'Ello 'ello 'ello wot's going on 'ere?!?

On the way home from work, tootling along the motorway at a rather sedate pace of 60 mph, I was over taken by a small black rocket .... well it was a small black car - however it was going so fast that I felt my car pull towards it in the rush of air filling the 'vacuum' behind the rocket car. 

Within moments there was 'beamer' (an undercover police car) screaming down behind it and although probably going as fast, it did not have the same wooshing effect however it certainly made my almost daydream driving wake up with a bit of a zing! Another minute or two when a second police car, this time a dog unit - flew by, but not quite as fast.

I still had about ten minutes of motorway driving until I arrived at the end of the road, went around the roundabout and turned off into the town. I was (as was the car both in front and behind me) almost hurled on to the side of the road as yet another police car screamed by. By now I was on super alert - watching both forward and back having been en route of something rather exciting and not really wanting to be any more 'involved' than I had already been.

I arrived at the next roundabout, turned off at the first exit where I could see a policeman rushing around with something in his arms - the traffic slowed down as there was obviously something happening - his car was abandoned up on the pavement with all it's lights flashing like Blackpool promenade. As I approached I realised what he was doing - he was about to set up a stinger - a trap to puncture tires of a moving car used to slow down a car trying to evade capture. It was at this point I realised that 'something big was going down'!

The line of cars going into town was quite slow, obviously everyone was being cautious as first a riot van then armed police flew by towards the stinger operation. I was glad to get home!

Then I heard the helicopter - I went outside and looked up and there was a police heat seeker helicopter hovering above my house - oh.

I went back inside and locked the door! Shot upstairs to the attic and opened the window and watched a full scale police search and capture unfolding in the fields in front of me! How exciting!

There were T-pac police cars (the cars used to trap escaping cars by boxing them in and pressing them into the side of the road), sniffer dogs and police running all over the hill side - and I had a ringside view from the attic window with a helicopter keeping me company as it circled and hovered above the village.

Once it had all quietened down, I checked our village fb page and found out that it had been a trio of drug dealers who'd stolen a car and tried to evade capture by bolting into the country side and into MY village - how very dare they!! But it was all in vain - they had their collar's felt and were banged up! woop woop!

After all that excitement - I had to sit down and have a mug of tea - aaaah that's better.

And today's photo? Three little 'Scandi-style' festive fir trees - part of our creative workshop today.

#moreblogvember

Blogtober day 14 - LARGE strawberry and small mushroom

Somehow I am not sure if this particular strawberry plant received the memo... you know the one - summer has ended, please go dormant.... So it seems there is now an urgent race between the ripening strawberry and the autumnal weather - who will cross the line first?!?

On the other end of the scale ... how small is this?? it was not the first mushroom we spotted in the cut-and-come-again flower bed, it was only after I'd taken a photograph or two of the other fungi that my colleague saw this tiny dot of a fruiting body!

And just for comparison (apart from the looming finger) these are the originally spotted fruiting bodies and they are about 2cm tall.... amazing little things (but what I did not notice until I 'enbiggened' the image on the laptop - something even smaller hds been nibbling the edge of the lower mushroom).

What eeeny weeeeeeny teeni-tiny things have you spotted recently?

#blogtober2021

Blogtober2021 day 8 - You're such a fun-guy

 

Early this morning, we both peered closely at the small orangey red lump in the woodchip below the tayberry vines. From a little distance away I'd thought it was a berry or a ladybird, my colleague said she thought it was a bead.

As we got down on to our hands and knees - I perched my glasses on my nose then focused my eyes on the teeniest tiniest mushroom I..have..seen!! It was not much bigger than a ladybird. 

I used the back of a pen to tease away the woodchip the mushroom was bravely pushing through so I could get a photo. In the same area (apart from the dozens of ladybirds) was another mushroom - the head of it smaller than a five pence piece. 

I know these are only the fruiting bodies with the main portion of the mycelium spreads far and wide beneath our feet and I am humbled at their quiet determination to grow and spawn before the gentle warmth of autumn vanishes so we carefully returned the woodchip, tucking the mushrooms back into the warm and safe mulch.

#blogtober2021

11.09.2009

Ten years of blogging ... huuda thunk it?

Sunset at The Old Oil Prospecting Road

In the badlands somewhere 'wild north west' (uk), there are rolling hills and vast plains where native birds shriek and soar on the swirling breeze.

