Into the blue

At the end of the summer last year,

after the holidays

I wanted to capture the essence of

those warm sunny days...

I started a coastal coloured crochet cushion,

taking it out on our autumnal walks 

so I could crochet the rows.

For a while, once it was finished,

the cushion sat pride of place on the settee.

 Then,

over the course of the winter months,

when I yearned for brighter skies.

Blue seas.

Warm salty air.

 I started another cushion,

also in shades of blues and sea,

sky and sand.

Then there was another,

all reminding me of summer holidays. 

Suddenly, I had four cushions.

All related, all different,

all falling off the hook

during a driech winter... 

Now that spring has landed,

the sun has finally found it's strength and

begun to warm the air,

reminding me that summer is just around the corner...

Friday morning. 

A good time to take photos.

Great light.

Almost that same clear blue light

that I associate with being on the coast.

Happy?

You bet I am :)

Zoomy zoomy lunch time life through the lens :)

Hi there to Treshnish - my newest follower, you used to follow me when I was 11am - welcome back! I have such a soft spot for Isle of Mull as we celebrated our honeymoon there and spent a few very happy (wet and windy) days there :) Treshnish  takes beautiful seascapes, windswept coastlines and farming photos - please pop over and have a look :)

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I have been asked again about my new lens, so I thought I'd do a post about my new toy :)  As I mentioned before, it is neither super expensive or super fancy, but for me it has been a delight as well as a steep learning curve.

I'd been cogitating over my desire to have something a little more 'zoomy' than my existing lens. When my camera (Sony a230 - no longer being manufactured in this spec) needed a service, I asked the man behind the counter what he recommended at a price I could afford.

He suggested a couple of makes so I did a bit of research on the 'net.  It is a bit of a minefield of information so it did take a bit of searching to find something that fitted my requirements.

Well, today was a bank holiday and I was the only one working :(, so the boys came up for a walk and met me at lunch time - it was glorious sitting in the sunshine listening to the bumblebees working their way through hundreds of thousands of dandelion flowers. It was a perfect day mini micro-adventure.

Of course, I had my camera with me. The above photos is with my original Sony standard lens, the gloriously dandelion filled village green in Langcliffe.

After reading reviews and spec, I eventually plumped for the Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Mcro 1:2 lens, which is a  happy step up for me, however probably not grown-up or sharp enough for the professional. The difference it has made to my 'macro' and my long distance shots is definitely a huge plus. The dandelions below are the same as above.....only shot through the Tamron...... bit of a difference ?Yeah! 

And I don't mean the close ones, these flowers are in the middle distance of the original view.

Above - the Tamron lens retracted and 

Below - the lens fully extended. 

In the interest of science (well..... more for the fun of it really)  I took two more photos - Langcliffe village church, the first with my Sony camera SAL 1855 18-55mm standard zoom lens. 

 And this one - with my new zoomy lens. Neither lens was super extended - just mid-range focus and click.

On the negative side, the lens, when on AF (autofocus), constantly shifts backwards and forwards while it settles and is quite a greedy battery eater. I have started to use MF (manual focus) which is a bit slow and I certainly need loads and loads of practice. However, it is not impossible for me to take good in-focus photos but I am a lot slower at striking the right balance than the AF can do - but it is all practice.

Gratuitous picture of both lenses just for comparison purposes. The end piece of the new lens (on the right) is a sun-shield - which is great as it means I don't have to hold my hand up in front of my camera to stop unwanted sun-flares (unless I actually want them there :) )

And just to make clear, in no way am I being sponsored or have an affiliation with any of the equipment I am waffling on about.

Now - just a couple more pictures before I completely bore you..... enjoy.

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Beltane

The perfect skies for Beltane*

Traditionally the Beltane  Festival of Fire is for protection and the promise of a good summer.

The sky tonight has stepped up to the mark and bathed the countryside with such a rich fire-red coat - what a wonderful omen :)

*Beltane is a Celtic celebration to honour the Sun, encouraging the strengthening sunlight to help the emerging new growth and to protect the community - in the old days folk would jump over fire through the smoke to symbolically cleanse themselves while couples who jumped together would then be married. There are a number of traditions associated with Beltane, many almost dying out until interest was re-kindled in the old ways of celebrating life.

Eldest has just  cheerfully chucked another log in to our wood burner, causing it to 'puff' out a large waft of smoke...cough cough.... well, at least he is keeping this particular tradition alive cough...cough....cough....!!

I am....

