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Friday 10 December 2021

It Gets Me Out Of The House

I know it's hard to believe, but the sun doesn't always shine in England. Sometimes, as described in unforgettable terms by Bill Bryson, it's like "living inside some Tupperware". And during the last few days a lid of thick cloud has been firmly clamped down upon us. But, if you've got a camera, there's always a reason to get out and about.



Here's a fairly typical wintry scene near Malton Farm, which is within walking distance of home. That little building on the left is an old dovecote dating from the seventeenth or eighteenth century. There used to be a village here at Malton but all that's here now is the farm and a few houses.....



....and a field with some Highland Cattle. They don't usually do much except stand and think, but I got lucky....



.....and found a particularly expressive shaggy beast.



I have no idea what attracted me to photograph this arrangement of poles and wires.



Or indeed these fences and sheds! Except that England is a worked-over (and overworked) land; barely an inch of it has not been changed in some way by the presence of humanity. It's silly to always search out scenes that look natural and untouched.



There's still a tinge of autumn about if you go and look for it.



Oak leaves are beginning to pile up under their trees. I've taken loads of these "forest floor" pictures but I don't think I've included many on the blog this year. So here's another taken in the last week.....



I think this is the leaf of a White Poplar shining out on the fast decaying leaf litter. And occasionally you can still come across real autumnal scenes like this.....



But it is really winter that is holding sway. And as I squelched my way across a watery meadow beneath a gloomy sky....



That's no pigeon perched up there and if you're a small mammal you'd better watch out - it's a Kestrel keeping watch for anything that moves in the grass. But sometimes the sun does come out, then you can keep an eye open for.....



Twenty-two degrees to either side of the sun on a chilly morning or evening you may see "sun-dogs". These bright, colourful spots in the sky are caused by sunlight being refracted by ice crystals in the atmosphere. No one seems to know why they are called "dogs", though I've always assumed it was just because they appear either side of the sun, like dogs being walked. 

If you haven't got a dog then take a camera for a walk.


Take care.



29 comments:

  1. Thanks for the walk in the English countryside, John. I enjoyed it from my perch looking out over the city of Hollywood, CA!

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  2. Always something to get a photo of even on dull day. Love the shaggy beast and the sundog

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  3. What I wish to know John is that those photos where there are leaves with their undersides showing to the camera - did you turn them over or were they that way up.

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    1. They are as I found them, though I did remove a small stick from the first photo.

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  4. Oh, by the way, I not that you are just a few miles north of Braughing, where I lived as a boy for several years.

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  5. Yikes! Watch out for the horns on that shaggy beast! It doesn't look too pleased with you!
    Love the "sun dogs" - I never spot those!

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  6. I love all of these shots. I tend to not like to walk on that kind of a day but you made me think that I should. I've never seen a sun-dog - it looks very cool.

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  7. Highland cattle are a breed we don't see here. Quite a look to this one.

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  8. Shaggy beast is a perfect description. A good-looking head of hair. Not sure I would trust those horns!

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  9. Thanks for taking me outside. I must admit I haven't done much outside for the last three days. Snow on the ground is my excuse.

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  10. THanks for braving the soggy day, and catching a sun dog! Beautiful.

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  11. I love the light in these photos, especially in the fourth and sixth ones.

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  12. I love those Highland cattle. I see White Poplar here marking the site of pioneer homesteads, brought when people immigrated.

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  13. Lovely photos, as always, John. I had not heard of sun-dogs.

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  14. Maybe the "dogs" of "sun dogs" hearkens back to the days of wood fires when fires were laid on "fire dogs" -- the irons that hold the logs in the fireplace. Especially if you get two, one on either side of the sun, the sun is the fire and the swaths of color are the dogs. That's what I think.

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  15. Thank you.
    I thoroughly enjoyed walking with you and your camera.

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  16. Where I live in Oregon is often wet, gray and gloomy in the winter. But I don't mind - rain in the lowland means snow in the mountains!

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  17. Hi John - love the photos and there's always something delightful to see out walking. Wonderful highland cow ... love the sun-dog - we had beautiful rainbows this week against a very dark broody sky. Gorgeous area of England - thank you ... cheers Hilary

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  18. There are many aphorisms about the English weather, it seems, and I have experienced more of its gloominess than I would have liked on a couple of visits. My favourite was uttered by an old English fellow who had moved to Canada to be close to his only child who lives here. He used to say that if you read the newspaper you missed summer!

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  19. I'd not heard Bryson's Tupperware quote before. That is very apt! I know just what he means. Just love all your photos too, though I think that hairy cow has a bit of a mad eye.

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  20. Thank you for reminding me that even on a cloudy day there is still awesome beauty to be found. Love seeing these photos, John. Very inspiring. I am so glad you photographed that sundog. The ephemeral beauty of our skies.

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  21. A lovely walk! I haven’t seen a sun dog since I left the North.

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  22. The shaggy beast is a nice looking animal, I love the look he's giving you. The sundog is something I seen in Alaska, it's quite amazing. Thanks for the lovely walk, John and the beautiful photos.

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  23. Beautiful pictures all of them but specially like the cow(we dont have cows like that)
    and the landscape around it

    Thank you for this post from England

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  24. Is here a fence between you and the shaggy beast ? Was it a bull? I’d never share a pasture with a bull. I get nervous when the Angus bull follows along with a fence between us.

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  25. very nice to see and read this post * "sun-dogs" in french sometimes "œil de bouc"

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  26. Lovely post, as it always in when I drop in, John. Lovely photographs. I don't believe there is anywhere in Britain, let alone England, that has not been changed in some way by the presence of humanity - even in the Highlands.

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  27. Lovely walk! An interesting expression - sun dog!

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