Our dear little garden

This is a blog mainly intended for our family and friends to see what our garden looks like. Enjoy reading it, if you like.

We have a dear little garden. Not a secret garden, not a fabulous garden, not a sculptured one, not fancy, formal, flightful. Just a dear little one.

If you look carefully at the photo below, just in front of the garden shed you can see a row of paving stones. This garden is a mere seven paving stones wide. Very typical of the area we live in, which used to be cottages for the railway workers, as Eastleigh rose to "fame" as a railway town. In this first photo, I am standing alongside the wall of our kitchen looking back towards the gate. You may also notice on the lefthand side, the Weber and the braai. That braai actually comes from the Kruger National Park. An ex-colleague of mine from IBM gave it to me after his father passed away and he had bought it in KNP! Another thing to notice about our garden is that all of our gardening is done in pots or bags, as then we can take it with us should we decide to move. Why fix up a rental garden if you can take it with you to the next place? Right at the end is our car - VW Golf 1.8, a rather older model than you will see running around new these days! 

Taking a step or two forwards allows you to begin to see some of the detail. The splitpole garden fence is exactly the same as we had in Kareeboom street in Joburg and they are very popular here. The bag looks bare, but is in fact about to sprout and produce a crop of lettuce. That is if the giant killer slugs and the marauding sparrows don't get them first!

The scabius has been blooming for weeks already and is just beautiful.

Further along we have a number of pots that were planted up yesterday. At the left is a dahlia, then a yellow daisy-like plant. I am nuts about yellow plants, it seems. We also got some lobelia and marigolds to add colour. Behind them all and about to bloom is a lavender bush which gives us a wonderful display.

Next comes the campanula, a groundcover which was here when we arrived. It is simply glorious and has always been fabulous. It comes back every year after having been buried in snow and/or frost and gives us this delightful display.

And a close-up of the campanula

Beyond that are two hanging baskets of "pretty faces" as Robyn loves to call them, or pansies to the rest of the world! In amongst this shot is a small red rose which has survived all the neglect and abuse that I have thrown at it and still comes back for more. Earlier in the season, Elseline re-potted it and it is now presenting us with buds like there is no tomorrow! I cannot wait to see it in full bloom. In front are two small troughs of ranunculas and freesias. These are struggling! Possibly because there is not much soil for them, but also possibly because of the drought then flood then heatwave that we suffered in the space of 2 months.

Although none are present here, we have many sparrows visiting our garden and normally they are there all day long, helping themselves to the seed we place out for them. Camera shy, I guess. We also have some fatballs out, but we seldom have more than sparrows or starings in the garden. On two occassions we have had a sparrowhawk trying to get a free meal!

Our garden wouldnt be complete without some vegetables. Here are my garlics. They are thriving and I cannot wait for the end of the season so I can harvest them. Of course there is also the lettuce previously mentioned. We have 3 bags of potato plants and hopefully we will get a crop from them too.

Here is our pride and joy! Doesn't look like much, does it?  This is again planted in bags, but BIG bags this time. The plants are wildflower or meadow plants and are just beginning to provide a bit of colour. We decided to have meadow flowers as we are aware that the insect population in this country has been decimated and need as much help as they can get. So we got a couple of packets of seed meant to provide flowers that bees and butterflies are supposed to go ga-ga for. Time will tell. So far we haven't seen much insect activity around these bags. I suspect that as they bloom more and more that we will start seeing hover flies and different sorts of butterlies, over an above the several sorts of bees we already have coming in for the campanula and other flowers.

If I had kept the seed packets I may have been able to tell you what this is. However, it is very pretty. The flowerhead is a tight ball of buds and unwinds as each opens. there are hundreds of these flowerhead, all about to open. C'mon bees!!!

Another delightfully delicate flower in the bags is this pale cream one.

And the last of the wild flowers to have blossomed is this yellow one. Again, I wish I had kept the packet.....

Looking back towards the house, we have this view. It is not unusual to see Elseline sitting out in the garden and spinning. And who can blame her? 

This is another groundcover (name unknown to us) which is an amazing feast for bees and bumblebees. Very small, pretty pinkish flowers.

And here you can see them behind the entrepid spinner who was determined to be outside too, even if she had to wear a shawl to stay warm!

