ways (you could hardly call them streets, although they did have names!) which led to further little shops and squares.

We found these little shops far more interesting than the "posh" tourist shops along the harbour. There was also a much-needed cafe, which sold coffee and delicious cake!

There was a lot of walking for me around Bergen, but I managed it without complaint! A shuttle bus (of which more anon) took us back to the ship.

Next blog, when I have a bit more time, I will show you pics of the ship, and more pics of some of the wonderful places we went to.

My new header is a view of the mountains I saw early in the morning as we sailed up the peninsular of Svarlbad (Spitzbergen) towards Longyearbyen, our next port. The mountains were spectacular, incredibly beautiful, and I fell in love with the Arctic!

HAPPY ASSOCIATIONS

2011-06-14T12:24:00.004+01:00

Tomorrow I will be off and away on the high seas for two weeks. So I have left you with a couple of photos taken in our garden this week of unintended combinations

The first is a little orange welsh poppy that peeked through some lovely dark heuchera leaves.

And the second are our pink climbing roses tangled up in our orange honeysuckle! Couldn't reach to prune them, ands anyway they are tied in firmly with the honeysuckle, so I left them! I think they look rather lovely.

See you all in two weeks time!

OH! I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE !

2011-06-05T11:56:00.008+01:00

Just for fun I've dug out some very early photos, taken, of course, by my Father. My grandparents lived in Herne Bay, a seaside town on the Kent coast, so this was my first introduction to the sea. However, beaches are dangerous places, and it being all shingle at Herne Bay, not too attractive! So here I am, feeding the ducks in the park. Note the leggings, sweet little coat, etc. About 1935 or 1936

Another seaside place we went to frequently was Cromer, another seaside town on the Norfolk coast. Could be decidedly chilly there, but for those brought up in Herne Bay, like my Mother, it was nothing. (Both Cromer and Herne Bay faced north, across the sea. Nothing between them and the North Pole,it was said!) 1936,I think

However, I was apparently good at shrimping!

And shopping. Don't you love the fashions!

By 1938 I was old enough to start modelling for my Father!

in 1949 we went to Southwold, a lovely little town on the Suffolk coast. This is a rare photo of my mother, plus me and my sister.

In 1950 I was a sulky teenager, interested in boys, but heavily chaperoned by family! This is a family and Friends group at Cromer. I rather liked the boy at the back, but he wasn't in the least interested in me, though I passed muster for the odd visit to the fair, etc.!

And lastly, in 1954, more or less grown up, me, my friend Margaret and my sister at Herne Bay standing in the sea. Can't think who took the photo unless it was my Aunt or Grandfather who we had obviously gone to visit.

Next time I see the sea I will be on it in a VERY large ship!

STATUES

2011-05-30T10:07:00.004+01:00

The end of our garden tends to get a bit wild, if we are not careful! We inherited this little statue when we moved in 17 years ago. At the time, he held a sort of old and battered sundial, which we took off as it was likely to fall off. He now lives coyly down the end of the garden, overlooking the pond.

I rather like statues in a garden. Large ones look best in large gardens, but I have seen some lovely ceramic and stone items, features, call then what you will! Trouble is, Mr. G loves redesigning the garden, so any features we put down are likely to be moved around. Like the little boy in the picture. I rather liked him where he was before, as the ivy was growing up him, it looked really good.

But the pond end is looking great this year. The Hostas are magnificent. usually they are dinner for hordes of snails and slugs, but I think the very cold winter we had last and this year has killed them off. Praise be! I'm sure they have a place somewhere in creation, but I do not like them in my garden!

The swans in the park are still there. I do hope they stay. There are three goslings around, but I always seem to miss them. Canada Geese are wonderful parents, and I have every expectation they will raise their goslings to maturity. there are also young Coot, but I haven't seen any young Moorhens yet.

IS THIS REALLY NECESSARY ?

2011-05-20T16:30:00.004+01:00

The Park authorities regularly go round the edges of the paths with weed killer, and I can see the point of that.

But did they have to go round the beautiful tree trunk?? Admittedly it is the tree trunk that they cut off 20ft up from the ground, and they haven't gone round the 'living' trees, but it looks so awful. And unnecessary.

They've gone along the edge of the culverted stream too. I suppose the lad was given the sprayer and told to do the edges!!

And they've gone along the bottom of our fence where our garden meets the park. They do this all along the boundary, but there are only 4 houses which have the hedge behind the fence, and they kill all the lovely 'weeds' growing there. The ones with fences behind the hedge don't suffer, and the grass etc just grows naturally.

It will all grow up again, you can't keep nature down, but it does make a messy looking place.

However, parts of the park are lovely. these are gorgeous blue irises by the lake. there are wild yellow ones growing at the muddy side, but they are a bit difficult to photograph.

BITS AND PIECES ROUND THE PARK

2011-05-14T15:45:00.008+01:00

The two swans that arrived on the lake a few days ago are still here, and look very settled. However, it has been fiendishly difficult to get a photograph of them together, but there are definitely two, and they look pretty much identical! Taking photos with a dog on a lead is very difficult, and I don't always take my camera with me. When I don't, I can guarantee there will be something I wanted to take!

This is the view we see as we come out of the gate from our garden into the park. On a fine weekend you have to be careful not to get hit by flying golf balls, as we are directly opposite the third green! However, it has all been looking very nice since the grass was mown, and the sun shone!

The May (Hawthorn) trees are in full bloom, this particular one looks really lovely by the lake. Yes, that is my dog, Max, standing mournfully at the extent of the lead, waiting for me to get a move on!

The variegated holly bush sends out lovely little pink new leaves.

And despite being snowed under, walked over and sledged on in the winter, the pansies have made a great show down by the bandstand!

The weather has turned quite cold again, but I really must get out with my camera again soon! You are probably all wondering if I ever do anything but walk round the park! Well, yes, I do sometimes! ;)

OUR PURPLE PHASE !

2011-05-07T10:00:00.003+01:00

The alliums have come out en masse plus the aquilegias, so we have a purple patch!

I love them close up, the tiny flowers are so intricate.

We have two visitors to the Park - two swans are on the Lake! I do hope they stay. The last two were driven off by vandals, one was shot, and the other pined. Swans mate for life. How can people be so wicked? I will take my camera next time I go down there so you can see them. Not that swans are rare or anything, but they are so beautiful.

ROUND THE GARDEN

2011-04-27T13:52:00.008+01:00

Thought you might like a short walk around our garden. Come in at the front, and this is probably the best it will look! The broom nearest the front door is magnificent, and the scent hits you as you come out of the door! The tree is called a Bird Cherry, but why I have no idea, as it certainly isn't a cherry, and doesn't have fruit for the birds! it just looks lovely in the Spring.

Looking up into the tree all you can see is a mass of white.

The bluebells next to the broom make a good contrast.

A close-up of the broom flowers.

At the back, the patio plants are the first you see, the pansies are very good this year, despite the bad weather we had in the winter.

I think this is my favourite colour!

The Dicentras are doing well, they are so reliable and come up every year with their little hanging flowers.

And down the end of the garden, the ferns are uncurling fast. They are huge plants now, and really fill that5 bed at the end. Which is a good thing!

HAPPY EASTER !

2011-04-22T09:41:00.003+01:00

I love tulips, and I am really pleased the way these two pots have turned out. Though I do wish I had put more of the two-colour yellow and dark red ones in so that they made a fatter sort of display.

It is really hot here, especially for April, and everything is coming out and fading away so quickly. I have roses in bud already, and a pretty mauve daisy plant has flowered and before I could dead-head it, finished itself off!

It makes me wonder what will be left to bloom in June? And though I hate to put a dampner on the holidays, I do wish we could have a really good downpour. The gardens are so dry.

However, I shall enjoy the sun, and my garden, and wish you all a very happy Easter!

TREES

2011-04-16T13:31:00.009+01:00

I love trees - and I was delighted that Carmi's Thematic Challenge is TREES this week.

We used to live in the Chiltern Beechwoods, and I think beeches are one of the most beautiful trees. There is a huge one in the park, with lovely roots, full of hollows and "hidey holes" that we played with when we were children.

And this is the same beech tree in the snow.

