Come away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o
It’s taken me a while to decide what to post for last Wednesday’s photo challenge, I kept hoping I’d have an idea of something that wasn’t predictable. Now I’m fast running out of time and nothing unusual has sprung to mind, so here are my offerings.
These pictures were taken in early February a few years ago, as you know by now, in winter I’m always looking for signs of new growth and spring to arrive. Are you joining the challenge this week?
So it’s January 1st 2018, the darkest month begins, I’m already longing for spring and today I found it, yes hooray for catkins, hazel ones I believe!
Here’s a little winter tip for you from Mrs Beeton, she suggests that,
‘At this time of year sensible females should examine their paper or muslin bags of seeds for mould, maggots and other such undesirables’
In case you’ve begun the year feeling under the weather, in 1968, The National Federation of Women’s institutes shared an Old Channel Island remedy for coughs,
Collect 20 snails from crevices in walls, half a pound moist brown sugar. Leave snails in a bowl to clean themselves. Remove and place live snails in muslin bag with the sugar. Leave to drip overnight. Bottle liquid and use a tablespoon as required.
Do you think it was meant to be swallowed or rubbed in?
I’ve missed a few of my favourite challenges recently, including Paula’s Black and White Sunday, but I can’t resist texture, so I’m squeezing a few minutes to share this photo.
Plants aren’t something I’d usually pick for black and white and a butterfly, never before, but I think it works, do you?
A wounded tree delivers a throne
My Facebook seven day monochrome challenge!
Orcombe Point at Exmouth marks the beginning of the Jurassic Coast, as well as being a part of the South West Coast Path. Start by walking east along the sea front until the road ends, in front of the red cliff. Look left and climb the zigzag path to the top.
There’s a bench or two along the way.
With plenty to see.
And these information circles dotted on the bank as you climb up the hill are an excuse to stop and breathe!
It really isn’t very long before you reach the top.Where for a while the sea is out of view.
We pass a field where orchids are abundant in May.
Then look seawards again.
On a clear day you can see as far as Portland, but not this time. We’ve found these instead!
Who can play hopscotch?
I did it all the way to the needle, this bit’s for Meg.
If you start walking by the lifeboat station on Marine Drive, then up the cliff to the needle, it’s less than a mile and a half. If you keep going you reach Sandy Bay, with it’s caravan park in another mile. So this walk could take less that an hour, if only there weren’t such wonderful distracting views!
This little stroll is for Jo, my first Monday walk for a long time. Happy Monday Jo 🙂
Nature’s brightest pink
poison blossom of autumn
this siren of shrubs
West Bay in Dorset lies somewhere around half way along the Jurassic coast. The coast is a world heritage site, 95 miles long and 185 million years old.
So why am I showing you a picture of cliffs that old for a photo challenge theme of transient?
The cliffs are unstable in several places along the coast, West Bay has signs warning of rock slides just behind where people are enjoying the sun.
Quite a few years ago, David Attenborough, the God of television nature documentaries, compared the age of our planet to the hours and minutes of a day. Apparently humankind arrived in the last minute of that day, and the planet is 4.54 billion years old. So not only are the people on this beach a mere blink of the Earth’s eye, but the crumbling cliffs are somewhat transient as well.
Ashclyst Forest is National Trust land on the Killerton estate a few miles east of Exeter. There are walks from 30 minutes, suitable for buggies, and various lengths up to about four hours.
I hadn’t been there for several years, but have many times in the past so I knew my way around. Just as well, the waymarked trails were totally confusing because paint had faded on posts and some signs pointed in more than one direction.
A wood is a wood perhaps, but we started off this way.
We’re well into spring now, everywhere is fresh and green.
I’m fairly sure these are different varieties of spurge
I’m a big fan of lichen and mosses.
Every so often there are glimpses through the hedge, under the shade of young leaves, to freshly ploughed fields.
At the lowest reaches of the woods, the distant sound of machinery could be heard, one of the culprits appeared eventually.
I’m usually driving some impossibly narrow lane when I see a tractor working, so this was a real treat for me, I even got a wave from what looked like father and young son.
There were wildflowers a plenty.
Even a baby dragon.
For those of you who like a bit of decay, last years beauty hasn’t quite faded away.
And still the views keep coming.
We’ve only walked a couple of miles, but with eyes wide open and camera ready, so it took nearly two hours.
The dogs can remember this as a mud wallow and were a bit put out, but no worries we’d brought plenty of water for them!
Now, the path is beginning to look a bit more civilised, I wonder what’s through the gate.
A fairy tale cottage, painted in regulation Killerton colour, what a lovely place to live.
Another fifteen minutes and our pootling walk was over. There are no facilities in Ashclyst, but Killerton House is a ten minute drive, combined with the woods it’s a lovely way to spend a day.
I’m walking with Jo for the first time in ages, are you?
Lucid Gypsy 