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30/07/2018

Monday Monday - so good to me

Heeey hey! Well, if that was the weekend - it went rather quickly!

Just got back from a stint at the walled garden where I volunteer. It is not just good for the garden, it is good for my soul - I always come away with my happy levels well and truly topped up.

Here in Lancashire we have had the most delicious rain and my garden has just gulped it up thirstily and probably could have more. The water barrels around the glasshouse are full and the pond beautifully topped up - now that can't be bad. I can even see the frogs smiling as their heads get splashed by the huge raindrops.

Thank you every one for joining in with July's words - once again you did yourselves proud and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them all :) - I do love how we interpret a single word to mean many things to many folk and even though sometimes we all have the same result - the stories are different.

Any hoo - no time off for the wicked and all that - here are August's words - giving you plenty of time to get your scavenger hunting juices working :)

This month's have a slight twist - I have supplied a list of the usual five plus my own choice, except this time the words are homophone.

Huh? I hear you say - well if a word is homophone it is because the word sounds the same yet has more than one meaning :) Please chose one or the other or if you are feeling rather superhuman (and a little smug :D) try them both!

This is not as hard as it initially appears and remember you can use a current image or one from your archives.

Tea/tee
Thyme/time
aisle/isle
Fairy/ferry
flour/flower
My own choice


We will reconvene on Friday the 31st August - til then fellow photo-hunters - have fun xx

Horse Chestnut and conkers - this warm weather has certainly sped things up x

27/07/2018

July's Link up Party

***Updated to add that one of the links is not working -
to see Vivienne's post - please follow this URL -lapapillionbleu.blogspot.com ***

Welcome to July's Scavenger Hunt Link up Party !  
Are you ready? 
Then let's get started - just add your name and let the party begin :)
*

July's photo hunt

Wow - this has come round again rather quickly! Fortunately last weekend supplied all the images and stories and if you are sitting comfortably, I shall begin  :)

DOOR
We'd huffed and puffed our way up a rather long and hot field towards the farm buildings sheltering in the trees. The difference in temperature was marked. The barn - although old and closed up - was obviously well cared for as the stonework was pointed and the roof tight. The door handle fascinated us, as Youngest commented - it looked like the body of a harp. I just had to try it out and it felt so cool and ergo-dynamically comfortable in my hand. I don't think that functional things are made as beautifully or artistically as they were before. 

11am
As we were getting ready for our walk - somebody got herself over excited and had to be told to go and sit down on the mat and contain herself until we were ready. She watched our every move, each loading of the rucksacks, the putting on of the boots, the collecting of maps and cameras and in her mind - the best by far - collecting her lead and collar. Then she exploded and spun around several times and charged off to the car.  She was fed up with waiting!

TEXTURE
Despite the dryness - there were pockets of moisture tucked into the deeper valley crevices, I loved the contrast of the remarkably soft feeling spiky moss against the shards of the red and grey rock.

SHADOWS
Sunday was a relentlessly sunny day - most of our walk was on hill tops and moorland stretches and despite the essential hat and sunnies it was bliss when we found shade. I suspect Moss's favourite bit was the shade beneath this bridge - she spent a happy fifteen or so minutes wallowing around in the stream beneath the cool arch. The bridge was a wonderfully over engineered stone edifice in the middle of nowhere over a small stream - how very English!  And if you were wondering about the hanging gate, the farmers will tether a gate or pallets on chains to a bridge to prevent their stock from wandering through. As the river rises or subsides, the gate will move, thanks to the chains, to fill the space being blocked.

VIEW
Our walk (which was just shy of 10km long) had good views most of the length of it. Some were long distant - like this one, others were snap shots through trees or down hidden valleys. I chose this one more for the memory of it for me. The brown hue to the grassland  was mostly caused by hundreds of thousands of Yellow Rattle seed heads. It would have been an amazing site to have seen when in flower - the hill side would have been a blanket of lime green and primrose yellow. Now, as we walked through it sounded like a thousand rattlesnakes at every step.  Youngest (ever full of odd facts) stated that this plant had been used as a 'prop' in filming and on stage for a rattlesnake warning signal. Listening to the dry raspy sound the seeds made in their pods - I could see why!