I like trees too, in misty or foggy mornings, when everything is quiet, and you can hear the drips off the leaves falling on the ground. Sometimes they are just beautiful, sometimes quite spooky.

The patterns formed by the branches fascinate me. These fanned willow branches result from coppicing the trees to get straight wood for fencing, or basket work. Though I think this particular willow was last coppiced a long time ago!

And just for the memory - my sister and I many, many years ago, swinging on the branch of a beech tree near our home.

WINDOWS

2011-04-10T09:13:00.005+01:00

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is WINDOWS.

The very large block of windows is at the new Learning Zone (aka known as a rebuilt school and College). They attracted me because of the reflections of the other houses and windows on the far side of the road across the car park and bit of grass. There are new windows over there, plus some rather lovely Victorian houses. The road there, which is one of the main roads out of town is very much an "all sorts" when it comes to architecture. Modern houses squeezed into odd plots and a wonderful terrace of Victorian houses, with gables, known locally as the "Twelve Apostles (there being 12 houses, of course!)

This little window, a complete contrast to the above, was taken in Bruges last year. I loved all the "extras" for what is really just an attic window. Most of the old houses there had decorated windows like this, and Bruges was a great place to go for window watchers! As well as people watchers, church lovers and chocoholics. Every other shop seemed to be a chocolate shop.

In fact, talking of windows, how about this for a drool-making window display?

SPRING SUNSHINE

2011-04-03T10:40:00.004+01:00

It doesn't seem a week since I last posted! Where does the time go? its not that I've been particularly busy, but lots of little things take up just as much time as big ones! And life can get on top of you too.

The pansies, however, survived being buried in snow, frozen by frosts and cut by harsh winds, and still they come up blooming! They are just getting into their stride now.

My early tulips have come along apace now the sunshine is here. I'm expecting bright red blooms very soon.

The daffodils we "inherited" when we moved in are still making a great show, even after 17 years. Most of those inherited daffodils are very pale, and look lovely against the sun. I've planted other, more yellow blooms to mix with them.

I took this merely because I loved the gentle colours. We do not normally encourage brambles in our garden, but its not doing any harm down the end by the compost bins!

And this is Max, enjoying the sun sitting at the front of the summer house. He was clipped the other day, so from looking like a shaggy hearthrug, he has gone to become a very handsome dog!

Not much to post here, but its Mothering Sunday today, and we are going to my daughter's for lunch. I am going to make the most of being pampered a little bit!

TREACLE MARKET

2011-03-27T16:37:00.005+01:00

We went to the monthly Treacle Market this morning (Sunday). Macclesfield used to be called "Treacle Town" - there are various explanations as to why (some of them rather rude!) but no-one seems to know for certain. However, the market is called the Treacle Market, and is very popular.

There were lots of different stalls - foodie ones.....

And crafty ones.....

And all sorts of different things for sale. I was able to buy some lovely pies and some Greek bulgar wheat salad for our meal tonight, plus some delicious-looking ciabatta bread.

Once the church bells had stopped ringing (the market place is right outside the Parish Church), there was a Jazz band to keep us in a spending mood.

Despite the cold wind - the Market Place being the highest point of Macclesfield, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The food especially was very tempting, but Mr.G said he hadn't gone there to buy food, so I was unable to indulge myself. Probably a good thing!

Haven't posted recently, as not been feeling too well, but hopefully, now Spring is here, I can get out a bit more and find interesting things to blog about!

LATE - BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN

2011-03-15T10:50:00.005Z

Carmi's Photographic Challenge this week is LATE.

Wags is, sadly, late. She was our first dog, an absolutely wonderful, affectionate and loyal friend. We had her as a puppy when my neightbour, who was an Avon Representative, told us that one of her customers had 10 puppies that she was sending to the Pet Shop! Apparently her pedigree Springer Spaniel had Got Out at the Wrong Time, meeting the neighbours' pedigree Border Collie, and as a result had 10 puppies to dispose of. Both Anne and I were horrified that the puppies would go to the Pet shop, and she had one, and I chose a very friendly little one.

Needless to say, the puppy was gorgeous, and soon grew into a great dog. She early on decided she belonged to me. I used to take her for very early morning walks in our woods where we lived in the Chilterns, and was never afraid that I would be attacked, accosted or in any danger. Wags was there and I am sure, if I had screamed, would have gone for my attacked! The photo was taken by the Village Pond where we lived in Buckinghamshire.

Sadly, she got a cancerous growth and we lost her when she was 13. I cried for a week.

However, we soon got another dog. Ben was a rescue dog, and we found him curled up in a ginger bundle of sadness. He took a little while to decide we were friends, and then family, and also decided he was Mr.G's dog! We had him a long time, and he was very little trouble. He loved the Park behind us here, well, he loved anywhere really! Whilst Wags had been a herding sort of dog - she would run round and round us in the woods, making sure she had us under control! - Ben was a burrowing dog, and liked nothing more than to dig a very large hole, or, even better, get down a rabbit/fox/badger hole, and try to get into wherever those animals were that he could smell!

We had Ben for 17 years or so, and then vowed we would never have another dog, that we would be free to go on holiday whenever, wherever, as we liked.

BUT, our ex-son-in-law had two dogs, Sam and Max, and when Ex s-i-l decided to go to New York, said the dogs had to be rehomed. Youngest grandson was devastated, so it was decided to ask Granny and Grandad if they would have Max........

Guess what? We now have Max. Max's whole life is dedicated to finding food. Had he been trained properly, he would have made a wonderful sniffer dog. As it is, he will give his love to whoever has the biscuits/sandwiches/snacks. He would sell his soul for bread.

We had a great holiday in Anglesey a few years ago, in a cottage owned by a lovely couple who had 13 cocker spaniels, and who also owned three very large fields. Max was in his element.

But we did go to other bits of Anglesey (which is in Wales, for my US friends) and here he is with Mr.G on the cliff path.

Max, I am glad to say, is anything but Late!

SUNLIGHT

2011-03-11T08:50:00.003Z

This lovely little bush is on the patio outside my kitchen window. At this time of the year the young leaves are a lovely red. It's absolutely gorgeous when the sun shines through them.

So I thought I'd share it with you, especially as I haven't posted for a while.

DOUBLES

2011-03-05T09:25:00.003Z

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is DOUBLES

So I made a collage of my favourite "Doubles" Photographs. The crows sit above our garden, in the hope they spot something to eat - they are partial to unwary fledglings in the late spring, but we try to chase them away then.

The boots were at a garden centre - who wants boring green wellies!?

The two hares were a ?bronze statue at a beautiful garden I went to on my visit to Surrey. Chinthurst Lodge was open specially that day, on behalf of charity, and it was quite spectacular. Such a lot of work had gone into it, I was overcome with admiration.

The two hanks of ropes were hanging above the Lifeboats on the Cruise Ship we went on last year. Luckily we didn't have to use the lifeboats (and presumably the rope too) though as we had storm force 9 winds, we did begin to wonder!

I KNOW ITS SPRING WHEN.....

2011-03-02T15:12:00.004Z

......the Canada Geese start pairing up an d defending their territory. One pair regularly nests on an island in the lake, and another in the garden of a house by the lake. They are terrific parents, and we have seen several families of 3, 4 or 5 grow up.

Its also Spring when the little green tufts appear on the larch trees. I love them when they are just coming out, it is such a fresh green. They also turn a bright glowing orange in the autumn, but that is a long way away!

I had some beautiful crocuses in the garden, but four large furry paws have walked on them. (sigh) Still, there are some he has missed and I can enjoy those!

LETTERS

2011-02-26T10:16:00.003Z

This week Carmi's Thematic Challenge is LETTERS.

This photograph was taken in Bruges when we visited there last year on our cruise. It fascinated me - I couldn't work out what the logo was. What are the letters, why the crown, or is it just the logo of Bruges City Council?

Whatever it is, it reminds me of the lovely day we had in that beautiful city - and how hot and hard the pavements were!

The second one is just a very ordinary entry to a coal hole in my own town. Presumably the self-locking device is so that no-one else could steal the coal after it was poured down the hole to the cellar beneath. Or did some overworked little Tweeny have to clear up and lock the iron cover again?

