WARMTH

I had a bit of a problem with this one! Carmi had challenged us to find a photograph depicting "warmth". He's alright, up in Canada - steaming mugs and cosy clothes - well, you can't fail, can you?

But here in the UK it is just wet, wet and wet again! So I came up with the warmest photograph I could find!

Hope it makes you think of a nice warm summer!

INDUSTRIAL DISEASE

Carmio's challenge this week was a real poser!

I don't get to any blighted places, or old industrial sites (though there are plenty round here.) But eventually I thought of Danes Moss.

There are a lot of interesting geological reasons why Danes Moss is a big area of lowland peat. Peat digging has gone on there since Medieval times, and only ended in the 1960's. Leaving a desolate area of acidic pools, which filled with reeds, and scraggy alder trees on the drier bits.

In places, the old rails and sleepers can be seen, along which trucks, pulled by ponies and filled with peat, could be taken to the nearby canal and loaded onto narrow boats. Old photographs show it to be a very busy industrial area, a bit like open-cast mining, only wetter!

A small plantation of conifers, and the overgrown peat cuttings gave a spooky air to the whole place. It was always very quiet, apart from the hissing of the electricity cables carried by pylons over the area.

However, the pools attracted a number of dragonflies, plus rare mosses and peat-loving plants, and the area was designated a Nature Reserve. This has led to the plantation of conifers being cleared, and a boardwalk built right across the old peat diggings.

Ex-industrial, but the 'disease' bit is being cured, I think!

SHADOWS

Shadows generally add something to a picture. Taking shots of just shadows is another thing altogether! Here are my efforts.

Early morning sun in the Park yesterday morning, after a very hard frost. Should you wonder at the humps and bumps, its a pitch and putt golf course! (We emerge from our gate at the second green!)

Sun and shadows on frosty grass.

And lastly, shadows on disturbed, thick snow.

For more shadowy shots, go to Carmi's challenge

MELLOW YELLOW

Its all things YELLOW for Carmi's challenge this week. Follow the link to see lots of other interpretations of Yellow!


I was going to try and avoid flowers and trees, and found this one.....

and this.......

But then I had to think of the beautiful autumnal colours we had this year, like this.......

and this...........

And of course, there are flowers.........

Which are in the Flower Market in Madeira, and.........

this, which was in a beautiful bouquet I was given for Mother's Day by my daughter.

And then, just to reflect the "mellow" part of the title, I chose this one.....

which is part of the Watts Chapel in Surrey - a very OTT chapel in mainly Art Nouveau and ~Arts and Crafts.

And lastly..........

taken as our ship approached Cadiz, Spain, at dawn.

FLY

I had a bit of a problem with this title! Haven't been near a plane for a long time, and certainly have no photos! All my bird photos are either pretty poor, or the bird is sitting there, or both. Mainly both.

So then I had inspiration!

Well, they are flying, aren't they?! They are actually a mobile, made of wood, which we found in Greece somewhere, many years ago. Mr.G being a planemaniac (only don't say I said so!) bought it, and it hangs from the ceiling of "his" room. Probably gathering dust, but who am I to break the thing trying to dust it??

ts rather nice, though, isn't it?

To see other interpretations of FLY go to Carmi's Challenge

RECTANGLES

With Carmi's Challenge to find photographs of Rectangles in mind

I found the steps of a step ladder folded up neatly in my office........

Fish boxes piled up on the quay at Cobh, Ireland............

A boarded-up house, also at Cobh............

And some rather delicious-looking artisan bread at our local market.

Have a look at the link at the beginning and see what other people have some up with!

WINDOWS

Carmi's theme this week is Windows

so, as they say, "Here's looking at you!"

View from one of the many windows at The Glasshouse at RHS Wisley. Beautiful place, the Glasshouse houses tropical, temperate, wet and dry plants, and looks out over the lake.

These funny wooden windows are on the black and white church at Marton, in Cheshire. The church has a wood tower and spire, and these windows are right up in the bell chamber.

Reflections in the windows of Macclesfield College.

One of the magnificent windows we saw in Gran Canaria, Spain (Canary Islands)

Also this lovely Art Deco window overlooking the Cathedral Square, in Gran Canairia

THE WORSE FOR WEAR

Struggling with a new computer I feel the worse for wear! However, I found this photo, which I hope will go with Carmi's theme of "The Worse for wear".

Hope to do better next week!

TRAVEL, TRAVEL!

 

Carmi's Challenge this week is TRAVEL TRAVEL – and there should be some interesting photographs over at this link.

 

I felt that the means of travel should be obvious, otherwise it will just be a succession on my holiday photos!

The mean of travel here is almost obscenely obvious!   There are actually two of these huge liners in the same harbour, overshadowing the really lovely town of Stavanger, Norway.   And yes, I know we were on that one, but it was far too big for me!

