The June Link Up

It is the end of the first month of The Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. This is run by Rinda at Gallo Organico and you can see the link ups here. I have already posted quite a few and will provide links at the end of this post.
The one that has to be almost chance to find is No. 18 An Overloaded truck, car, bicycle or other vehicle. I have seen some good ones on the motorway when it is impossible to capture them but I have caught these two. The first I spotted in a lane close by.

Then today I came upon this load having just past the other half of his load tipped on the verge. Fortunately nothing was in the way when he lost the rest of the bales. It was not ours I might add.

There seems to be a little dispute over No. 7 A Turtle. It's seems that the difference between a turtle and a tortoise is less defined across "the pond" , a lot of people having posted what I would consider to be a tortoise! Anyway I have seen neither! So for now I am settling for this cute but rather pricey children's "paddle bag" I saw in the shops.

Then in the same shop some rather cute turtle beanies.

Then finally for today No. 17 At Least Two People wearing matching clothes or uniform. These two girls were in their Life Guard Uniforms as they took a well earned break around the school fair.

If you would like to see more then follow these links to ones I have posted earlier in the month.

No.1 A bouquet of flowers 

No. 5 Architectural Columns 

No 9 A Tent

No. 10 A College or University and No. 11 A cellular tower or television satellite dish

No 15 A Flagpole with 3 flags on it

No. 16 A panoramic view from somewhere high in the air

Alternative A Someone Eating Outside 

Good luck to everyone in the rest of their hunt!

Which Tent?

When I called in at the school fair last week I thought I might be able to find No. 9 on Rinda's list for the photo scavenger hunt namely A Tent. I didn't head for all the gazebos sheltering the stalls I made for a new innovation at the school, a Yurt Village.

This gives a wonderful outdoor area for all sorts of activities for the junior and senior school with space for concerts and a stone fire place for BBQs as well as more peaceful activities and camps. The Yurts are quite substantial with a proper door. Do they count as tents?

They are basically made of canvas. Just in case they don't I snapped a couple of more traditional tents at the local outdoor superstore which we visited to equip Emma for her imminent trip to Tanzania. So for the individual.

Then for the whole family.

And if your family is large.... 

Another bonus at the Yurt Village which those with a keen eye may have noticed was that one of the teachers was busy putting up two flag poles. I eagerly asked how many flags he was intending to put on each pole telling him about my quest for No. 15 A flag pole with 3 flags on it. He said he would have been happy to oblige but the windy weather was likely to snap the pole with the weight! I therefore had to settle for two poles with two flags each.

He also suggested lining up the two so that it looked like one! I was told what each flag was but I am afraid I did not remember!

                          

                       

    

The Daily Stock Check

This afternoon I went with Kate to check the animals. Monty came along for the ride.

First we checked the yearlings and Kate fed them.

Sky knows she has to stay in the back of the truck however tempting it may be to get out.

Monty is not so obedient and the sight of any kind of food is too much for him.

The cattle were not so sure about sharing.

Kate decided to take a close up of one of the more friendly ones.

We then moved on to the sheep. Sky had a little play in the trough.

Before the more serious job of checking the sheep for any problems.

One ewe needed a little bit of attention to her feet supervised from above.

Farmers Afternoon Tea

Over the last few days the boys have been fencing. They asked me today to bring them a cup of tea. I immediately identified an opportunity to get a picture for one of the alternatives in  Rinda's photo hunt. Alternative A. Someone Eating Outside. 

The field they are working in has been arable for some years but has now been laid down to grass. It needs better fencing to keep the sheep from eating the hedge.

On a hot day like today the sheep are very glad to have lost heir coats and are looking for any shade they can find.

Meanwhile the fencing continues.

Then it is time for a cuppa and a piece of home made chocolate brownie. What better to use for an impromptu picnic table than a tractor loader bucket? 

And ha! I have my photo!