A lonely road laid down years ago winds deeper and deeper into the seemingly barren and rugged expanse.

Each step we take kicks up dust as the dog runs on ahead, scouting for water*. All around us the sea of grass swells and falls beneath the cutting evening breeze. 

A lonely oasis fringed by irises and moorland grasses is a welcome gift for a thirsty dog**. As she quenches her dust dry dog throat, I scan the horizon and see the rocky outcrop where we are heading.

The trail stops and we leave step on to tussocky ankle-twisting grasses and stumble across a moorland plain.

Overhead the sky turns from a clear bright blue to a softer shade with slender slivers of gold and silver cloud slicing through.

The jutting milstone grit boulders loom stoutly as we reach them - their dark weather warn sandstone flecked with quartz. It is a relief to shelter against them, feeling the reflected warmth from the day's sun as we escape the chill breeze.

Himself opens the chuck wagon and breaks into the rations - tea and lemon drizzle cake for all the trail hands. Biscuits for the trail hound.

The more surefooted trail crew explored the stones, while I tracked the moon, capturing it between the rough rocks and behind Himself.

Then it is time to return, before it is too dark to see, we retrace our steps through the stretch of moorland grasses back to the track.

Stopping at the centre where the nodding donkey would have stood - in the days of oil prospecting.

We continue - the eerie cries of the birds carry on the wind echoing around us. The sky turning to honey.

So - instead of an oil rush - we found gold - a more beautiful and glorious gold in them thar hills.

 

*Moss, although a pure bred border collie thinks she is a Labrador in disguise - she loves swimming and will actively run on ahead to find that all essential river or pond to leap into.

** Youngest always carries a bottle of water and a bowl for the dog, so don't worry, no thirsty dogs were harmed in the making of this evening walk

***There really was oil prospecting in our neck of the moorlands woods - In 1962 the Continental Oil Company of Texas was granted permission to drill for oil in the area and this road is the one they built to reach the site.

Now you know!

I have only one thing to say ...

Brilliant!!

PS well done my boy - so very proud of you :)

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For those who are not sure what I am yelling from the roof tops is about - Eldest has received his A level results and he did fantastically well and has been offered a place at an amazing uni to do a Masters in an Earth and Environmental Sciences degree! (Not sure where he has got his brains from but it is certainly not me!!!) I am not one to shout about things like this - but in this case I will be making an exception :)

So now will be a flurry of sorting out equipment and books as well as the sort of stuff he will need to survive on his own ... don't forget the can opener!

(At this point I might be having a little cry ... so proud but we will all miss him fiercely while he is away!)

It does mean I might/probably lose my photo-companion for our scavenger hunt :( but he will be too busy doing really exciting new things. Any hoo -  a recap (with a slight alteration and the missing dates - sorry, there has been an awful lot going on in the hawthorn household recently).

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A photograph inspired by a word, words inspired by the photos - August's Scavenger photo-hunt list - enjoy!

1. Blue
2. Eye
3. Button
4. Favourite
5. Feet
6. Glass
7. Green
8. Floor
9. Knitted/crocheted/sewn/hand made
10. My own choice

Remember to think laterally, interpret as YOU fancy, be it a current photo or a favourite one from your past. We'll reconvene and post our words and photos August 31st -  have fun!

In which I am starstruck by another blogger!

Do you know that feeling when you meet someone you 'know', but in reality you don't know them at all and you get rather giddy and excited on the inside but on the outside you are trying to be cool and end up just tripping over your words?? (words getting garbled here - takes a big breath!)

Well, I met the 'Vagabond Baker' on chrimbly eve and nearly popped!

She was absolutely delightful - no no no wait,  hang on a mo' - let me start from the beginning....

I have a rather special friend who I should try and see more often but due to work constraints, poor mobile reception, distance between us and just being plain busy, we often go weeks and weeks before we dip into each others lives.

On chrimbly eve we finally managed to get together for a brief hour where we slurped the most delicious 'sunshine soup' and cheese on toast. My dear friend, her daughter and I just picked up from our last get together and nattered as if time was of no consequence.

It was during this nonstop chatter catch up, that Rachel - the 'Vagabond Baker' was mentioned.  It was her recipe that I'd used to make my Hufsie Cake and it turns out that my lovely friend - is friends with her!  **I may have squealed a little in a sort of star-struck-bloggy sort of way.....shhhh don't say anything **

Talk about a small world!