Being not too steady on my feet, I have to look where I am going when I walk. Its amazing what I see that others might miss!

FEBRUARY DAYS

2011-02-20T13:52:00.004Z

The days here have mostly been grey. We've had the odd sunny day, when its been a pleasure to tidy up a bit of the garden, or take the dog out, but apart from that the cloud cover seems like a heavy grey duvet over me.

Not the sort of weather I like for photography! And I haven't been very inspired lately. So I have made a collage of some of the black and white photography I've don in the past. They are mostly close-ups - I think black and white photography is best like that.

But there are signs of Spring showing. There are early crocuses in the Park, pretty little creamy yellow ones and pale mauve ones. I'm rather surprised they have come up at all as they were well trodden and sledged on in the snow! The daffodils are well up, and in our garden have buds showing. The shrubs are tentatively putting our little green bits, so I hope we don't get any more hard frosts!

We have loads of birds, too. Siskins are here until they migrate further north to breed, as are Redpoll. There are lots of Blue Tits, two Great Tits and two Coal Tits. Thrushes are singing and the aggressive blackbirds refuse to allow any others into the garden!

Spring is definitely on the way!

OH JOY OF JOYS!

2011-02-12T10:00:00.004Z

Yes, at long, long last I have my new spectacles! I can now see properly, read without strain, actually see what is on the computer, and my headaches have gone!

What more could I ask?

What's more, the snowdrops in the Park are really lovely....

The geese are friendly (and looking for food).....

The buds on the willow are beginning to swell......

And the crocuses are coming out in the Park.

Altogether a great feeling Spring is coming!

ONE

2011-02-05T15:30:00.004Z

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is "One".

I immediately thought of "Green Grow the rushes, Oh!" but I couldn't lay my hands on any Lily-white boys so decided to post these two bird studies.

Its hard enough to get close to a heron, let alone a heron trying to balance on the park railings! its not the world's best photo, but I was anxious to get something before he took fright and flew away.

Now I know the gull is sitting on a figure 6, but he is only one gull! He was on a marker buoy on Lake Windermere in the Lake District.

Only a short blog again - new glasses still not made an appearance! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for sometime this coming week.

CURVES

2011-01-29T09:03:00.005Z

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is CURVES.

So here are a couple of cheerful curvy pictures, both, oddly enough, taken at Garden Centres, though not the same one!

Terracotta always looks good, doesn't it?

BRIGHT BLUE !

2011-01-22T10:24:00.005Z

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is BLUE.

I have lots of photographs with a background of blue sky, but thought something blue itself would be better. This is actually the door to the work place of the Park staff - bolted and barred for the weekend. With a lot of expensive machinery in there, it makes sense.

The second photograph is of a Grape Hyacinth (Muscari). I have loads of them in a low brick wall, and they cheer me up every year with the very clear blue of their tiny flowers. They are not out yet, but I can imagine them with this photo and hope it won't be too long before they arrive!

SPRING-LIKE DAYS

2011-01-18T11:14:00.004Z

We've had a couple of days when it has seemed really Spring-like and its been a pleasure to go out in the park. So just to let you all know I am still here, still waiting for my new glasses, but otherwise fine, I've posted a view of the lake, with our visiting Canada Geese

and one I took as I was so glad to see these crocuses and daffodils coming up. Considering that this bit of ground has been walked over, and even sledged over all winter, I am delighted to see that you can't keep a good bulb down!

You might have to peer closely to see the green shoots - they are there but I couldn't get any closer!

WET, WETTER, WETTEST !

2011-01-08T11:06:00.006Z

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is WET.

Well, we have had plenty of that this winter, so I have managed to restrict myself to three photographs! The one above is water drops after rain. I love the way the drops just hang on the leaf. If you get close enough, and the light is right, you can see reflections in the drops. There is a whole world in there!

The next is a little jetty that sticks out into the lake in our Park. Lots of people and children come here to feed the ducks. But it can get very wet!

And the last is our tiny stream after a heavy rainstorm, when it does its best to imitate Niagara Falls down the stepped culvert to the Lake. The sound of running water is just lovely. There is a seat nearby and if you can find a dry bit you can sit and listen to it. Sheer pleasure!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

2011-01-02T13:36:00.002Z

A Happy New Year to all my readers! Still can't see very much, and I am suffering from eyestrain through trying to read too much, but I must get my blogging fingers to work or it will be February before we know where we are!

Come to think of it, a glimpse of Spring would be great! I had some crocus bulbs just showing little white tips before the Great Ice Age descended. Now they look a bit brown and unhappy, but I am hoping they will make it through. Crcuses are tough little things!

So wherever you are, and whatever the weather, I wish you every blessing for 2011.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS! - and my best photos

2010-12-23T09:41:00.004Z

Carmi's Challenge over the Chriastmas period is "My best Photographs".

My best one has got to be the cosmos I photographed in my sister's garden in Surrey back in the Spring. She is a clever gardener, and grew these from seed, but they looked absolutely beautiful, and were a great attraction for bees and other insects. It also reminds me of a lovely holiday I had with them, and I feel warmer just thinking about it!

These crab apples are in the park, and looked so lovely against the blue sky.

The Horse Chestnuts, or conkers I found in the park, and brought back. I love the dark shiny skins, so smooth to feel in your pocket! When I was a child I used to make little chairs with pins stuck in for legs, and wool woven round pins for the back.

Ah, happoy days!

Have a really good Christmas, all of you!

EYES

2010-12-15T16:58:00.002Z

Eyes are tremendously important, and we can't really afford to play around with them! Unfortunately, mine are still giving trouble, and I am having to bathe them tenderly with various eye drops three times a day.

All will eventually settle down, and then I will have lovely new eyes and can get some lovely new spectacles! I will still need them, as my eyes don't work together very well, and I tend to see double wikthout them. And as my new lenses which the surgeon put in are set for distance, I will still need spectacles for reading, and anything nearer than distance.

In the meantime, I can see very nicely in the distance, but when tired tend to see two of everything. I can't read very well, which is driving me insane, but now have bought a cheap pair of reading glasses, which just magnify really, and they help a lot. But they don't make my eyes work together, so when I'm tired I really can't do much at all!!

Thought I'd just give you an update, in case you thought I'd gone off to a desert island, or something!

FAMILY

2010-12-10T16:16:00.004Z

Carmi's challenge this week is FAMILY.

My family - my sister and brother-in-law, daughter and son-in-law, two grandsons and one great granddaughter, plus assorted nieces,(two generations) nephews(great) all mean a great deal to me. Plus my husband, of course!

But I am not sure they would like me to display their faces here. So instead I have interpreted "Family" a different way.

Both were taken in the Park, but in different years. The Canada Goose raised the goslings to maturity, despite the intentions of crows and herons, and the young moorhens seem a tough little lot, and the parents have a couple of broods a year. And yes, there are an awful lot of moorhens by the winter!

SNOW WEATHER FOR DUCKS!

2010-12-05T09:29:00.006Z

Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun! But just to prove I am still around, trudging through the white stuff with the dog, alive and well, though still battling with old glasses and new eyes, I am posting pics of the park in the snow. (Well, that's the only place I've been!)

But thank God for digital photography!

They all look a bit black and white - but that's the way it is! It wasn't a very nice day, so they are not as sparkly as I would like. Maybe tomorrow!

.

COLD WEATHER FOR DUCKS!

2010-11-28T16:08:00.005Z

We haven't, thank goodness, had all the snow here that the eastern half of the British Isles has had. But it is still bitterly cold, everything is frozen solid, and although there is a lot of sun (or there was today!) it is not strong enough to make anything feel warmer.

Late afternoon in the Park looks rather chilly, I thought.

The ducks and gulls on the lake have only a fairly small area which is not frozen. This is where the deepest part of the lake is, and usually, however, cold the winter gets, a bit remains unfrozen.

There seems to be an unusually large number of ducks here, plus the wintering gulls, but the Canada Geese have gone elsewhere. The ducks know that they will be fed with an enormous amount of bread as all the small children come here to feed them. Their little red legs looked so cold on the snow!

It is very early for winter to start here, and I for one am feeling I am too old for all this!!