MY OWN CHOICE

My final image was taken not far from the previous one. As we reached the crest of the hill, the wild grasslands opened up to more green and cropped. Sitting quietly was this beautifully rusted vintage hay tedder. 


There, that is my offering for July's words and images. Off to check out you lovely lot's posts - thank you for joining in xxx

23/07/2018

Friday was a good day :)

Last Friday we raced the heavy sky.
Weeding and planting and laughing fueled by tea.
Last Friday was a good day and yes - we did still get wet.
 
We were as parched as the earth and it felt glorious.

19/07/2018

A Thursday, a Saturday & Sunday then a Monday.

Thursday
Plein air at a country park with friends and fellow artists.
Saturday
Watching a fiery sky turn to inky black scattered with a gazillion stars.
Sunday
Hot black coffee, black beef cows and calves.
Monday
Inside and ...
... Out

Now, that is a good few days if I say so myself :) and don't be fooled - there were many (and I mean many) more photos for each jolly here, just not going to inflict them on you xx


17/07/2018

Part 2 ...

It was like watching a methodical yet lightly stepped dance.
The two of them, time served, moved as a fluid, anticipating the other's action with years of remembered performance.
A gentle monologue was proffered explaining each step - enough to inform and not swamp.
Words like molten honey and liquid toffee were dropped in - so deliciously descriptive of the tempered glass bubble.
A controlled puff, a measured swing of the blowpipe, a turn of the wrist and a gentle tap or click all making a glowing blob into a simple yet magnificent glass goblet.
The tools they used had barely changed since glass blowing started 2000 years ago, water soaked Paddles, Jacks, Blocks, Ladles, metal Tweezers and Shears, they all retained a look which appeared timeless.
Then, less than ten minutes - this dance produced a glass goblet which was both robust and delicate.
It was sent to cool down in an oven set to 400 deg c over night. It was mesmerising!
Beautiful.

13/07/2018

In which I fall in love ...

There are some days that stand out as being a 'good'un' and Tuesday will certainly be on of them.

Part 1....

I had a most wonderful artist's jolly out with a fellow artist and brilliant friend over in Pateley Bridge (a small town that warrants a full day in it's own right) where we stopped off at the King's Street Workshops to see the Handmade Books Exhibition - Envelop held at the Number 6 Studio.

Our day started with a beautiful drive over the moors between Skipton, Grassington and Harrogate, with a most welcome stop at a lovely farm cafe.
We chose to sit outside and admire the view - besides it was a lot cooler with a rather lazy breeze tickling around us.
The King Street workshops were a gentle hive of activity. Not all were open when we arrived but through out the day more artists opened their doors.
Stepping into Number 6 Studio was like having a light switched on - I have never seen so many gorgeous beautiful amazing fantastic intricate detailed astounding hand made little books. We were encouraged to pick up and investigate each book and believe me ... I did....each.and.every.one. And I was completely and utterly bewitched.

I was so engrossed that I only took a few photos (not like me at all!) I moved around that gallery inch by inch. My dear friend who was with me responded to this gorgeous-ness in quite a different way - she bounced from one pretty thing to another and back again - she zig-zagged around me (by this time I was sitting on the floor visually devouring a work book) until she found something that caught her and she stopped and sunk into it's magic.
Not all the books were crafted in paper, there were some beautiful fabric versions - felt and tweed and others that felt and smelt like something out of an army tank. Rusted, bolted, oiled and decorated; they had been inspired by the artist's father's workshop.
The fabric books told stories, some very emotional. One in particular was a record of the creator dealing with a personal difficult process. She explained, carefully, the underlying reason for her book and I looked at her work with new eyes.
It was a really beautiful day - I was truly inspired.

Part 2 next time xxx




09/07/2018

Words are surplus

 


Wild camping micro adventure - you were wonderful
thank you xx


#MicroadventureChallenge #staywild