However, it did take us right up to the Arctic, which was spectacular, and quite the most beautiful place I have ever been to!    But we were so big that these smaller ships had to wait until we had gone before they could get in.   The bigger ship on the left is one of the  Hurtigruten line, who go round the coast of Norway, in and out of the smaller ports, taking people, parcels, good and anything, really!

 

A popular viewpoint from the head of the Geiranger Fjord actually shows three big liners there.   The crowds are remarkably thin here, other places you had to fight to get a view!   With over 6,000 tourists descending on the village, you can imagine that the coach companies were driving off in droves!

 

I thought I’d end with with one of my favourites – we  approached Cadiz, in Spain, just as dawn was breaking, and by the light of the full moon.   Magic!

DRINK UP!

 

Carmi's Challenge this week is DRINK UP!    So I prowled round the house with my camera, and came up with some green bottles (sorry, only 4 of them!) and some fruit juices waiting for the summer!

 

 

Now for a nice cup of tea………..

AUTUMN (or Fall, if you prefer!)

 

Carmi's Photographic Challenge this week is Fall – or as I know it, Autumn!   Its a wee bit early for Autumn colours here, but I went out with my camera very early, while the sun was still low, and found what I could in the Park.

I did think there were already a lot of leaves fallen – mostly brown and crispy.   I wonder if the trees have suffered from our exceedingly wet summer?

 

There was a heavy dew and the grass and leaves were soaking wet.

But it didn’t stop them looking attractive!

 

Early sun on a sycamore

 

The Horse Chestnut has dropped a large part of its leaves already

 

And the Beech is only just starting to turn colour

 

Looking up through the branches of the Chinese Rowan tree in our garden.   The leaves turn dark pink/red on top, and yellow underneath

SHINY

 

Carmi's challenge this week is SHINY – follow this link to see all things Shiny from other Photographic Bloggers!

 

My favourite ‘shiny’ is this gorgeous dog, sitting on guard outside the Cathedral in Gran Canaria.   The Canary Islands are named after the Latin word for dog, and there are four beautiful dogs in the square.   I don’t know what they are sculpted from, but it is a glorious dark green, and very shiny, stone.

 

I think my next favourite is this lovely glass bowl.    It is very heavy, and I was hoping it was Mdina glass when I found it in an antique market.   Unfortunately there is no mark, but it is so thick and heavy, with greeny-bluey colours spun in the glass that I think it might be.

 

Nice shiny pepper and tomatoes are just making me hungry!

 

These Rosehips are hanging from a big bush in our front garden.   The bush is covered with them and they look very pretty.   As do the young leaves in Spring, which are pink/red, and the flowers are traditional pale pink single roses.   Altogether a very useful bush!

I’ve added this photo of all four dogs in Gran Canaria so you can see the scale and how beautiful they are!   “My” dog is on the left.

GROUNDED

 

Carmi's Photographic Challenge this week is GROUNDED.  So I took my camera out this morning, despite the fact it was pouring with rain!  

 

We had had gales over the last couple of days (I think more are forecast!) so there was plenty of stuff grounded!

 

 

 

 

And the paths were glistening in the pouring rain

 

 

 

 

In a lovely early morning sun, however, the shadows were long and the dew heavy.

 

 

I know this isn’t strictly grounded, although there is plenty of mud underneath the water! 

Perhaps Trollied would be a better term!

 

 

 

 

And lastly, our friendly robin, who will practically sit on your feet if the ground is being dug!

ALL THINGS RETRO

Carmi's Challenge this week is all things RETRO – and a year or so ago I went to a “40’s Weekend”.   I found it very amusing that everyone wanted to dress up in what they saw as 40’s clothes, and dress up was the word.   Up to the nines, as they say!   But I can remember coupons, lack of anything useful like knitting wool, and my mother carefully unravelling old knitted jumpers to reknit them up for me and my sister.  Well, when I say my mother unravelled – she did the knitting, I did the unravelling!

However, at the 40’s weekend, I came across some wonderful HATS!

 

 

 

The “Weekend” was held at an old Railway Station (actually still used by a steam train up and down an old line) all done out as it would have been pre WWII.   I found these milk churns on the platform.   Do you remember seeing them at the end of the lane up to the farm, waiting for the milk lorry to collect?   Not nowadays, all pumped straight into the big tankers. 

 

 

And then there was this marvellous Art Deco window in Gran Canaria, Spain.

 

 

And if you really want Retro, don’t you just love me and my sister, with her pigtails, and our little puffed sleeves.   This would be about 1944 I think.   My sister is wearing a hand-me-down from me, and I am wearing either one made from my mother’s dress or a hand-me-down from someone else who had an older child than me!

 

 

Ah, happy days!