A Climb up to Find a Panoramic View

Each month I go for a walk with my Walk and Talk group. When I discovered that we were intending to do a walk that we had attempted in the winter but had cut short because of the weather I knew this was an opportunity for a photo. The walk climbs slowly up from a village called Swineford to the top of Lansdown just outside Bath. It reaches a height of 230 metres. An ideal chance to get No. 16 A Panoramic View When Standing Someplace High in the Air for Rinda's photo challenge.

The walk up is along a bridle path with high hedges so there is very little view until you are quite high up. Then you have a spectacular view back over the River Avon.

The weather was not as clear and sunny as it has been for the rest of the week which did not give such good visibility but was easier for walking in. We climbed on up to Prospect Stile, a famous viewpoint on the edge of Lansdown Racecourse. It is reputed that you can see 5 counties from here. We were a little stumped counting these. Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire and the fifth? This is of course the old counties which now have been subdivided.

We had a view over Bath and could distantly pick out Westbury White Horse. Closer to us was Kelston Roundhill.

The walk took us on around the edge of the racecourse and a golf course with fabulous views all the way.

Looking towards Bristol we could pick out both of the Severn Bridges.

Quite a lot of the walk followed the Cotswold Way. We met a number of walkers and runners including two gentlemen walking from John O Groats to Lands End making our walk seem very inferior.

Fortunately they had passed by before we stopped for a Tai Chi lesson.

It was a lovely walk with superb views. I fear I will be a little stiff tomorrow from that climb up and down.

When is a Column Not a Column?

I am looking today at No. 5 Architectural Columns in Rinda's Photography Scavenger Hunt. The place to visit to look at 18th Century architecture is certainly Bath and if you have never been there pop it on your to do list.

Yesterday I had a visit to the hairdresser. His salon is on the first floor in George St and has a view over one of the finest streets in Bath - Milsom St which is the up market shopping end of the city. I suddenly realised as I rushed to my appointment that I was passing some fine architectural columns. Well they are columns but they don't hold anything up. They are decorative Corinthian columns which adorn this fine street which was built in 1762. 

Halfway up the centre building which is The National Westminster bank is more ornate than its neighbours with fine examples of these columns.

Most of these buildings which are now shops, banks and restaurants were originally houses. The top of Milsom St has ornate buildings on either side. Both used to be banks and still have the banking halls inside. On one side was The National Westminster which is now Loch Fyne Fish Restaurant. This building is elaborately decorated.

The other side was Lloyds Bank whose lettering can still be seen and is now a  Miller and Carter Steakhouse.

Over the years of sitting in the hairdressers chair I have often pondered over why these two grand buildings don't match and why one has round columns and one has square ones. Were the owners trying to out match each other? 

By coincidence a picture appeared on Facebook yesterday of the bottom of Milsom St in 1895. You can see columns on the bottom right hand building and the centre building bulging out.

The main difference today is not the buildings but the traffic!

A Pair of Orchids

I am joining in Helena's Pairs this morning. I am doing a kind of double pairs today. We are lucky that at this time of year we have a lot of Orchids in our disused quarry. The area is run as a conservation area.

I have chosen a pair of different orchids and a kind of zoom in and zoom out on each pair.

The first is as its name suggests is more commonly seen. The Dactylorhiza Fuchsii or Common Spotted Orchid. Seen here from a distance on one of the cliff edges.

Then a close up of the same type in a more accessible spot. Not the same one as I am not into climbing up the sides of the quarry!

Then for the second pair the more unusual and rather elusive Ophrys apiferia or Bee Orchid.

Then zoomed in there is no need of an explanation why it has such a name.

Nature is an extraordinary thing. I have just read on The Wildlife Trust website that the Bee orchid evolved to look like a bee so that the bee attempted to mate with it and at the same time pollinate it. A frustrating set up for the bee! In Great Britain this type of bee is not present so the flower is self pollinating.

On the Move

The calves that went out into the fields a few weeks ago are now a year old and are termed as yearlings. (Makes sense!) We moved them to a fresh field at the weekend which meant a little trip down the road.

A few of us helped to stop any strays.

They were soon safely in their new pasture.