Take Three Thursday: Christmas Lights

I am chasing my tail a little at the moment trying to keep up with my blog and also with my blog reading. I haven't forgotten you all and I shall be back to see what you have all been up to. Yesterday I had a long session at the dentist having two teeth prepared for a double crown. I was therefore not terribly thrilled when the temporary top fell off during breakfast. This meant a trip back to see the dentist this afternoon. 

While I was in Bath I nipped over to visit a church which sells charity Christmas cards mainly in search of an advent candle. The candles were all sold out but I did manage to buy some Christmas cards and wrapping paper. I know if I buy it from them that the majority of the funds reach the charity.

 I still have no candle to light tomorrow for the first day of advent but I did get some pictures to join in Take Three Thursday. This meme is kindly hosted by Mary-Lou. The Christmas lights of Bath looked suitably festive in the fading afternoon light.

1. Milsom St is one of the famous shopping streets in Bath with the department store Jollys on the left. The street is mentioned in many novels set in Bath notably those by Jane Austen.

2. Green St is just off Milsom St. The church at the end is St. Michael's Without. It is so named because it was built outside the city wall. It is this church which has the Christmas cards for good causes. Also of note in this small street is the cosy little pub called The Old Green Tree. It is reputed to be so called as it is supposed to be the only place in Bath where you could stand and not see a tree.

3. The same lights taken from directly below. It is fortunately not a very busy street for  cars!

An Extra Special Birthday Present

I mentioned yesterday that I had received some extra special news yesterday. I can now reveal that late yesterday evening I received a particularly special birthday present. This was the exciting news that my niece had given birth to a baby boy.

Charlie was born at 10.32 and I will now be sharing my birthday with him. It has already been pointed out that my 60th will be his first! So no guesses  for how old I am this year, a little older than the 21 suggested by Eileen!

I am looking forward to meeting the newest member of our family.

Birthday

Today is my birthday which we partly celebrated yesterday when younger daughter was home with us and we all went out for Sunday lunch. I have been spoilt will lots of lovely presents, cards and birthday wishes.

During the day I went to visit mum who I am pleased to say is progressing well. Then it was a visit to see her cat Jesse who was not keen to talk to me.

Then it was home for a birthday tea with two cakes made by younger daughter and iced by older daughter.

Poppy hadn't had much of a day so then it was off out for a walk in the dark with Poppy and socks. Apologies in advance for the terrible night time pictures.

Then late in the day I have received some extra special news which I shall reveal tomorrow.

Winter Work

There is very little field work to do at this time of year but it is the time of year for tidying up dead trees and thinning  out woodland. This track is blocked by a fallen tree which needs removing.

It's an ideal time for this kind of work as most trees and plants are dormant. There are quite a few piles of previously cut wood from last year. 

Some will be brought in to fuel our large wood burner that heats both houses. Some will be left as habitant for small creatures and insects.

There quite a few interesting designs to be found.

A Muddy Walk

The weather has been so wet that wherever you go it is equally wet and muddy. I went along a local bridle path yesterday which was deep with muddy puddles in places.

I then cut back across one of our fields which was moderately better.

The sun was already dropping as I went back through the woods.

Somewhere new for Poppy to explore.

A Tricky Jigsaw

I took this when I was out walking today. I imagined what it would be like as a 1000 piece jigsaw. Where would you start? Are you a do the edge first person or do you scramble for bits that match? This one would take some time!

Take Three Thursday: Gates

I think I might just get this posted on Thursday but only just! I am joining Mary Lou with her Thursday meme showing 3 photos of things you have noticed.

I am partly using my archive for this. You can see by the trees that I took this picture a while ago. It was taken at the beginning of October when I noticed that one of our gates which is relatively new would have qualified for the Summertime photo hunt for circles and crosses in architecture. A bit late now!

This shows one of our garden gates looking through to the second one. You may be able to see the make shift repairs I have made to the fence and gate to contain Poppy in the garden until the farmer can mend it properly.

We don't have many footpaths across the farm but a new walkers gate has been put up on one stretch of path. These gates are also  suitable for disabled access .

The Grand Tidy Up

I spent Tuesday afternoon getting some of the garden tidied up. There is still quite a lot to do but two wheelbarrow loads are certainly a good start.

Things may now be a bit on hold for a while now. I had a call late afternoon to say mum has had a fall. It was then a dash over to accompany to hospital. Unfortunately she has broken her hip which is obviously not good news.

Please bear with me if my blog posts become a little intermittent.

