Wednesday 25 December 2013

Thursday 5 December 2013

Really?



I came upon this sign recently which had me puzzling.


I think it goes without saying that plants are slow moving (a few inches a year is slow in anyone's book) but I wonder what there is about this particular plant to be wary of?




Similarly I think the person in charge of safety for this water filled hole in the ground didn't want to take any chances.  Putting a sign up saying no diving or swimming is in my opinion just asking for people to try it; which is probably why they covered it with a metal grid and put a fence round, just to be on the safe side.  Though why anyone would want to dive into a four foot square hole is beyond me, and what kind of swimming could you do in something so small?






When I saw this sign from the other end of a shop last summer I wondered what they were selling, and why weren't they a bit more discreet!
It also seemed very strange as it was a Homebase DIY store


Closer inspection revealed that it was a section for weed killer.
The 'd' from the end of 'weed' was on a separate panel which presumably should have been displayed next to this one, but in this particular store it was on an adjacent wall and with a doorway in between!






Tuesday 3 December 2013

November 2013 Photo Scavenger Hunt



As usual Greenthumb over at Made With Love has organised the photo scavenger hunt.  Here are my interpretations for this month



Gold
A statue of Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch in Birmingham




5
(you might have to click on this to see it properly)




Patterns
Everywhere I looked I saw patterns on buildings in Birmingham, so I've included a few here









Bread
thrown for the ducks



Happiness
This duck looks very happy



Rain



Traffic



Boxes



Staircase
Leading up to a disused rail track which is now a footpath



Sunset





Park



Pair







Wednesday 20 November 2013

The early bird



  It's not in my nature to be up with the lark, I'm much more of a night owl; but inspired by Bunny Mummy's post with lovely photos of the morning light, I thought I would check it out for myself.  With sunshine forecast for yesterday it was perfect for me to see what I've been missing.  I suppose being out and about at half seven may be the norm for a lot of people but it took a bit of effort on my part!

I must say I wasn't disappointed....









The long shadows stretched across the frosty fields



In the opposite direction the moon was still up




I loved the patterns on this frozen puddle, but needless to say I couldn't resist breaking the ice on it after I'd taken the photo!










On this part of the footpath the grass was still frosty but the frost on the hedge was thawing in the sunshine




and here the frost on the barbed wire has melted into droplets (if you haven't already, you'll need to click on the photo to see them)


I saw this crab apple tree in someone's garden which was chock-a-block with tiny yellow apples 


The same garden had a tree that had shed these leaves



Further on three roe deer ran across the path.  I only managed to get a pic of the last one as I was too slow getting my camera out





By the time I got to this point I'd been out for two and a half hours so the sun was well and truly up, and it felt really warm just here



There's still a surprising amount of trees that haven't got their autumn colours yet but there were some nice ones in this wood






This has been a very photo heavy post, so well done if you've made it this far, and I hope you enjoyed my early morning walk as much as I did!





Saturday 16 November 2013

Appeal of bells



Sometimes a chance remark can set the wheels in motion in unexpected ways... 
I was out country/barn dancing with some friends on Thursday afternoon, when Audrey said that the local church was starting up a handbell ringing group that evening.   Someone else said they fancied it too, so they both arranged to go along and give it a try.   
It didn't really interest me, but I said that I've always wanted to have a go at ringing the church bells (I demonstrated this with a mime of pulling a rope down!), and low and behold Audrey said she thought they needed new ringers at the church. 
She gave me a phone number to ring and two hours later I was up in the bell tower of the church!

This is Haxey church with the main entrance

The bell tower has it's own door 


The little slit in the side of the bell tower is the window of the room where the bell ropes are (click to enlarge)

The room is reached by a very narrow stone spiral staircase that seems to go on forever.
There's six bells of different weights (and sounds) and I had my first lesson on the lightest one - some weigh about a ton each.

Unfortunately I can't go again this week because I'm going to see War Horse the play, but I'll be raring to go the week after.
I'd never have thought that morning that I would be ringing church bells in the evening!


Sunday 3 November 2013

October 2013 Photo Scavenger Hunt



I've really struggled with the list this month and only got the last five yesterday.  I'd had (great) ideas of what I wanted to get for some of them, but never came across the things I was looking for.  Sod's law I'll see them all the time now I don't need them!
So this is my selection


Orange
Usually in October we've had a frost and the nasturtiums have been killed off, but they're still going strong even now




2
one plus one




Flower
One of a tray of primulas I bought recently




Rubbish
This is a decoration I made for the tree out of a couple of used aluminium cans 




Emotion
I didn't want to put photos on the internet of any of my family's faces, so I resorted to these book covers




Flight
A sculpture on the side of a building in Leeds




Home Made
A spoon I whittled from a bit of branch.  Appropriately It's resting on a dress I made from bark cloth!




Black and White
I think this looks like it could be in a little seaside town with the cobbled road, but it's in the middle of Leeds




Coffee Time
I came upon this coffee shop with just the right name




Balloon




Weather Cock
Or horse in this case




Fridge Magnet
Not much to look at but the only fridge magnet I've got



You can see what other people have come up with for the scavenger hunt over at Made with love, and there's next month's list if you want to join in.