I know my friends in the US have it much colder, but we are supposed to be a maritime climate, and -9C is not nice. That's 16.2F (I think - maths is not my strong point!)

SEPIA

2010-11-27T09:09:00.005Z

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is SEPIA. I don't like to let him go unchallenged, so here are my two efforts.

I always associate sepia with old photos. I used to print photos in sepia, as did my Father, using daylight paper. Anyone remember that?!

So I have included one of me and my sister, taken in about 1942, and done in sepia. I'm the big bossy one! I loved that tree, which we called the Swing-y Tree. It was quite a walk for small legs, but we thought nothing of it then!

Ah, happy days!

A SHORT POST

2010-11-21T09:11:00.003Z

I am sure you are tired of looking at boring pictures of the Park, and I am sure tired of taking them!

So I am posting a photo of some strange fungus on the beech tree they cut off 20ft high! There was always a cleft there, in fact, one year a mallard duck nested there! I think this is bracket fungus, but its too high up for me to see properly. This photo was taken with my zoom lens from a bit of a rise in the path, so I was more level with the fungus, but further away! (You have got that, haven't you!)

Still can't see much, and no appointment so far from the Hospital for a follow-up. Can't do anything about new glasses until that happens.

Until then I have to make so with short bursts!

BLACK AND WHITE

2010-11-12T14:39:00.005Z

I can't look at the screen for too long, but when I saw Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week was Black and White, I had to have a go, as it is one of my favourite photograhic methods. I dug around in my files (it being too cold to go outside for the moment) and came up with these:

Soapsuds under a running tap

Tulip leaves after the rain

The growing tip of a young Monkey Puzzle tree.

I get cross-eyed trying to do too much on the computer, but I manage to keep reading most your blogs, even if I can't say so!

Its going to drive me nuts not being able to read properly for at least a 6 weeks, maybe even 2 months! A prayer for patience would be appreciated!

ELECTRICITY (and other things)

2010-11-08T15:16:00.003Z

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is "Electricity. I couldn't think of anything more imaginative than this one of a pylon! Nearly fell over backwards taking it one of the sunny days we had this summer!

But I thought I would post another picture of the fir trees on the pitch and putt course in the Park. They are beautiful at the moment, a real orange, and looked so lovely in the early sun one morning.

Alas, nearly all the needles have come off in the wind and rain we had last night and today. Larches are the only deciduous conifer (native to the UK) here, and I love them at all seasons. The first bright green tufts in the Spring, the lovely dark green against a summer sky, and the orange of the autumn.

This might be the last blog for a while as I have eye surgery tomorrow. Its a simple cataract operation, but it does mean that I can't see with my spectacles and I can't see without them!

Hopefully all will be perfect once I can get my new spectacles, but I do crave for a bit of reading ability once my eye has settled down. I can't do without books! I will ha ve to go and investigate the audio book section in the Library!

TREACLE MARKET

2010-11-01T10:22:00.006Z

Macclesfield always used to have flourishing markets, both in the Market Place (where else?) and one down the bottom of the hill, which at one time was a Cattle market. That is, until the Council, in its wisdom moved the market to a rather windswept and off centre car park. Which meant the market wasn't nearly as good.

However, a few months ago, some lively-minded citizens organised a Sunday Market, which they called Treacle Market, as Macclesfield was at one time nick-named "Treacle Town" (don't ask). This market has flourished and on Sunday was packed with everyone enjoying themselves.

We started at the bottom of the hill, in Waters Green, where it was all food, and a flower stall. There was a lovely Greek stall, with home-made hummous, olives, pasta, and other yummy Greek specialities. There were lots of other stalls selling honey, chutneys, all sorts of bread, and other foody things.

I admired the flower stall, and bought a deep red cyclamen. This meant I had to climb up the steep hill to the Market Place, where the flea market and non-food items were, carrying a pot plant, some hummous and a packet of that rice-shaped Greek pasta!

There were some very strange things for sale up there!

And a rather gorgeous mirror, though you would need a Baronial Hall to accommodate it!

There was also a stall with the artist and her work for sale, as etchings and silk-screen printed pictures. I fell in love with one, but it is for my birthday this week, so I can't show it to you, as it has mysteriously disappeared!

There were one or two people who had just turned up in the hopes of selling something. I don't know if this fellow sold any of his old radios!

It was a very successful Sunday morning, and most enjoyable. I am looking forward to the next one, which should be a very Christmassy one!

YELLOW

2010-10-30T09:44:00.003+01:00

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is Yellow. Above is the locked gate to the children's playground whilst it was being renovated this summer. Caused many a tear until it opened again!

And this is the stunning colour of the Witch Hazel bush the other side of the Park, photographed this week. I hope the leaves stay on for a bit, as it really is lovely.
There is a lot of yellow and orange on the trees at the moment, but nothing quite as yellow as the Witch Hazel!

An Autumnal blog

2010-10-27T15:26:00.008+01:00

Although we take the dog out every morning at roughly the same time, it is now 'early morning' as far as the sun is concerned! In order for the first rays to reach us, they have to struggle through a big sycamore tree. One very frostly morning, I loved the way the rays struck the leaves and berries on our Rowan tree.

The Park was really frostly, so much so it looked like snow! But it was a beautiful bright morning so nobody minded! Even so, I thought I had it to myself for quite a time until I met another dog walker. (They are the only people in the park at this hour!)

The frost gave a kick-start to the trees, and they have begun to turn colour. The top left is some sort of Hazel, I am convinced it is a Witch hazel, as in the spring it has little stringy flowers in pale yellow. A big beech has turned a bright orange, and a maple of some sort is yellow. the fir trees at the start of the Pitch and Putt Golf course are just beginning to turn yellow. Later they will go bright orange, and I really love them then, just before they drop all their needles. There is also a sort of inedible crab applie tree - the apples look lovely gainst the sky. They don't seem to be eaten by the birds until right at the end of the winter when presumably they get a lot softer!

The frost has gone now, and it is fairly mild again, but no doubt it will get colder. Trouble is, the mild weather brings rain. I prefer it cold, but bright. I can't do brisk walks now, but I get along OK, and always like to go back to a lovely warm house!

Savor/Things I enjoy

2010-10-24T11:32:00.004+01:00

Carmi's Thematic challenge this week is "Savor". I have interpreted that as "Things I Enjoy with my Five senses".

I love looking and listening to, moving water. Any sort of waterfall, or like the above, the wake of a ship. This was on our cruise, and the patterns the wake made in the rough water were endlessly fascinating.

I also like cooking, and eating! This is a plum tart I made, which was vaguely successful - the plums could have been a bit tastier! I don't do as much cooking as I used to, so I have made a resolution to try something new every week!

Sunday Outing

2010-10-19T10:04:00.006+01:00

It was a beautiful day on Sunday, so we headed out towards the Staffordshire Moorlands. These are really the tail end of the Peak District, which is mostly in Derbyshire, but the Staffordshire Moorlands are, surprise, surprise,in Staffordshire! It is slightly gentler country than the southern Peaks, and entirely different from the harsh, Dark Peak of the northern parts. The Roaches are a well-known wall of rocks, a favourite place for climbers and rough walkers. You can see them in the top left of the collage. The top right picture is the view from the road across to moors. The white blob on the skyline is actually the telescope at Jodrell Bank.

We wanted to go to an Antique Fair at Meereworth first. There were some lovely things there. I bought a couple of necklaces, and then persuaded Mr.G to buy me this gorgeous glass bowl for my birthday next month. The Dealer said it was Mdina glass; it is very heavy, thick and with wonderful coloured swirls in the glass. It is five inches across and three and a half inches tall. I love it!

After the Fair we went on to Tittesworth Reservoir, which is owned by Severn Trent Water, and they welcome the public there, although not IN the water! There are some beautiful walks round the lake, and I was so pleased with myself as we managed to get to my favourite place where the stream leaves the lake through the trees. We had lunch there, in the Visitor Centre, or rather outside, in the sun, where our dog could sit with us.

There were some very interesting things around. One was a giant sofa, made of wood, commpletely realistic. You can see Mr.G and Max, the dog, plus a little girl who came over, sitting on it! There was also a little house with no sides (?a Gazebo) where you could sit and admire the view, and down by the wooded places, where the ground was rougher, there were some fabulous seed heads of some sort of umbellifer plant.