Rapid Growth

Yes it's time for another Poppy update.

She is a typical lively puppy with lots of energy one moment and then conking out for a long sleep. A favourite occupation is jumping through the stubble turnips. This is a bit like one of those "Can you spot the dog?" pictures!

The biggest snag of all the walking at this time of year is the need for lots of washes. Strangely enough she is not too keen on the hose.

She is definitely getting bigger. These photos give a good comparison from soon after she arrived and now.

Needless to say she also is busy trying out her teeth. Everything has to be kept out of her reach!

A Glorious Start

I am usually up by about 6.30 in the morning which is quite late when compared to the farmer who is up and out by 5.30. People are often suprised that they need to start so early but that is when the hens wake up and start laying. He is back in for breakfast as I get up and then the day starts for me.

 Yesterday he popped his head back round the door to say that there was one of the best sunrises he had seen. Needless to say I trotted off down the garden equipped with my camera and phone but still in my dressing gown. He was quite right. The sky was certainly bright with colour.

 I started by taking a panoramic picture with my phone which actually gave a pretty good picture of the scene in front of me.

The colours came out pretty true to life. Those that I took on my camera are beautiful (well I think so anyway) but they are far more orange than the sky actually was.

The trees make a great silhouette.

Don't tell anyone but I had to walk on the garden to take this one.

I had two companions both wondering why their breakfast was delayed.

I had changed the ISO on my camera to take  Socks and Poppy. The picture I then took of the sky with this changed setting actually then gave a more realistic colour.

It was as well that I had gone straight out because within 15 minutes or so the colour was completely gone.

Colourful Leaves

There is still quite a lot of colour about. The cherry tree I look out on from my kitchen window is still covered in red and orange leaves.

A lot of shrubs are particularly bright and colourful especially after a shower of rain.

They brighten up the dull rainy days.

A Morning Dog Walk

Yesterday dawned as a crisp bright frosty morning. I was due to be out for most of the day so before I left taking Poppy out was a great opportunity for a morning walk. Walking along the track I could see two deer grazing on the freshly sprouted arable crops. They spotted Poppy and I but didn't see us as a great threat. They moved to a safe distance and continued to feast. You can just see them in the distance beyond the gate.

I don't know how many pictures I have taken of this particular ash tree in all different weather conditions. Today the blue sky and the lush green stubble turnip tops complimented the tree so well.

Then it was back across the field known as The Leg with still quite an autumnal look to the trees.

Poppy hasn't taken long to learn to pose for a photo!

Trees Against the Sky

The low sunlight at this time of year cane be very irritating when driving. It's in your eyes one moment and casts such long shadows across the road the next. When you are out walking it's a different matter. The sun behind the tress and the variety of skies can create some interesting effects. I have chosen some pictures that reflect this.

This first one is taken in one of fields. We call it Church ground as it previously belonged to the Chuch of England before it was sold. These trees sit on the brow of the hill.

The sun was popping through the trees on the boundary with one of our neighbours adjoining the disused quarry.

The view of the unusual light from the back of house early one morning and a rainbow too!

Take Three Thursday: Close Ups in the Quarry

On a Thursday I join in with Mary Lou's weekly memo to show what we have noted this week in three photos. This week I have chosen three details that I have spotted around our disused quarry which is now a nature reserve.

A little left over from summer.

A seed head .

A sign of hope for next spring.

On Around the Reservoir

The second part of our walk from Litton took us alongside two small reservoirs. The first one of these was built in 1846 and the second 4 years later. 

The labourers used to build them were mainly from Ireland. They were mostly Catholics and caused quite a stir locally when the parish church was used for mass. 

They are now the home to a variety of wildfowl and are also used for the breeding of fish.

This next photo looks back down onto the lower lake from the bank of the dam for the upper reservoir and also shows quite a different light on the lake.

The lakes were known as compensation reservoirs. Their purpose was to retain water when the Bristol waterworks drew water from the springs further up the River Chew at Chewton Mendip. It ensured that there was always adequate water for local use.

It was a great day for good reflections across the water as we walked on around the second lake.

The warning notices were clearly displayed at points all along the path. I was particularly curious about these because one of our local GPs had told me during the heatwave that he had been swimming in Litton reservoir the day before. Does he know something we don't or is he just foolhardy? Seems pretty clear to me.

The walk ended back in Litton where we passed one house that was well decorated for Halloween.

Hopefully we will have as good weather when we return to do the walk with my walking group.