And as a finale, here are three photos of some of our flowers in the garden. As you can see - all have YELLOW, which is just fine by me!

So there you have it - hope it gives you some small pleasure. Goodness knows it gives us a lot!

Every journey starts with but a single step.....

This statement (or one in the same vane) seems by all accounts to be attributed to Lao-Tzu, a Chinese philosopher in the 6th century BC.  How does this have anything to do with me, you ask? After too many years of a sedentary life in front of the TV, I have finally came to the conclusion that I need to become active and have decided to take up walking. I know, I know - I have been doing that since I was a mere, well, toddler. However the walking I wish to be associated with now, is out of the urban structures and in the countryside. Perhaps I may become a Rambler, yet I lean more towards being a Hill Walker at this stage.

The first steps were taken with a good friend, Ian, who accompanied me on a circular walk from Avebury in Wiltshire. Now many of you may never have heard of Avebury. It is rightfully famous for having the largest stone circle in all of England and one of the largest in the world.  Considering when it was all erected (sometime between the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras), it was a monumental (no pun intended) undertaking, the digging tool of the day was the shoulder-blade of an aurochs or some other bovine beast.

Anyhoo... we left Avebury on a southern trajectory and soon found ourselves wondering past yet another impressive Neolithic item, Silbury Hill.

As you can see, we had chosen a typically wonderful English summer day for our walk! This hill is entirely man-made. It is 40m high and was created about 4600 years ago. Why? Many theories abound, some more fanciful than others, but truth be told, no-one knows. Maybe an evil person, or tribe of evil people had been killed and they wanted to make really, really sure that they couldnt come back. As good a guess as any......

We continued on south and found ourselves at the West Kennet Long Barrow. Looking back from the top of the long barrow,  you would normally see Avebury but the mistiness allows only the view of Silbury Hill.

Wildlife-wise, there was not much to see. Ravens, blackbirds, jackdaws, various LBJs and this inquisitive beast who interrupted it's head scratching to inspect us closely as we wondered on by.

Most of the walk was in wide open terrain with almost the only overgrown area being at a stile leading into a veritable green canyon.

We only took a wrong turning once and thanks to my fetish for maps, we were able to discover where we actually were and get back on track. Part of the path we walked is the very beginning of the Ridgeway National Trail at Overton Hill. The walk was easy (thankfully) and without and ascent or descent to speak of, the highest point being about 225m.

This was all topped off with a fine ending at The Red Lion where we both decided that bangers and Devon cheddar mash was an appropriate choice.

Next? I need to continue to build my walking stamina and Ian and I are already talking of another, longer one in a couple of weeks. Pilgrims Trail and GR10 - here I come!

An early trip to Salisbury

We had planned to get up really early and wrap ourselves up nice and snugly (remember, it is winter here in the Northern hemisphere) and head off to photograph some misty scenes. However when the alarm went off on Saturday morning, checking revealed that the weather wasn't playing the game and the desired mist had not appeared. So we remained in our toasty bed for an extra hour or so before venturing out. Still fairly bright and early, however, we headed off to the cathedral.

Sun rising behind Salisbury Cathedral

Although just past midwinter, there are always a number of Grockles (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=grockle) and we were lucky enough to be there early enough to miss most of them. Along the pathway to the main entrance there is a permanent exhibition of the Walking Madonna. On this occasion, it and the lawn were still frosty.

I really enjoyed this and took this closeup of her, which I am now using as my computer wallpaper.

The first thing you see as you enter the cathedral entrance (not the main doors, which are only used on ceremonial occassions) is the Cloisters. The sun had just risen high enough on the far side to be shining really brightly. With sun this bright you would expect it to be nice and warm. Do not be deceived! It still fools me more often than not, even after 12 years here. You'd think I'd learn, but hey ho, maybe one day...

Looking down the passage of the cloisters, these columns make an interesting display. At the end of the passage and around the corner to the right hand side is the Chapter House, which holds a permanent display of one of the very few original Magna Carta documents in existence.

