Come away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o
Flow of spring beside the tracks.
Bend of river’s shingle bank
occupied by Whooper’s elegant lounge.
Hip like curve sinks to moist valley
then rises to a belly mound hill.
Distant lace edged horizon
naked with late winter oaks
abundant in their twisting forms.
Dull copper bracken awaits
a few degrees swell to break green.
Neat fields sprinkled with new lambs
and a dark dusting of crows.
Sanctuary of Devon hedge banks
South West landscape I’m home.
South West landscape I’m home.
I went to Rosemoor on Friday and stopped somewhere new for refreshments along the way. Northcote Manor, built in 1716, is a luxury country hotel nestled in the Taw valley deep in north Devon, with stunning views at the top of a long private lane. It would be a lovely place to stay, they offer pamper weekends and award winning fine dining; I would love to spend a week there just relaxing but sadly it is way out of my reach!
My friend had coffee and I had hot chocolate, expecting a cup or mug I was amazed when a huge jug arrived, enough for four cups all for me, and freshly baked shortbread. Our stop off ending up being an hour and a half, it was so peaceful and the staff really welcoming. Most surprising of all was the price, a mere £7 for all that choccy, my friends cafetiere and biscuits for both of us. Needless to say it will be a regular stop.
I hope you like the photos, I only had a macro lens because I was snapping flowers at Rosemoor, but you get the feel. If you ‘re tempted to check it out http://www.northcotemanor.co.uk/
I hope you think this fits the bill,I’m in rather a rush tonight! I hope you have time to join in at http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/forward/
I’m going away for a few days so many apologies, I won’t get to visit all of you. Be back soon!
shimmering birds your reckless
flight to the high zone to soar
ever closer carefree in your naïveté
you bathe in soothing warmth
until you reach the fry zone
where lustre of feather frazzles to gilt
your wings flap frantic
until they cease to exist
then no thermal can offer a cloud
to uplift or shelter from fiery heat
and like autumn leaves
so golden you fall
Poetics at D’Verse offer the theme of place this week so I’ve chosen a photo I took at Savitri hill in Pushkar, Rajasthan. It’s a place that evokes strong memories for me.
Savitri Hill
Savitri I was beaten
am I Gayatri?
briefly chosen by Brahma
did I displace you?
you sacrificed Yajna
to play games with Laksmi
Parvati and Indrani
you still sit in anger
staring east at your rival
separated by lake
by Pushkar the great
Holy pilgrimage
and the one to defeat me
weak mortal
I spotted my friend next door in her garden taking photos and went to investigate. She had a table full of teapots and gave me the go ahead to photograph them too! Apparently she has been knitting frantically to raise money for http://www.comicrelief.com/ and hopes to sell these to her colleagues at work. She confessed that she has become rather obsessed with making them, and I understand why, aren’t they just little works of art? Some of the patterns come from Australia, but Katie has designed some herself and some of the wool is from Japan. I absolutely love them and hope they make lots of money on Red Nose Day.
Any ideas of the name for a collective of teapot covers? How about a coven of cosies? Further ideas welcome 🙂
As always click on any picture to view the gallery.
Here are two of the most important people in my world!
Do you have a photo to share that means ‘kiss’ to you? Join in at http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/weekly-photo-challenge-kiss/
It’s Thursday again and I’m still lazy! For macro Monday this week I posted a photo that I edited. Among the comments I received, Christine at http://dadirridreaming.wordpress.com/ and Sandra at http://sandraconner.wordpress.com/ both said that the photo made them think of waves foaming on a beach. Thank you lovely friends, your comments inspired todays lazy poem. Here is a slightly bluer version of Monday’s photo.
Waves of Foam
Foaming ocean laps the Jurassic shore
where molten lava once seared and pitted
into burnished pockets of chalk
that glow pale in the shallows
where volcanic flame no longer scorches
earth but in its place frozen fluid
turned to stone in the countless millennia
before mankind’s dawn
then lapis and bronze lay down its mineral
to adorn sweet womankind’s questing hands
and feet that step through warm golden sand
above the azure sky reflects light
from the firmament holding the source
of celestial waters in balance
Lucid Gypsy 