I am invisible

 I am ancient rock

 I am wild grass blowing in the wind

 I am shadow

 I am spirit  

 

 I am not here

I am gone

Get your boots and bring your camera!

My - doesn't time fly when you are having 'fun'?
Times goes faster the older you get.
Time passes by when you are busy.

Heard those excuses before?

I can not believe it was over two weeks ago that we were in the lakes and I've hardly said anything about our adventures. I shall make some amends right now :)

Would you like to come on a walk with us?   

I have snuggled up in my crochet blankie, the fire and the cat are keeping me company..... 

Right, are you ready?  

Have you  laced your boots?

Packed a picnic lunch? 

Ok... let's go!

Breath in the crisp morning air, feel it as it chills your throat and lungs. Feel the tip of your nose and the edge of your ears tingle while the light  breeze curls around your neck. 

Notice the rough crunch of the reindeer moss under your fingertips as you open the aged wooden gate. Turn left into a single tarred track flanked by still winter thin hedges. 

Turn left again on to a farm lane which behaves just like a ribbon of tar laid directly on to a sheep filled field. Hurry past a cheerfully noisy campsite leaving the holiday makers with their televisions and barbecues. They won't get to see what we will. 

I'm sure you'll find this as amusing as we did, don't forget to bring your camera to capture moments just like this :)

We'll walk through dark woods on secret causeways,  where wild stoats will hunt noisily in the undergrowth and pop up with such a surprised look when they realise we have watched them within touching distance.  

By the time we reach this point, we'll stop for that picnic lunch I suggested you bring. We'll sit for as long as the sun warms us, coz that breeze still has it's icy fingers tickling our ears.  Then once we've eaten our sandwiches and drained our cups of tea, we'll turn towards the hills and walk a goat track clinging to the edge.  It's ok, don't be afraid, the views will fill your heart and feed your soul. 

Breathe.

Touch the sky. 

Feel  whole. 

Connect with the earth. 

Connect with yourself. 

Should you find that last pull enough to make your breath a little ragged, 

sit here on this stone memorial bench. 

Open your eyes and just drink in the view.

The silver sparkle of the sun on the lake will leave you breathless as will the mountains as they crowd around protectively - there is such beauty here that you will just want to stand and stare and absorb the magic.

Once you have managed to tear yourself away from this lofty path 

we'll begin back down into the woods and field. 

We'll turn right and follow a rough water washed stony track studded intermittently with little arrows, encouraging you along to pastures new.

Feel  mixture of sorrow and curiousity when you spot this vixen lying dead in the reeds.  

With no visible signs of injury and no obvious damage, wonder how and when she died.

Feel sad for her but know her spirit continues to trot along secret fox routes as she did before. 

Only this time she is not a threat to the chickens or lambs that share the fields.

Leave your sadness behind as you turn into this valley dominated by a snow sprinkled Blencathra.  This valley is filled by sunshine and music..... courtesy of a farmer who has cranked up his radio in his tractor and is sharing his love of country and western music with everyone within a 5 mile radius. 

We will be serenaded for several miles by nasal twanging reverberating over the countryside.

At the head of the valley, I will point out the hill on the right, we are camping on the other side.

Our walk is heading home, but first we'll have a rest here and admire the view.

Sheep dominate the fields, although lambing time in the lowlands has well and truly started, here in the hills, the sheep are expectant and the farmers poised.

On the final stretch, when your legs are aching and your feet weary, your heart will be lifted by the sight of a red squirrel as it scampers up a tree right in front of you - oh what magic!

Then as we reach the camp site, the sun disappearing down behind the hills, 

we will feel tired...

But oh what 'a good tired'.

Stick the kettle on, 

brew a mug of tea and sit back and smile, 

you have just spent a wonderful day with us, walking the hills.

You are delightful company - please come again :)

Are ewe hare-ing out of sight?!

This evening, Himself, Youngest and I took to the hills to catch the evening light.
As we walked, Youngest and I chatted.
Each telling stories and sharing tales from the day's activities.

We stopped to laugh at the antics of the lambs and chuckle at the size of the still expectant ewes. 

When suddenly Himself noticed a hare.

Look...look... we whispered, too busy watching to think of taking a picture.
We stood quietly until the hare reared up and stared back at us and in that split moment we all thought....where's the camera? Before we could even act, the hare dropped and loped away across the fields.

Hence the rapidly disappearing tail shot......

So I resorted to taking blackthorn blossom instead.... at least they didn't run off at the sight of us!

Thank you for dropping in and sharing an evening walk with us :)
hawthorn  xxxxxxxxxxx