It was altogether a lovely day out, and really did me good! I am determined to get us out more, especially as there probably won't be so many lovely days now winter is coming!

Getting Colder - Thematic Photograph

2010-10-16T09:39:00.003+01:00

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week was "Getting Colder".

I thought about frost, ice etc. and then winter woollies, scarves, and gloves. And all that stuff has to be made, or knitted.

Here, as colourful as I can make it, is the yarn to do all this! Winter is coming (in the northern hemisphere, anyway) so get knitting!

Autumn Trees

2010-10-14T11:13:00.003+01:00

Walking in the Park this morning it struck me how many trees are dropping their leaves. In places, the ground is covered. We have a lot of Whitebeams in the park, and in the Spring they were a magnificent sight, covered in blossom, as I have never seen before. Now they are dripping with orange berries, and from afar, they merge like an orange haze.

But their leaves are dropping. Not turniong colour, just shrivelling up and dropping.

The same is true of the sycamores, and the birches. And the Horse Chestnuts look in a very bad way. They have turned a glorious orange, but in patches. Parts of the tree are still greenish. I have never seen anything like it before. I do hope it is not the blight which is affecting Horse Chestnuts in England, as if it is, the Council will have them down - for Health and Safety reasons, of course!

Many of the trees are still sturdily green, like the Oaks, but they always turn colour later. It seems to be the smaller trees, and the ornamental trees that are suffering.

I do wonder what our odd seasons have done to them to make them react in this way. Have we any people here with Arboricultural knowledge, who can let me know?

Branches - thematic Challenge

2010-10-12T09:53:00.002+01:00

Some of you might remember The Crows - but the branches are nice. Carmi's thematic Challenge this week is "Branches".

The second photo is a version of our Honeysuckle bush as it twines up an arch. Lovely in the summer, but a bit dead-looking now!

Chestnuts - Horse and Sweet

2010-10-11T10:52:00.003+01:00

I would really hate anyone to be poisoned by confusing chestnuts beause of my photo! In the UK, the above are called Horse Chestnuts, I don't know what they are called in the US and Canada, but they are poisonous!

The Sweet Chestnut is what you can eat. The spikes go brown when the nut is mature, and then you can go a-roasting!

The cases are very different, there being lots of spikes, like a hedgehog, and prickly!

Both these photos were taken from web sites, and are probably copyright.

Conkers

2010-10-08T15:16:00.002+01:00

I'm just a kid when it comes to conkers! I don't want to fight with them - heaven forbid!! I just love the smoothness, the shiny brownness, the way they peep from their cases - everything about them!

So I tried to look as though I wasn't actually collecting conkers in the park this afternoon, (it didn't seem the sort of thing very elderly dog-walkers should be doing!)and picked a few up as I came home. There were loads scattered all over the ground. When I was a child they would have disappeared as fast as small boys could stuff them in their pockets!

And then I enjoyed myself taking photographs of their gorgeous brown shininess.

And now I'm sharing them with you, in case there are other conker-lovers around!

Parallels

2010-10-02T08:53:00.003+01:00

The sun beds were all ready to be used on our cruise ship, but the weather did not induce many people to indulge!

Though I did spend an hour, in the sun, out of the wind, with a book trying to disguise my disappointment at not being able to land at Guernsey!

Thanks to Carmi for getting me to think geometric!

And I've found some more!

Autum is approaching fast!

2010-09-30T14:06:00.004+01:00

It dawned on me when I went out this morning, that autumn is approaching fast! We don't seem to have had much summer this year, but maybe we will get a nice long Indian summer and no early cold spells like we did last year!

I went round our garden with a camera, looking for some hidden colour. Unfortunately, Blogger can't seem to load up the photos I want, coming up with some real rubbish, so I have made a couple of collages. They should enlarge if you click on them.

The cosmos I sowed from seed, rather late, have done well, and a big pot by the back door is still blooming merrily. They are a rather lovely pale pink colour, but its hard to see from the photo. There are also two astrantias, one white, planted this year and a deep pinky one. The sedum is really bright now, but there is sadly a great dearth of butterflies. One year we had 25 tortoiseshell butterflies on one clump, but this year - nothing.

There are a few late roses on the climbing roses, and the photinia bush looks gorgeous with its deep red leaves. Number two Rowan tree has produced a couple of huge bunches of berries, which the birds can't get at as the berries are hanging right at the end of rather bendy twigs!

I have now more or less recovered from the disappointment of our cruise, although I still enjoyed the actual cruise very much. Its lovely to have everything done for you for a change! I would love to go on another cruise holiday, maybe to Norway, but I am going to have to polish up my powers of persuasion on Mr G first!

STILL LIFE

2010-09-28T16:35:00.004+01:00

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is "Still Life". This jumble of brooches, necklaces and bits and bobs was taken when I was having a sort out so that what I never wore could be given to our Church Bazaar.

Since when it has been augmented with lots of lovely necklaces I can't resist buying!!

HOLIDAY CRUISE - Last part

2010-09-24T16:10:00.004+01:00

And so we sailed south. In a brisk wind. And when we got to Guernsey, although some passengers managed to get onto the tenders, as we were anchored a little way off, we, of course, didn't! Mind you, when I heard that at the Guernsey end there were 35 open-tread steps with NO HANDRAIL I was very glad I hadn't gone!

For the sake of my long-suffering readers, if any of you have managed to stay with me, I have made collages of the views of the Islands we didn't get to, plus a couple more of windy husband and (strange) woman, and the St. Mary's Pilot boat from the Scilly Isles.

However, we did land at Cobh, in the Republic of Ireland. This was a lovely little town, and although most passengers took the (very expensive) coach tours to Cork and beyond (including the Blarney Stone!) we decided to stay in Cobh. We wandered along the waterfront, took photos, had something to eat (a HUGE sandwich, side salad and cups of tea) took more photos and then went to the Heritage Centre.

Cobh seems to be built on the side of a vertical cliff, and as all the houses are painted different colours, it looked very pretty. The big transatlantic liners used to call here, and it was the last port of call for the Titanic on its fateful voyage. It was also the port of embarkation for the Irish emigrants to the USA and Australia. The Heritage Centre had a wonderful sound and vision display of the horrors of some of the ships crossing the Atlantic in the early days.

We had several euros to get rid of, so we went into the Heritage Centre Shop. Most things there were either related to the Titanic, or covered in shamrocks! But I did get a Titanic mousemat for my computer, plus new oven gloves with shamrocks on!

The next day we arrived in Liverpool, to a typical rainy day, and so ended our first taste of cruising. Rather disappointing in that we only landed three times out of a promised 7, and one of those was a substitution (though a very fine one - Bruges) There was a near mutiny on board at all the changes and difficulties and I rather think there were some angry letters written to the Cruise Company.

But despite that, I enjoyed my first taste of crusing - I liked being on board ship, sailing the seas, and not having to cook, clean or wash up!!

HOLIDAY CRUISE: Part 2

2010-09-21T10:15:00.008+01:00

We left Invergordon in the late afternoon, and set out into the North Sea, heading to Honfleur, in France. It was another very uncomfortable night - the fact that the wind had moderated from Force 9 to Force 8 didn't seem to make a lot of difference!

By morning it was obvious we would not make Honfleur by even midday. So the backroom staff worked miracles and got us a berth at Zeebrugge in Belgium.

Zeebrugge docks were vast, a container port as well as a Ferry port, and a place for docking cruise liners. We were glad we had booked a tour coach to take us to Bruges, and not tried to do things ourselves.

Anne-Marie, our tour guide, was very keen to fill us in on the political problems of Belgium, and the tension betwen the Flemish speaking North and French speaking south. Bruges is in the Flemish part.

The coach parked just out of town, and Ann-Marie set off at a more than brisk pace through a pretty park to take us into town, where she would meet us much later on for the return journey.

Unfortunately, those of us with mobility problems were left behind, and at a junction between two paths had to send an able-bodied runner to find the right way! We finally caught up in the square above.

We set off into town on our own, but being peckish, hot and very thirsty, we stopped in the first cafe to have a vacant table. That is Mr G studying the menu. We both had really excellent omlettes and some good Belgian beer.

