Flower Fix

A few more flowers and gardens that I photographed during the summer. It seems a long time ago now.

Take care

Out Of The Wood

I mentioned recently that I'd been taking a lot of photographs of rotting wood. I know,I know - cute kittens, pretty girls and stunning landscapes are more obvious subjects but these were all in short supply on a cold January morning in Cambridgeshire. So...... 

Wood can't do this all on its own, of course; it needs a little help from these little chaps below.

Take care.

A Morning For Walking

There was much debate among weather forecasters but they all agreed about one thing: early morning was the time to be out and about if you wanted to catch the best of the day. So, taking their advice to the extreme, I was out before sunrise when there was still a little frost on the ground. 

According to my father, who had the information from his grandfather, when rooks stay near the farm bad weather is to be expected. Our neighbourhood rooks also seemed to be undecided and wheeled noisily and argumentatively overhead, some intent on heading south while others favoured feeding grounds nearer to home.

I hoped the home-loving rooks were wrong because I intended following the footpaths towards Fowlmere nature reserve. My steps led to Shepreth Moor, a little remnant of the old agricultural practice of using such badly-drained land as rough grazing.  

Modern farming methods don't leave any land untouched, but they do give rise to much used and disused machinery.

Here comes the sun! Blazing in from just above the horizon and throwing golden light on the winter grasses alongside the little brook.

So on I went, concentrating on the little details of landscape rather than the wider picture. 

A little ivy plant growing next to the sawn end of felled branch.

The rich textures of rotting wood - I took dozens of photos of fallen wood; the dampness of the melting frost bringing out the colours and patterns.

Finally I arrived at Fowlmere with its reed beds and alder trees. The alders were providing food for large flocks of finches. The sun had passed behind the encroaching bank of cloud which set the tone for the rest of the day.


Take care.

The End Of The Year Show

The morning of December 31, 2014, was spent rambling around Amwell Nature Reserve in Hertfordshire. Here are some photos:

The sun attempting to battle its way through the early morning mist

Down on the River Lea Navigation nothing stirs

Searching for birds....

Ah, there's one!

This little Robin hopped on to the fence

right in front of me,

just begging to have his picture taken.

Time for a walk to try to warm up.

Exploring the valley of the River Ash

A frosty Teasel seedhead

The beautiful little River Ash

Back to the Lea Navigation

The thaw begins

Sunshine at last.

A cheerful omen for the year to come, perhaps.

That's all for 2014.

Now I really must fly!

Take care.

Grantchester Barrel Race - 2014

The good folk of Cambridgeshire gathered at the Grantchester Barreldrome (otherwise known as the Coton Road) on December 26 for the Barrel-Rolling Championships. Contestants had been limbering up in the four village pubs beforehand but most of them made it to the start by 12 noon. The honorary starter this year was local celebrity Martin the Postman, who has been delivering our letters for the past twenty-five years. So lets watch the start of the first race.....

....all lined up neatly for the start....

....hey, it's not as easy as it looks....

....OK, now we've got the hang of it....

....how did that happen....?

Practising before the event is frowned upon so competitors have to work it out as they go along (or go wrong!). There are men's and women's races for the staff and regulars of the pubs, then an open race for any village teams which people can organise, then there are two "international" races featuring crack teams from other villages. Lets check out the various styles on display....

                                                                                   

As it's a back-and-forth relay there is plenty of scope for things going a little awry....

This year, for the first time in human history, the team from the little village of Madingley were victorious in the County Championships....

The ladies from the Blue Ball pub won their race and can here be seen on the medal podium....("It's a builders' truck!" - whaddaya mean ?)

Money raised from the collection and the sale of programmes went to the local church and The Samaritans. Here's a video I managed to take of the Open Race, where the Cricket Club,in blue, were victorious.....

Take care.

"By Stargoose And Hanglands" - A Calendar

A calendar for 2015 made up, as it must be of course, of photos from earlier years. I've tried to get away from having all scenic shots to pictures representing the diverse subject matter you're likely to encounter on this blog. 

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

Take care.