My brief lunch hour was just that - brief and I soon had to rush back to work.....leaving behind a chrimbly parcel. Later my friend text me and we arranged a time for me to collect the errant parcel on the way home.

The weather was absolutely foul as I parked up, dashing down to the back of her house as I skipped over huge puddles. I knocked on her door which flung open and my dear friend urgently beckoned me in - curious I stepped into her kitchen, windswept and wet, stepped out of my boots and went into her lounge.

There was Rachel and her partner, Chris. I just pointed at her and I may have just managed to squeak 'Vagabond Baker'! which resulted in an roomful of laughter :) Official introductions were made and it was at this point my insides were super giddy and my outsides were pretending to be sensible....I think I got away with it (but possibly not!) Who cares - it was brilliant meeting her and discussing (at high speed) the wonders of Shetland, travel, cake, blogging, Yorkshire and blogging and cake and Shetland and Yorkshire (all this in a space of about ten minutes MaXiMuM!) It was if we knew each other and we just fell into our conversation - amazing :)

I still had a chrimbly dinner to get to and I couldn't be late so had to leave - I think I may have grinned most of my drive home!

Have you met anyone you 'know' from the world of blogginess and gone a little silly?  --- I think I may just have done that last week !.......

Thank you!

I am really touched by all your lovely comments and emails - thank you - My life is still as busy but recently I have been in a better frame of mind.

This weekend I am using as a breathing space. Wild wet weather outside is certainly helping.

I mentally blocked off all 'things to do' and had a really lazy start to my day.  I did try (briefly) unsuccessfully do some housework but soon gave that up.

There was a bit of a grump going on, triggered by a combination of lanky teenagers and social media problems (our cell phone mast is not working). Fortunately that calmed down when the boys resorted to watching Mongol - the Rise of Genghis Khan  - perfect for this day of 'hibernation'.

I have been lucky with this blogging lark to have made some lovely kind and generous bloggy-friends. One of them - Susan from Granny Smith's Quilting and I have a shared love for the Yorkshire Dales. Her knowledge of the area and her holidays there made me think, that despite her coming from Australia, she was originally a Yorkshire lass born and bred. It turns out she is as 'foreign' as I and we both hail from the colonies!

Any hoo, where this waffle's leading to,  is on Friday, when I came home I found a parcel waiting for me - look....

 

Ooh - 'foreign' labels!

Inside was a parcel in the prettiest' paper - I love the song bird

And inside?

Something beautifully made.

I love love the fabric!

Beautiful on both sides

But this was not the only surprise...

 Tucked inside was a gift box 

and a very appropriate card

Thank you Susan - very generous and knowing how busy you are, 

thank you for making such a beautiful table runner.

Thank you xxxx

PS - the house is just mine - Himself and Eldest have gone walking, with the go-pro, off to our local waterfall and Youngest has gone out with a friend for the afternoon - so I have a cat, a mug of tea, my laptop and some  'me time' bliss xx

Solstice magic

We walked as quickly as we could up a densely covered heathery hill, racing to catch the last rays of the dying summer solstice sun.  We sat in silence as we watched the colours of the sky turn intensely orange, highlighting the dramatic heavy clouds. Then gradually the sun slipped down and the sky began to pale.

We returned down the slope to where were had planned to set up camp and in the fading light laid out the sleeping bags ready. Our mattress was going to be the thick mounds of scented heathers.

 Further down, where the car was parked we fired up the kelly (if there is one thing you buy yourself this year - make it this) and drank hot chocolate and greedily ate ginger cake.

It never really got dark that night as we lay in our sleeping bags. Whispering to each other as we watched shooting stars and satellites cross the steely grey blue sky. Then as I began to drift off at about 2am, Eldest whispered 'owl!'

I opened by eyes and was met by the dark shadow of a barn owl as it silently flew just over head. The down draft of its wings wafting my fringe - what a thrill of magic!

The moon appeared about 3am and I took photos of it as Himself lay watching it rise.

Himself later watched the sun rise as we all slept, taking pictures first of the sun itself then of the mist as it filled the valleys, leaving us marooned on our 'island' hill.

Breakfast was piping hot mugs of coffee and steaming pots of porridge.

Our experience was magical and we all felt elated afterwards, making plans to repeat our micro-adventure - Oh wild camping - you were amazing. Thank you.