I sat below a tree, just started writing and not long later 14pages filled. might have blotch or two with a tear drop.

I need to get out with the camera tomorrow , getting those withdrawal feelings, might go and chase some little things.

One last, little job to do, before my holiday is done, will start tomorrow and finish Friday.


Some rather nice little Forget me nots, with the bonus of a fly on them..

I kinda lost track of what day it was today, I think the first day< i have not taken a picture, this holiday, close to not blogging as well, I am getting all my pots filled with flowers, been 40 plus years of doing this, to think once upon a time, I hated the thought of a garden, but I was maybe around 7 at the time lol, helped my uncle out, then one day it was just like a natural thing to do. Got into competitive growing, but bedding displays, is all I really do now, this year, has been a struggle adapting , but now know, what I can do in the future and working on new plans. A flower bed filled with wildlife attractors , but the first 4 plants today, all Lupins, I have a triangle bed for a Buddlia, too attract the butterflies, might add a pond like thing, will see. , my mind is never stopped from thinking. To stop is to give in,

I put one thing to the test today as well, I kind of know the results, but will see and know more in the morning.

I got passed on a steep climb, by a man on an electric bike today, he gave me one of those looks and then just smiled, funny thing, when I overtook him, I never even changed my focus from the road ahead and the Kestrel, I was watching as well.


My joint favourite thing, just now to take pictures off, damselflies, this was the one, that got me all the looks on Saturday, when I just had to lie in the bog and take its picture, well worth it to me..

Little bit different this one, took some snapshots, I will call them, as I walked , to the little garden centre close to me, maybe a 1.5 miles or so, nice little walk,
First picture, when I took it, thought walked in every field in this picture, some use to be a fairly weekly one, so many tales, it could tell.

This little strip of wood, might not even be 20ft across, it runs along side the cemetery and road on other side.


That one tree stands out, the colour, never noticed it before and it is a large tree, it just shows, always a school day.


Join me, to see what adventures lie over the brow of the hill, my life is a journey, one that has told many stories and I am sure more to follow.


It's farm land all around me. undulating countryside.


Final image for this one, another , not used much now, when the mines were working it mostly carried coal, you could here the train come rattling along from miles away, feel the vibration on the lines, we walked here a lot.

I remembered, I use to do blogs with a few images in them, back in the Whokens days, memories, all about the memories.

I am more, rested than, I have been in a while it has not easy to change a mindset, but I kind of know, I have too. I still work away, but I never make a list of things, that I want to do , each day, for when I did, they had to be done.

Teaching myself better habits, some are so simple, things, that I have always done, but do them better now.

When taking a picture today, I had thoughts of her, getting to that time of year again, the old routine, a card sent to her, address My angel in heaven, the thought each and every day never change, the wonder of what kind of person, she would have been, whether she would have been a mother by now, what she would have done with her life, but not one day did she get.

Reality came back, with a question, what is that smell, my Scrabble buddy was walking by, I said it's me, but it was the Lilac bush in my front garden, was trying to get a picture, she had to come in and smell it for herself, it really is such a wonderful fragrance. We stood for a while, she was saying she is thinking of getting a dog, now she has the time, plus, I know some one, that will walk it , whenever they want it ..

Please this one really does warrant a click to see, it full size, not often I will say that for, not often, I actually post one that I really really like.

With the rain we had this morning, it left so many little droplets on the flower, seeing it come alive, as I focused on it, .

Walking back home, this afternoon, got a few funny looks, wonder if it was because, I was wet and a bit muddy, even got one FFS.

You just have to get the pictures lol.



Till today, had not seen many of these little fellows, but it was World Bee day and I had a bit of fun with them, plenty of different types as well, will have another day, at them, before my holidays are over.

[/url]
Back to old way of posting pictures, if anyone, ever does want to see them bigger when I do post one like this, let me know and I can send the picture in a pm.

I woke up this morning all sore, helping someone out , comes at a price sometimes. Probably just another thing to add too, the list of only in moderation, But it was nice, to have a chainsaw in the hand, two large trees, to be cleared up, casualties of a winter storm, more than enough wood, to keep a house in heat for a winter and that is it's end place, I did carve to seats out of two large sections, but soon got called thrones. The logs will all,be split with a hydraulic splitter, not like the old days, when we did it all by hand smaller stuff with an axe,, large rounds with wedges and sledge hammer
I did get offered full time job at the end of it, back in the day, I use to help his Dad out, but politely said no.

Today will take, it easy, hedge cutting , has to be started, I am week or so later, than normal, but I had a Blackbird's nest and no way I was disturbing this, all left the nest now.