Much refreshed we set off again. Bruges is a very pretty town, with towers, spires and interesting skylines.

There are lots of canals winding their way through the town. We would have liked to take a trip on a boat, but the queues were so long it seemed pointless. It being a really fine day, lovely sunshine and blue sky, the tourists were out in force!

There were lovely little things to see, like this attic window.

The shops were most interesting. This one is a window full of Belgian tapestry cushions

And this one is one of the many chocolate shops. Belgian chocolate is famous, and there were dozens of shops selling all sorts of chocolatey goodies. It was mouth-watering, but we didn't think we would get any home in a decent state. They would have either melted or got squashed!

Then it was back to Zeebrugge, and time to sail off southward. I was looking forward to seeing Guernsey and the Scilly Isles (another of my "must-see" visits. The weather had moderated considerably, and I could walk around the ship without banging into walls, tables, chairs, etc.!

Sailing southwards seemed like a good idea...........

.

Figures and letters

2010-09-18T08:59:00.004+01:00

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is "figures and Letters".

This old postbox, dates from Victoria's reign, and the VR symbol can still be seen. Eire didn't become a Republic until 1937, after bitter wars between the UK and Irish Republicanists.

It would initially have been red, as were all UK postboxes, but I am sure it was joyfully painted this lovely green as soon as Eire came into being.

The photo was taken in Cobh, in County Cork, on one of the places we actually landed on our cruise. It is a lovely little town, built into the side of a cliff (or so it seemed!), very hilly, but quite beautiful, as all the houses are painted different, soft, colours.

.

HOLIDAY: part 2

2010-09-16T14:47:00.005+01:00

We failed to dock at Kirkwall, in Orkney, to my bitter disappoointment, and that of the friends we were meeting. So we battled on through a force 9 gale and very rough seas round the top of Scotland and down to Invergordon, in the Cromarty Firth. We stayed here overnight, which did at least give everyone a nice peaceful sleep!

Invergordon is not the most prepossessing town Scotland can offer! It is all to do with Oil. Oil tanks,Oil rigs, and all the engineering that goes with them.

So we got on a local bus and went to Inverness. It is rather a grey town, being mainly built of granite (I think) but it does its best to look cheerful with loads of flowers everywhere. The River Ness goes right through the middle.

And there are pleasant riverside buildings, with interesting skylines.

We found a nice warm shopping mall (the wind outside was still blowing a gale, and very cold as well)

And at one end of the mall was the original Victorian Market, which had been refurbished and had lots of little shops inside.

Having found our way back to the bus station, and had a bite to eat in the cafe there we got on the bus back to Invergordon. Incidentally, I can recommend the cafe in the Bus Station - I had the best sausage roll I have ever eaten there, and also bought a packet of very interesting crunchy biscuits.

Back in Invergordon, we had to walk along the very windswept pier to get to the Ship. We were very glad to be in the warm, and looking forward to dinner, and crusing on to Honfleur.

Little did we know........

.

Well, that was a funny old holiday.........

2010-09-14T10:49:00.002+01:00

We left Liverpool OK, and went up to Oban, but two of the four launches on the ship were out of action, and the queues to get on land too much for me. So we didn't get to Oban, in Scotland.

We then found ourselves in the teeth of a Force 9 gale (and a very uncomfortable, miserable night) and were unable to land at Kirkwall in Orkney.

We couldn't get to Honfleur (France), and went to Zeebrugge (Belgium) instead. But it did mean we could have a trip to Bruges. More of that another time!

We couldn't land at Guernsey, too much swell to get the launch alongside........

We couldn't land at the Scilly Isles. Too much swell etc. etc........

We did get to Cobh, near Cork, in southern Ireland) and found lovely little town. More later!

All in all, three landings instead of seven, and my favourites missed entirely, and high winds and rough seas.

Funny old holiday!

The pic was taken through our cabin window. Those are VERY high waves!!

Flowers

2010-08-28T10:11:00.004+01:00

Carmi's Photographic Challenge this week is Flowers. I am very pleased about that, as I was struggling to find some new photos for a blog!

Both were taken in my garden, the white Shasta Daisies have finished now, but I took the Love-in-a-mist this morning, after a rain shower. Lucky I did, as the shower came back and turned into a downpour!

I haven't had a lot of time for blogging this week, though I've been reading all yours! We are going on holiday a week today - a cruise around the British Isles, so its been a question of "What are we going to wear?" and "What is the weather going to be like?", and more importantly, "What are we supposed to wear on formal nights on the cruise???"

Neither Mr. G nor me are great ones for formal "do's" but I have a pair of trusty black trousers in a sort of vaguely slinky material, that hang well, and I've got a variety of tops that I can float around in. Its Mr.G that is causing a problem as he just doesn't possess a suit (told you we were casual, did I?). But my sister, who is a great "Cruiser" says so long as he looks respectable and wears a tie, all will be well.

Well, we can only hope so!

I'm really looking forward to this cruise, and have bored my family rigid by talking about it for the past 6 months! But it is our Golden Wedding Anniversary in November, so this is our celebration!

I'll bring back lots of photos!

A Green Lake

2010-08-19T14:35:00.004+01:00

For some reason, the lake in the park has become almost entirely covered with duckweed. It started at the far end, and stayed there for several weeks, but then woomph! it was nearly all over! Looking at the lake now is very much a study in green!

However, I was delighted to see the heron is back! We hadn't seen him for ages, but he was there this morning, when it was quiet. How he managed to see a fish under all that week I don't know, but he did, because I saw him catch one!

The ducks don't seem to mind the weed, and just swim through it. It does make interesting patterns, though. This was taken very much against the light, so its not one of my best!

Blue

2010-08-13T16:43:00.003+01:00

Carmi's Challenge this week is BLUE.

I chose this picture I took last Spring of Grape Hycacinths (muscari) as they are one of my favourite flowers. The blue really sings and they cheer up the days of Spring that are a bit wet and dark! I have them in a small bed in a very small wall along the edge of my patio, and they have spread right along. I have planted some in other parts of the garden, but they never do so well as they do in the wall. In fact, some just turned up their toes and died!

I know they make a bit of a mess when they have finished, but by that time the daffodils are out and Spring has got going a bit more!

And if you are thinking I ought to get out more and tell you something interesting, well, I struggled into town a couple of days ago, trying desperately to find some trousers that actually fitted, and after I had got undressed, tried some on, got dressed again, found more, got undressed, tried them on......... well, you get the picture!

Shopping online is a Good Thing.

And yes, I did finally find some trousers!

Thematic Challenge - Orange

2010-08-09T13:54:00.002+01:00

OK, here is my contribution to Carmi's Thematic Challenge which this week is Orange.

Terracotta is orange, isn't it?

A sort of blog!

2010-08-09T09:20:00.002+01:00

I expect you are all tired of looking at shadowy things! I am still around, but have not had much time to write a blot - partly because I haven't done anything!

But here are two "artistic" pics I have made from my photos!

Love to all my blogger friends!

Shadowy

2010-07-31T15:37:00.005+01:00

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is "Shadowy", so I've posted this photo which was taken in the winter, early in the morning, when the trees were casting their shadows over the frozen lake.

If you look closely you can see a couple of moorhens legging it across the lake!

For quite different shadows, I liked the patterns made by the old sawing machine, powered by the watermill at Dunham Massey, near Manchester. It was very dark in the old Saw Mill, very noisy, and there wasn't much room to move around!

Garden Flowers

2010-07-28T13:55:00.008+01:00

The roses in our garden have been splendid this year. That is, until the rains came! This pink one is a particular favourite of mine.

The lilies have finished now, but were lovely while they lasted. I am amazed the still flower as they have been in the same pot for several years. I tried to repot them, but couldn't get them out, and didn't want to break the pot!

The gaillardias are in a pot on the patio. They will have to go in the garden next year, if they survive this year, as they have been there a couple of years now. They are really beautiful, and attract bees and various other insects.

I love big white daisies. These are the shaggy sort, very tall, and the wind has now blown them over the twine holding them to some bamboo canes. I also bought a different sort of Shasta daisy. I didn't think they would get very showy this year, but they have exceeded my expectations!