Upon entering the cathedral itself, one is presented with this magnificent view, looking down the nave towards the altar. It is not really apparent from this picture, but the big dark columns are actually bowing out, due to the massive weight of the steeple above. This was not part of the original design and thus added several tons of unplanned for stress to the walls and columns. Flying buttresses were added to contain the situation. The font in the foreground is a much more recent addition and is a wonderful thing all on its own. It gives wonderful mirror images of the views above, unless of course someone walks passed or, as was happening on this visit, the choir was practising around the corner and it their voices and the piano set off vibrations in it.

There are some wonderful examples of woodcarving in the cathedral and this wasp was at the end of one of the choir stalls. It is a lot larger than life size and is probably about 8 to 10 inches long. Wouldn't want that buzzing about your head!

A favourite of mine in the cathedral (which we love to visit and have done many times over the years) is the candle which burns for prisoners of conscience around the world. It has always struck a chord with me and is a very powerful display.

Recently a tapestry display has also been added (I think this is temporary) which continues the candle and barbed wire theme through it.

Standing in the quire and looking east towards the alter one has this splendid view.

Having left Salisbury and deciding not to go straight home, our route took us past Stonehenge, which was as ever thronged by hordes of grockles. I have never been there without gazillions of these nasty creatures. Still, they must bring in a fortune to the National Trust, as there isn't exactly a large upkeep to a bunch of stones, is there? They have sheep in the fields to keep the grass down and perhaps have to mow and maintain the paths occasionally.

Well, that was our day, Saturday 14th Jan 2012.  A very pleasant excursion, if not the most exotic of outings. 

A walk up a hill on a sunny Saturday

A note to those who are unaware:

you can click on any of the photos below and get a larger version of them....

The weather on Saturday was predicted, by those meteorological soothsayers in the Met Office, to be sunny patches with rain later, at about 4 p.m. so we set off early(-ish!!!) and visited one of our favourite breakfast haunts, The Old Farmhouse, in Burley for the daily breaking of the fast. This having been accomplished, we set off once more towards the West. The car found it's way to Sandbanks in Poole, home to some of the most expensive real estate in the world, but we ignored this (plebs that we are) and drove on past to catch the chain-link ferry across to Studland.  A short while later, we had parked the car and we had wended our way to the cliff tops at Old Harry, which is a large chalk sea-stack at the westernmost point of Poole Bay. 

Old Harry flanked by "his wife" to the right and the mainland to the left

This chalk is soft and friable, as compared to other rocks that one usually finds making up cliffs and this can be seen where the (normal) gentle lapping, of what are fondly known as waves here, has polished the surface.

This stuff behaves exactly as, well, chalk! I picked up a piece and inadvertently (yeah, right!) dragged it across my jeans, where it left a lovely white mark just as a piece of the white stuff that we older folk knew and loved from school lessons. Youngsters these days will have no idea......

Just to give you an idea of the size of these things - and think about the fact that they were laid down long, long ago as accumulations of the skeletons of tiny creatures - take a look at the size of the people in this picture, as they walk along grass growing on the cliff tops near the top left.

As one of us still has to be very careful about how much she does (I do realise I am over-protective of her) we did not go the whole hog and walk to Swanage which was around the next headland, nor even to the top of the hill. However, a goodly way up, we stopped and viewed the scene before us. Unfortunately the panorama doesn't do justice to the actual scenery, it really was an amazing sight! Directly above the head of my better half, on the other side of the bay is Bournemouth and Poole is about halfway from there to the left.

All in all, a wonderful day. I haven't mentioned that it was cool and there was a stiff breeze blowing, which I always enjoy. These days are going to become fewer and farther apart for us, here in the upper latitudes, so we must seize them while we can!

An American Vacation - Part the Second

Day Two of our Catskill holiday (vacation to the Americans) dawned and the view from our B&B across the valley to the mountain was just amazing.  If you click on the photo to see the larger version, you will see that the white splodge near the top right is in fact a house!

We took a walk in the woods where I spotted this old tree. One could almost swear that woodpeckers abound! Birdlife is far greater than what we are used to in the UK, but we have become very unused to spotting them.

Walking on beyond this tree brought us to the top of the Catskill falls, with beutiful views across the valleys. At this stage the river was little more than a healthy little stream......

....as you can see from this view looking back up into the hills from whence it came.