I am gradually ramping things up, finding that happy balance. might manage out with the camera, but tomorrow, for sure.

Oh yes, back to picture, I think, with the right conditions, I can make a decent picture from here, will need to shoot it, just a little bit wider, maybe 70mm will work, with a sunrise behind it, yes got the vision in my head, it will stay there, probably for a long time, but something to work on.

Last day of week one of the holidays, it has been very relaxing to be honest, done a lot less, than I normally would rested the body, by my standards, but normal service returns.

I was out at 4am for a walk,I had to put on a winter jacket over my shirt, when I had went in to open the greenhouse it was only 5c in one, funny old spring this one, I got home around 6-30 am and had a little snooze, once I had breakfast, it is part of the process for me now, If I am out as early.

I was taking pictures of flowers yesterday and I will not bore you, with any more pictures of them, but the thing, I really noticed, was the lack of Bees and other little pollinators, even less, than last year, hardly seen a butterfly in the garden as well.

I was walking back from the shop, when I heard fancy a cuppa, my Scrabble playing friend is home. She has been out the country, for ages travelling, the largest part was visiting her daughter in Australia with the chance of her seeing about moving there , but in her words was nice to visit, but not a cat in hells chance, she could ever stay there. Last months in Canada and US. I gave her a hug as I left and she turned to me and said, I missed those hugs..

No Glasgow today another day. I woke feeling a little off and just stayed in bed, never got up till 8am, lack of energy is just another side effect of things, when some days, you just have to take time, to get going in the morning.

I was a bad diabetic yesterday, for the first time in ages, just craved something nice, so when I saw a doughnut that was chocolate and orange in Marks & Spencers, I knew, that was the desire and the cure and it did not disappoint, took me a good 30 minutes to eat, little bits at a time, to just let the pleasure last. I recommend these to anyone, who likes that combo to try.

Maybe I should do a daily what have I bought today thing, I could be an online shopaholic without to much trouble and I know I go periods of spend and then I hit it on the head for months and just buy the odd thing, I do think I wait to holidays and it is just to pass the time, sometimes, I am just use to working and then might only buy one thing a week.

I posted a status 13hrs ago and it last had a comment 9 hrs ago and it is still on the status page, now if I would find that a little worrying if this was my place. I know us oldies go on about how the place use to be and yes things change,

On the subject of change.
Normally I would have brought down the exposure in this picture, but I went the opposite way and brought it up, I think it works with these Speedwell, the contrasting colours work for me.

Bit of a later one today, weather is dreich, been just pottering, walked in the woods yesterday, the bloom is the best, I think I have ever seen, all the wild fruit trees are covered , spectacular sight to see for sure, can remember it being so when I was young, usually led to bad winter, mother nature was making sure, there was fruit to feast on before winter.

Not even warm feeling, only maybe 12c at the most.

I think tomorrow Glasgow, maybe I will message an old friend and see, if she is around for lunch, already I am ready for the lecture I will get ,11 months from my Stroke now, crazy how the time, has went in and crazy how lucky I was. Each day is a bonus and each day, I keep chasing the positive, sure I get the odd negative thought, but keep on fighting.


Crab apple blossom, nature sure does make me smile.

So my lazy day did lead, to what I expected a total lack of sleep time lol, so today will be a recovery day, with easy jobs to do, in the greenhouse mostly and wander in the woods.

Officially the first day of my holidays, for my normal weekend starts now on Friday and finishes on a Sunday. I get asked , why I have never went abroad, when I was younger,it was not in my thoughts. Plus, I just loved working, never really had a holiday as such until I met Julie and then we had weekends away and weeks in a cottage , that was pretty much it for a long time, till my journeys over the border which were always enjoyed. Then my Mum asked me not to go anywhere on a plane as she would be worried about something happening to it, all thoughts stopped, now even an overnight is pretty much out the question, as I have my Mum to look after more and more and she comes first, before anything.

I get out with the camera, can get miles in on the bike, got a garden, simple pleasures in life, that does me.

In tastes I have simple pleasure, use to say, I was a simple man, but nothing could be further from the truth, I take time to get too know, it is not days weeks or months , it is years, not many have ever lasted to find out, who I really am, maybe no one has ever really done that, maybe I am just not worth bothering to learn about.

Came to another conclusion yesterday, a holiday for me, gives me too much time to spend money, online shopping is just too easy.

Further adventures with the new lens below, needs a click on the image to see, at there best.

Bluebells, my woods are looking great with them just now, but finding just the right one.

Wild Garlic, I took a series of pictures of this all at F2 just a shallow depth of focus , but I really love these pictures, especially when I turned them into black and whites, which was the idea in the first place.