Now all we need is a return to summer weather, and I can get out there and tidy things up!

.

Close Up

2010-07-24T09:02:00.006+01:00

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is "Close Up." If you can guess what this is - well done!

In case you can't, here is a photo of the real thing! It was one of those "Tower Block" puzzles (before it was all taken down!) I loved the pattern of the wood grain, and took several photos of it, the Black and White one being my favourite.

I love taking photos of things that are quirky, or make patterns, or interesting colour. So as this would be a boring blog with just the wood blocks....

I have put a couple of other things in too!

I have been busy this last two weeks or so with some work at home with a rather close deadline, but hope to get out a bit more soon, and take some photos and generally get a life!

.

Summer

2010-07-17T09:21:00.002+01:00

Carmi's Challenge this week is "Summer". Summer to me means roses - any roses, although cream roses are my favourite.

This photo was taken at Loseley Hall gardens in Surrey. They grow right over a beautiful gazebo in the Rose Garden, and actually have a gorgeous scent! So many roses these days seem devoid of scent - and what is lovelier than burying your nose in a rose and breathing in the scent of summer?

A great Sunday walk

2010-07-12T14:47:00.009+01:00

It was a beautiful afternoon on Sunday, sunny, with a pleasant breeze, so we took the dog and went off for a walk in the Teggs Nose Country Park near us. I persuaded Mr.G that we could attempt the very hilly bit, which I hadn't done for at least 6 years due to walking difficulties, but I was determined to have a go! The path is very steep to start with, though it looks flatter in the photo.

There were a few late foxgloves around, otherwise mostly bramble flowers, which the butterflies and other insects loved. Unfortunately they wouldn't stay still long enough for us to identify!

At the top (well, halfway up!) it levels out a bit and there is a splendid hornbeam tree there, which I have always loved, the trunk is so grooved and the branches look very climable!

We turned left and to prove I did it, I am sitting on a fallen tree that has been there as long as I can remember - (at least 16 years)

and is decaying in an interesting manner!

Along the way are little glades, where it opens out a bit. That is Mr.G trying to identify butterflies!

Teggs Nose Country Park is basically the remains of an old quarry, and there are lots of walks up and round it. The spoil heap is right above where we were walking. Quite safe though, plenty of vegetation around! I wasn't going to attempt the path up to there!

We joined the path at the side of the park, and there are some lovely views from there.

On a very clear day you can see the Welsh hills from here, but it wasn't quite clear enough for that!

The steps down are VERY steep. Why is it that when you take photos it sort of flattens everything? That black object halfway down is our dog!

All told, it was a lovely walk. Down the bottom are two big reservoirs, and I was shaken to see just how low they are. I've seen pictures in the local paper, but it isn't quite the same as seeing that the water now just looks like a little puddle in the middle. No wonder we have a hosepipe ban!

.

Family

2010-07-09T15:44:00.001+01:00

Carmi's Challenge this week is "Family". You can find him at http://writteninc.blogspot.com/search/label/Thematic%20Photographic. No matter how hard I try I can't get the link to appear in my post. In the preview, yes, in the post, no! Never had this trouble before!

The photograph I have chosen is not one of mine. In fact, that is me, aged about 3, watching my Grandfather making a rabbit out of a (clean) handkerchief! It was taken by my father, who was a very fine amateur photographer, and who won several prizes and competitions.

I never knew this Grandfather very well. He was born in 1868 and was a man who managed quite well without company or socialising, and who had strong likes and dislikes. He was in service, as a valet, to one of the King's Equerries, and travelled all over the world with the Royal family. I'm sure he could have told us a lot about his travels, but I at least, never liked to ask!

Carmi's challenge made me think a lot about our family. There is so much I wished I had asked my own mother and father about their family history. And now I am the senior family member my daughter urges me to write all my memories down! I have started, but there is so much - once I think of one thing, then it leads to another, and another and another, and the memories become random and unreadable!

But I am trying. I don't know if my grandsons and their families will be interested, but it will soon be ancient history!

Dotty

2010-07-04T09:05:00.003+01:00

Carmi's thematic Challenge" this week is "Dotty". I liked the way the steam from my bolognese sauce made these dots on the saucepan lid!

It was good sauce, too!

.

Surrey Visit Part 2

2010-06-29T11:13:00.008+01:00

My sister is a very keen gardener, and her garden is simply beautiful. She and her husband have made a special part of the garden into a haven for wildlife, especially bees and butterflies. The cosmos and lavender were buzzing while I was there. I think my favourite was the white cosmos. As well as a very beautiful creamy yellow rose in the front garden.

We did the "villagey" thing on Saturday and went to a flower show and various stalls in aid of charity. Some of the flower arrangements were beautiful, and inventive. The cake stalls I had to pass by very reluctantly, as there was no way I could have packed them up to take home on the train!

On Sunday we went to one of the Gardens open for charity under the National Gardens Scheme. Chinthurst Lodge, near Guildford was an old house, with a very large garden, which had been planted with love and a great deal of thought.

As we went in, we were faced with a big lawn, and a lovely pond, with irises, and other plants waiting to come out. (That's my brother-in-law doing some photography!)

Down the pathway, and we came to a gravel garden, with hostas and grasses, and a lovely arbour with a seat. I would liked to have sat there, but someone else got there first! You can't see the arbour, but you can see a fascinating water feature, which was a big brown bowl, with water gently bubbling up.

A closes look at the water feature. The water slid off the edge so smoothly it looked like jelly! (The UK sort!)

I loved the way the owner and gardener had grouped different types of the same plants together. These Heucheras looked good like that.

And the blue of the delphiniums was quite startling! (I think these may have been in the bit of the garden for growing flowers for cutting)

The vegetable garden was guarded by a very friendly-looking scarecrow who had a little mouse running up his gown.

Coming round the herbaceous borders back to the lawn again we met some interesting wood sculpture!

On the big lawn where we came was a bronze sculpture of hares boxing. I liked them a lot!

A decorated well (which was firmly covered with wire netting, as there was water down there!) led to the tea garden - a welcome sign!

The teas, plus the biggest slices of gooey cake I have ever seen, were served in the White Garden. It had been laid out in a formal style, with white lavender bordering the edges of traingular beds, and white roses along the fence. I was reliably informed that the rose was called "Rambling Rector"!

By the time I had finished going round this very big garden I was glad of a cup of tea and a sit down. And yes, I did have a big slice of cake!

That really was the end of my visit. I was sad to have to go home, but Mr.G was missing me - or rather, my cooking as I had left him freezer 'ready meals' - so on Monday, I set off for the long train journey home.

.

Surrey Visit part 1

2010-06-22T13:49:00.021+01:00

I had a wonderful few days staying with my sister in Surrey. She is a very keen gardener, and my visit turned out to be very horticultural! Her patio is beautiful, with glowing deep red roses, and big-leaved hostas. Quite as good as any of the gardens we visited! I haven't "tweaked" any of these photos, so you will have to excuse them if they are not quite up to standard!

The first one we went to was Loseley Park. The house is also open, but we confined ourselves to the gardens, as it was a beautiful day. The house was built in the 1560's, and has been in the same family for 500 years. The walled garden was laid out formally in the 16th century, but has had many alterations and remakes since then, including a design by Gertrude Jekyll.

The entrance, even into the courtyard (where the pay desk is!) is quite imposing

The roofs make a very interesting skyline.

The entrance to the gardens is through huge yew hedges, which looked as if they had been shaved, so closely were they cut!

The award-winning Rose garden is famous, and was at its peak when we went. It had a big re-design starting in 1991, and looks magnificent now.

In the centre is a big gazebo, covered with gorgeous cream roses (my favourite!)

I especially liked these pink and red roses

The herb garden was divided in sections: medicinal, culinary, household and decorative. The scent was almost overwhelming in the hot sun!

Two views in the herb garden

There was also a pond, with a fountain

and waterlilies

In the vegetable and cut flower section, the poppies especially were lovely.

There was also "The Canal", a stretch of water that was full of waterlilies, fish, with mayflies and masses of flowers around. It was bordered on the path side by a stone wall, and in that, and by the edge of the canal, and in fact everywhere they could get a foothold were the tiny erigeron karveniensis (?spelling)

At the end of the canal, and the only way back, unless we retraced our footsteps, were these ancient steps. Quite a challenge (for me), but so beautiful!