We took a trip down the mountain along a route known as the Devil's Kitchen ( no idea why) but it was just the kind of road I love driving - narrow, winding, with steep rise on one side and breathtaking drop on the other. Many rivulets, stream and waterfalls along the way too. bit I wont bore you with those.

Also along the way was this old falling-to-bits wooden building. Strange how many unkempt and dilapidated buildings we did find.

But just to prove that they aren't all like that, here is one that typifies the area.

Our hosts at the B&B told us that just a week or so ago, they had a brown bear wondering along the river at the bottom of the gully below their house, but although I have searched hard, I have not managed to see any. We did see deer on 2 seperate occassions, a multitude of sqirrels and a few of these delightful creatures - chipmunks, whose cries can drive one crazy if they carry on long enough!

I couldnt resist this one. A T-shirt in a shop window that just says it all!

That's all folks! Stay well.

A visit to far-off lands would not be the same without some indication of the location, so here is a little hint of where we went.

Now while it is certainly not Simon and Garfunkel, but it WAS a concert in Central Park! This guy was doing his utmost to get everyone to sing along, regardless of how well or poorly they sang and to be fair, he even had me, the last of the karaoke-ers, singing to the songs he sang. A pleasant interlude to a hot day in the park.

Boy, oh boy! These buildings are big! The saying goes, they make everything bigger in Texas, well dont you believe it! A person can get a seriously stiff neck walking around in this city. I chose to take the longer view and this shot was taken from the ferry to Staten Island, a free trip of about half an hour. You just have to put up with the terrific number of people crowding to get on at each end.

On my first day off after spending the week in the office, we visited the American Natural History Museum, where they had displays of live butterflies and frogs. I had been to a butterfly display similar to this in England before, but the variety here was astounding. If I were to show you all the different photos I took, you would very quickly become bored and disinterested, so let me suffice with just a very few...

We moved along to the Department Of Frogs, where we found this chap doing an imitation of me. I feel for him! There are some days when you just don't want to get out of bed, aren't there? Let alone be put on display.

The display pf the poison-dart frogs was the most challenging one to take photos of, as they were as active as cats on a hot tin roof, never standing still for long and I swear they waited until I had almost got the focus and everything ready then the little buggars hopped along. Nasty little things. Full of spite and, well, poison. Some of them are bad enough that just holding them will do a person no good.

This chap was the star of the show for me. To me he looks like he is saying "Get that thing outta my face! Go on, get it out before I come over there and sort you out!"

Of course a set of photos set in & around Manhattan would be the same without the almost obligatory skyline shots. So here is one from the south during the day....

And the nighttime shot as well. Beautiful place!

The Hudson is a mighty river.  An immense body of water! Across on the other side is the almost equally impressive New Jersey

Barcelona is not the only city in the world with strange and quirky buildings. This one in downtown Manhattan had a strange squiggly and silvery surface.

Of course, I had to show you some of the rubber necking type of views. This is really not the most impressive shot I could have shown you, but it's the best I managed to find when my camera was around!

Most of you will know that Elseline & I live near Southampton. So I had to try their ale. And as it was getting close to Halloween, their Pumpkin Ale seemed to be highly appropriate. Strangely enough, it was even rather palatable!

So, my week's worth of work came to an end and we headed off, intrepid travellers that we are, into the depths of the Catskill mountains ("kill" derives from a Dutch word and means creek, which seems to be any type of river except the massively big ones!) We booked in at the B&B (delightful place) and took a drive to the closest State Park which is a pair of conjoined lakes, aptly named North and South Lake Park! Here we found some examples of the coloured trees which the area is famous for.

I am easily distracted and found this large circular lichen on a fallen pine log fascinating. Not everyone's cup of tea, but hey, this is my blog and I'll post what I want!

By this time the sun had wended it's merry little way to the west and begun to drop. This made photography a little more challenging and I found I was hiding the sun behind trees, leaves and anything else I could find in order to get a few shots.

I loved the way the light bled around the silhouetted pine trees.

There were many people out camping, fishing and canoeing.  This pair look like they are padding away into the night, but really only had about half a mile to go to the far shore.

This has been a GREAT start to our American vacation and it all bodes well for more.  Next we hope to head off towards Yasgur's Farm, where the sounds of music festivals still ring out across the countryside, but not in any way as large as they used to.