A Creative Spirit
It has rained at some point every day this week, apart from Friday when the sky was blue and the sun shone with the heat of an English summer. Removing layers of jumpers I stripped down to a t-shirt. Starving mosquitoes, after weeks of rain, lost no opportunity in feasting on my bare arms as... Continue Reading →
I first started taking photographs of the Milk Vetch back in December while walking along the cliff path at our local beach, and it is still flowering in mid-February. I've noticed some of of the flowers are now turning to seed pods. I did take a photograph, but the strap of my mobile phone was... Continue Reading →
Finally, Six on Saturday. Yesterday was one of those days where anything that could go wrong did. Google informed me that my inbox was full and so all the photos I'd taken for SoS did not arrive. On further investigation it transpired I had sent all my mobile phone pictures to a Google cloud in... Continue Reading →
The theme for Fake Flamingo's poetry challenge this month is friendship. This poem is a collaboration between myself and a talented young poet, Darren White. She brings purple to grey braille to fingers turns trees to chanting dryadsHe brings indigo to bleak daystears down defencesinto my essenceto him I am agape She is the lightning the fierce cracking energy spreads her... Continue Reading →
This week for Wild Wednesday I have chosen the wild antirrhinhum. Who knew Antirrhinums grew in the wild? They grow near the coast, in pine forests and even in sand, as pictured below. They are also called: Boco de lobo do literol or as loosely translated: WOLF MOUTH Several walks along the cliff tops or... Continue Reading →
This has not been a good week and to top it off all the photographs I took earlier this morning are still stuck in my gmail send box. Late this afternoon, I finally found a work around by sending the photos via Yahoo and they sent within mintues! So much for getting up early to... Continue Reading →
If last week was one of those weeks I would like to file in a box, firmly shut the lid, lock then hide the key on the top shelf of my bookcase, this week I have wanted to throw the key away. At the beginning of January I made the conscious decision (NYR): not to... Continue Reading →
Also known as : common ramping-fumitory Fumaria is a genus of about 60 species of annual flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae. The genus is native to Europe, Africa and Asia, most diverse in the Mediterranean region, and introduced to North, South America and Australia. Fumaria species are sometimes used in herbal medicine Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumaria_officinalis... Continue Reading →
The temperatures this week are back to 'winter' normal so I can pack away my thermal underwear and stand down from fire duty. Remembering to feed the fire with logs all day to keep us warm, is a time-consuming and a labour of love. 1. Cats %&G&$$, CATS! - How Do You Deter Them? This... Continue Reading →
As I enjoy taking photographs of nature I decided to create a MEME called #WildWednesday. Every Wednesday I will be sharing a photograph of wild flora or fauna in my local area. Who will join me? How it works: Simply post a photograph to your blog with some relevant blurb if possible. Include the words... Continue Reading →
This week we were greeted with a rare and unexpected ground frost which took us by surprise. While it is common to have minus temperatures down in the valley, where we are upon the cliffs, not so much! We've just gone back into COVID lockdown but as we've become a pair of hermits it does... Continue Reading →
While daytime temperatures during the previous week were warm and sunny this week the sun has been replaced by mostly cloud and an icy wind driving temperatures down to as low as 9C. As well as the cold, we also have to contend with the humidity. Not the type of humidity usually associated with oppressive... Continue Reading →
It's been a while since I participated in Six on Saturday so with my 2020 personal challenges hopefully behind me I have decided to take up gardening with renewed enthusiasm and reconnect with my gardening blogging buddies! Raises spade to a 'Hopeful' New Year. Over the years I have been tempted to abandon my often... Continue Reading →
We spent the week dodging heavy rain and admiring rainbows. Socially-distanced meetups with friends were canceled and then rearranged at the last minute when the sun dodged the clouds and made a brief appearance. Water butts brimmed to overflowing and the long-awaited rain sounded like music to my ears as it drummed on the roof... Continue Reading →
Over the last few weeks, my mobility after a total knee replacement operation eight weeks ago has plateaued. Despite physical therapy twice a week and plenty of home exercise my knee bend has not improved beyond 90 degrees. Yes, I managed to dispense with one crutch but the lack of muscle around my knee means... Continue Reading →
The temperatures this week have dropped dramatically as the autumn breeze brings an icy chill. Although our weather station still records temperatures in the low twenties during the day, step away from the shelter of the terrace then shorts and sleeveless tops are quicky replaced for warmer clothes. Night temperatures have also plummeted as low... Continue Reading →
I am convinced our youngest grandson thinks we live in his Dad’s phone. Thanks to the Coronavirus, we haven’t seen him since November 2019 when he was just nine months old. I doubt, given his age, he can relate to us in terms of flesh and blood – we are just characters like people on... Continue Reading →
This week has brought further gardening challenges as my lack of mobility still hinders progress working in the garden. Last week I made a 'muscle' job list of work that we would probably need to employ some help with lifting and heavy digging. But as I wandered around the garden I realized that was just... Continue Reading →
Thanks to time out due to replacement knee surgery this is my first Six on Saturday post for several weeks. My 'Gnome', aka OH, has made an excellent job keeping most things alive during my stay in hospital and subsequent recovery. Unfortunately, for Gnome, I now have a long job list to see us through... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 