We finished our morning with lunch in the tearoom. It was too hot to eat anything heavy, so I had this interesting assortment of olives, peppers, hummous and crusty bread. Very good!

We did a lot more over the weekend, but that will have to wait for part 2.

Foliage

2010-06-13T09:49:00.009+01:00

We don't seem to have a great many flowers in our garden at the moment, but we do have some glorious foliage. This is a Golden Elder, which will grow nearly twice as big as it is now, with beautiful arching branches.

Hiding shyly in the border is a lovely dark heuchera. I don't know the name, as it was a seedling from another, long gone, plant.

And this heuchera was rescued as another seedling from the gravel garden (sounds wonderful, but isn't really!) and a threatening hoe wielded by Mr.G. It lives happily in a pot, rather swamped at the moment by some Sweet Cecily, but that will be cut down soon.

I am really pleased with these hostas, as normally the slugs and snails swoop on them and munch them up. I can't use slug pellets as they are next to the pond, and I don't want to kill off any wildlife down there! But this year they are fabulous!

And another hosta in a pot, which I have managed to keep free of the dreaded slugs and snails. It actually lives next to that heuchera in a pot.

Then we have a lovely variegated Eunonymous

And another, different, variegated dwarf eunonymous next to an old apple tree. Well, we have several, which makes a little hedge by the path down the end of the garden. In the background, if you can make it out, is a blue leaved hebe, which does have white flowers later, but the leaves are a nice subtle shade of blue/grey. The white flowers just coming out are a spirea.

Opposite that path is a rather messy border we call our woodland border, and I have some magnificent ferns there. It was a woodland border, when we had two other old apple trees and the privet hedge at theback was over 8ft. tall. But the two trees went, and we cut the hedge down to a couple of feet while we had a better fence put at the back. The hedge is growing fast now, needs a trim to help it thicken up, and we may get our shady woodland border back!

And lastly, I love the new Hazel leaves, big and flat, like plates!

I will be away from Wednesday onwards for just under a week as I am going to stay with my sister in Surrey. Be back later with more photos, of somewhere different, for once!

In the Clouds

2010-06-06T09:15:00.002+01:00

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is "In the Clouds".

This photo was taken at a Monument in Anglesey, which I definitely didn't go up, but the black spots at the top are my husband waving to me!

It felt far too high up for me - very much in the clouds!

Oh yes, there is a statue on the top, but being at the foot of the monument, I couldn't see it!

From the top of our town

2010-05-31T10:14:00.008+01:00

The Market Place in our town is at the highest point. It isn't really a square, more a sort of squashed polygon. On one side is the Parish Church of St. Michael's and all Angels, next door is the Town Hall, the Police Station, then the Library, and the other sides are shops. Much has been altered, the older shops gone, taken over or just flattened when they built the Indoor shopping Mall.

The Parish Church has a rather ornate arch over the steps leading to the churchyard. On the top is a cute angel, holding her skirt up!

I walked around the side of the church, and found these fallen angels! They were neatly arranged by the side, but there was no indication that I could see where they had come from. One seems to be playing a small harp, and the other a trumpet. I thought they were rather sweet, but sad.

You can generally see the hills beyond from any part of the town which opens to the east. Church Street leads from the Market place down a steep hill.

At right angles to this road, down the side of the churchyard, from a road originally called Churchwallgate, steep steps lead down to the bottom of the hill.

In the Library, which used to be a Bank, when Banks were ornate places, I found a bit of the original floor. It was beautifully tessalated (is that the word) with lovely curlicues.......

......in the corners. The library had kept just a square of this gorgeous floor, the rest, presumably damaged, was carpeted and the whole place had been opened out and refurbished.

It was good to think that they had kept this reminder of the older days, when Banks were staffed by people, not computers, and you could go and see the Bank Manager to ask for a loan!!

A walk round my garden now Summer is nearly here!

2010-05-24T11:19:00.012+01:00

This weekend I have been working hard on planting out my pots for summer. I haven't ditched the pansies yet, there is a lot of colour left there, and I love them! I have planted Busy Lizzies, some small chrysanthemums and some geraniums. Hopefully they will all make a summery show soon.

Down the steps from the patio and on the right is a little path to Mr. G's shed, and also

what we call the Gravel Garden. It started out very well, but we are bedevilled by a HUGE laurel bush next door which casts shadow over it all day.. Our elderly neighbour has not been able to do anything, in fact she probably doesn't even know it is there. We think the house might be up for sale, as she is going into a Nursing Home. Maybe the new neighbours will do something!

On the left is the sunny border underneath the patio. My alliums are doing very well this year, and we have Aquilegias all over the place. Some are a pretty red and white, the others the usual purple and white.

Steppping along the path we meet our very big rhododendron, which is just beginning to come into flower. Down the end of the lawn is another rhododendron, this time a coral pink. Further on, through another arch, on which we are trying to grow another honeysuckle, there is the gate into the Park.

From the summerhouse, with the red rhododendron on the right, looking through the arch, which is covered with honeysuckle. That comes out in July.

Lastly, a little blue flower, the name of which I have forgotten, but which comes up regardless of dogs walking across, shade from the Golden Elder and general neglect!

Glassy

2010-05-22T10:35:00.003+01:00

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is "Glassy" so I have made a collage of photos of my favourite glass ball I found on a Scottish beach nearly 50 years ago!

.

Indoor Shopping

2010-05-20T09:54:00.005+01:00

We have a small indoor shopping Mall in town here, and when I have a scooter from Shopmobility, it is a very handy place to shop. The floors are nice and smooth and it is easy to get around. Outside, while it is in the fresh air, and there are lots of bigger shops, the pavements can be treacherous, being the original old York stone slabs, and although there is a pedestrianised area, some the the kerbs can be tricky!

Boots is one of the big names in the Mall - it occurred to me as I was winding my way round the aisles that things have got much brighter all of a sudden. Bright, primary colours for shampoos and lotions - or have I been missing something all this time!

In the Indoor market (one of my favourite haunts) there is great greengocery stall. I love the look of everything piled up together.

There is also a cheese and cold meats, pies and other interesting things to eat. Mr. G, always buys some speciality cheese there every week. I don't know if clicking on the photo and using an enlargement gizmo would enable you to see all the varieties of cheese there are there.

Lastly, a cheesy photo! The cheese at the back left is Edam, the white cheese is Cheshire and the one on the right is Shropshire Blue, which I think is my all-time favourite!

.

Edible

2010-05-13T11:49:00.002+01:00

Carmi's Thematic challenge this week is "Edible"

I love summer fruit, especially nectarines and plums. This photo, taken a couple of summers ago, makes me look forward to the time when fruit like that is really ripe, and dripping with juice!

.

Spring in the Park

2010-05-09T15:21:00.008+01:00

The blossom in the Park is really beautiful at this time of the year. Cherry blossom against the blue sky is one of my favourite Spring icons, the pink-blossomed trees form a tunnel over one of the main paths (some sort of prunus I think, the horse chestnut trees are in bloom, and the bright leaves of the two little maple trees are as colourful as any flowers!

I know Mallards are very ordinary ducks, but the colours on the heads of the drakes are gorgeous when the sun shines.

I managed a longer walk this morning, and this is the view down the lake from what I think of as "the other end".

The Chain-saw sculptor has been busy again. The owl still stands sentinel over the gates......

........ but the kingfisher has been joined by a heron......

......like this.

There is another heron in the childrens' playground, which I think, as herons go, is much better. This one is not at the top of a tree trunk, but stands about 3 or 4 feet high, with four mosaic plates around him.

He is a rather nice heron......

.......and has been provided with some fish to eat!!

The rumour of a frog appearing turned out to be true, though I don't like it much, rather a fat and ugly frog! It was very difficult to take a photo of it as the tree was on a sloping bit of ground, and I was against the sun. He is in the same area as the Kingfisher and big Heron, between the lake and the skateboard park!

I like our Park, and just hope you won't get too fed up with pictures of it. Mr. G and I really must get out more, but it has been rather COLD just lately.......!

.