Come away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o
The finest film of liquid, suspended in and encapsulating the air. That’s ephemeral to me.
“One thing I love about taking photos is that it forces me to be present — to consider and appreciate now, before now evaporates and becomes then.” Says Krista at the Daily Post for this weeks photo challenge. Click any photo for a bigger view.
What do you find ephemeral? maybe sculptures in sand or ice, perhaps pavement art? You can join in or see other interpretations if you click the link.
stride the path ahead
through nature’s springtime splendour
emerald England
I’ve just realised that I walk past this wooden bench every day and that it fits Jude’s March challenge for her bench series.
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
– Winston Churchill
This is very appropriate in my world today!
I set off to Dart’s Farm today for a stroll around their fields with the dogs, they have a farm walk, a bird hide and fishing lakes as well as the shopping experience they are well known for. It was a beautiful afternoon and I decided that I wanted to walk a bit further than Dart’s could offer, so I crossed over and took a path that joins the Exe Trail, which runs up the river Exe to Exeter and back down the other side. It’s part of National Cycle Network route 2 that will eventually run all the way from Kent to Cornwall.
The section that runs alongside the Exe is around 16 miles and must surely be one of the loveliest. Just below Topsham on the picture, you can see Darts Farm, where I began,
it’s the modern building in the distant background to the right. The white house boat must belong to someone, I hope they rescue it before it rots away, I know I’d like to.
The bridge above has one of the newest sections, with great views over Bowling Green marsh.
I’m striding along now, parallel to the railway line that I travelled on the day before, taking two of my grandchildren to the beach at Exmouth. The old bridge spans an area with an inlet that probably floods at times.
it’s certainly soggy today.
I’m heading towards Exton now and the views of the river are gorgeous.But the railway line and a fence are in the way. Never mind, the path turns inland through the little village of very expensive houses, and out the other side.
The river gets wider and Exmouth is in the distance, my favourite estuary. I pass by the Royal Marines commando training centre,
but there are no fit men to watch today!
Instead I pass a group of young people in fatigues yomping along. They may be cadets, definitely not marines, they were having too much fun.
It’s a really warm day and while I don’t mind walking in full sun, the dogs are getting elderly so we sit, so they can rest and nibble on the cleavers, and then retrace our steps. We didn’t quite reach Lympstone.
This week the challenge is to share a photo or several that express ‘fresh’, and I’ve found it really difficult. I’ve seen lots of gorgeous images of flowers and food and I thought I would do the same. At last I came across this shot of a recently ploughed field, fresh and ready for seed.
So then I was able to make a link to the earth, with these colourful plants in the garden centre, ready for the soil.
And lastly, a tasty harvest from the earth.
You can join in and see lots more entries here.
Waiting for April
fresh blossom ready to bloom
blue skies and long days
It began with a walk on the beach at Beer, and a photo
or two.
Followed by an edit using Pixlr Express, to make a collage.
Which appeared on my blog and then sat in a dusty computer folder for months.
Then I felt a need and found some paper
I cropped and printed the collage and stuck it to some card, the size of a shorthand notebook
I ironed on some plastic coating. It would have been easier if I’d done that before, but hey, sometimes you have to learn the hard way!
With a little help from a friend with way more skill and experience than I have, thank you Lindy, I stitched it all together with Coptic stitch.
So now I have a new notebook that’s very light, created to my own specifications, that no one else has.
Tah-dah!
A few days ago I was reading a favourite blog friends post about beaches, and something seemed familiar. I’ve seen photos of many wonderful places since I’ve been blogging, it’s great to see parts of the world I’ll probably never get to visit in reality. Australia is one of those places and Eurobodalla beach in particular, and yet I feel a connection. So when Meg posted images of Broulee beach I looked through my photos to try to find out why. 
These rows where Dido and Daisy are paddling remind me of Meg’s beach 
As does this crisscrossing in the rock. 
and the view at Hartland is rather like Narooma!
And these are similar to Meg’s Smugglers Cove photos. 
Craggy rocks with winkles. 
Crops of determined little flowers 
Even surfers, but I expect they are colder than any near Meg. Pay a visit to Meg and see if you don’t agree with me, Hartland in North Devon has a lot in common with these beaches in New South Wales. To find Hartland on a map of the UK, first find South Wales, then go due south.
Lucid Gypsy 
