Uploads from Cath in Dorset, with geodata

uplifted

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:07:39 -0700

Yesterday we went to the Chelsea Flower Show! We pulled the straw from our hair, put our best wellies on, got on the noisy train thing and went up to the big smoke. It was our first ever visit to the Show, and it was wonderful, despite the rather cool and overcast weather.

One of my favourite displays in the Great Pavilion was the stand from the Dutch grower Warmenhoven, with lots of different alliums, and a ceiling of amaryllis. It was literally uplifted and spiritually uplifting.

This is my entry for #22 Exuberance or joy in the group 113 pictures in 2013 - because it's so exuberant, and the whole day was so joyful.

The woman who sat by the lake and read a book

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:59:26 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

At the beginning of May, when the sun was unusually sunny, we went to a Craft and Garden Fair in the grounds of the New Castle at Sherborne. (The New Castle is 16th century, which is quite modern compared to the 12th century Old Castle.) The walk round the lake was beautiful with the spring blossom and the greeny grassiness. I like to think that the woman sitting on the bench was enjoying her solitude in such an attractive and peaceful setting.

This is my entry for #55 Solitude in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

More information about Sherborne Castle here: www.sherbornecastle.com/

bluebell woods

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:29:56 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

It's bluebell season, and our local wood is beautiful! An afternoon walk through the sun-dappled swathes of blue and green was such a pleasure.

(View on black)

In Explore, highest position #367

buddy

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Sat, 11 May 2013 04:06:38 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

An allium bud preparing to burst into flower, on a sunny evening after a light rain. We just need a bit more sunshine and it will explode into purple pointy roundness.

This is my entry for # 6 Strong rule of thirds in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

trugcatjump

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Wed, 08 May 2013 03:22:25 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

I couldn't think what I was going to do for the "Jump" topic, until one sunny day I was taking a rest from the gardening, with a camera by my side (naturally!), when I saw Fido investigating the garden trug. Cat-owners will know that there is a feline law which states that every box, container, receptacle or other possibly-cat-containing-item must at some stage contain a cat.

So this is my picture for # 62 Jump! in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

(I think Fido is trying to be in as many of the 113 pictures as she can - this is her second, after "Whiskers" - and I haven't even done "Feline" or "A pet" yet....)

Pastoral ruins

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:50:22 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

The ruins of Sherborne Old Castle, built in the 12th century as a fortified palace for Roger de Caen, Bishop of Salisbury. A panoramic stitch of three images. Taken from the grounds of Sherborne New Castle, built in the 16th century by Sir Walter Raleigh.

After last year and the first months of this year when it rained incessantly, especially on public holidays, it was wonderful to have a day out on a Bank Holiday with warmth and sunshine!

This is my entry for # 98 Wall(s) in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

spot the difference

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Sat, 04 May 2013 03:51:20 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

A tray full of auto jumble at the Abbey Hill Steam Rally in Yeovil yesterday looked just the thing for playing about with for the #16 Spot the difference (present two images as a diptych with one or more differences to see if others can spot the differences topic in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

The top is the original, the bottom has 10 differences, varying from obvious to very small. How many can you spot?

blue on blue

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:58:20 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

I lay on the grass to get the blue sky behind the bluebells without any other distracting bits from the surrounding plants (mostly weeds). It's been so dry and sunny recently that I hardly got damp at all!

This is my entry for #76 Something Blue in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

The road to Kingston Lacy

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:51:56 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

This beech-lined road is a favourite subject locally for photographers, but I had never taken any shots until last time we went to Kingston Lacy when we stopped off so I could take a few shots while the late morning sun striped shadows across the road.

This is my entry for #41 Trees in a row in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

defending the nest

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:47:08 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

Yesterday was the warmest and sunniest day yet this year, and we had a lovely day out at Kingston Maurward Gardens and Animal Park, near Dorchester in Dorset. There is a long narrow lake, with a pair of nesting swans at each end. This male was protecting his female and the nest from any ducks or geese which ventured too close, making a loud noise and lots of splashing in the process.

It's a great place to visit, especially if you have a child-like wonder (or even actual children, I suppose) and enjoy stroking the animals and saying "aaah" every time you see a baby animal (there were little lambs and goatlets which were very cute)! The gardens are also very attractive, lots to see. We had lunch in the student cafe (the whole place is a college teaching animal husbandry and such like courses), where the lady serving apologised that it was "pizza day" (we obviously look much too old (a) to be students and (b) to eat pizza!). We ate pizza, of course!

For more info: www.kmc.ac.uk/kc/gardens_animal_park

The joys of spring!

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:12:13 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

Can it really be spring at last?! We've had a couple of days of sunshine, and suddenly little shoots of hope are sprouting all over the place. Yesterday we went to Kingston Lacy; we walked through the woodland (note to selves: return in a couple of weeks to see the bluebells), and came out above the Japanese garden to see a beautiful splash of pink blossom. There were even a few bees, two butterflies and a bunny! I was so happy!

This is my entry for #102 Pink in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

(Looks nice on black)

the cat's whiskers

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:45:40 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

"To be the cat's whiskers" means "to be better than anyone/anything else".

This is my entry for #86 Whiskers in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

Which came first...

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 02:42:54 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

...the chicken or the egg?

After much in-depth research, I can report that the chickens came first (last September) and the eggs started to appear about 5 months later in mid-March!

The eggs are small compared to "normal" shop eggs, but they are so yolky and tasty. We are so excited to have home-laid eggs - we go out several times every day to peer in the nest boxes for new eggs! And the hens sing a happy "egg song" before and/or after laying an egg.

This is my entry for #105 In your fridge in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

my first wren!

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:14:01 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

Although not a great photo, it's the first I've ever managed to take of a wren, as they are tiny skittish brown-job birds which usually fly away soon as look at them. This was in the evening as the sun was going down, and the wren just hopped around the plum tree clacking at me for several minutes before flying away.

sunshine and yellow!

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 12:14:24 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

We've had a few days when the sun has actually shone (although it's still freezing cold), and it's so cheering. The daffs are enjoying it as well.

This is my entry for #8 Yellow and green in the group 113 pictures in 2013 . (I hope a bit of blue-mauve from the wood anemones is allowed in with the yellow and green!)

Happy Easter/Passover/Chocolate-Eating/Other Festival of Your Choice/Weekend!

ageing gracefully

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:05:26 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

We're all feeling the effects of age; personally, I'm ageing gracelessly rather than gracefully. Stiff joints, middle-aged spread, greying hair - and no wisdom or maturity in sight. Still acting my shoe-size rather than my chronological age.

These photos are from a visit to the Shillingstone Railway Project, run by a group of delightful enthusiasts who are trying to turn back time to pre-Beeching days when these 'ere rural parts had a railway network. More info here: www.shillingstone-railway-project.org.uk/. And more pictures below.

This is my entry for #34 Rust/rusty in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .

My favourite poem about growing old:

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Jenny Joseph

between the end and the beginning....

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 05:00:15 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

.... a hollyhock seedhead, in March, just before I start cutting all the old stems down, splitting plants, re-planting, watching the new growth form. I find seedheads strangely beautiful.

blingbox

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 03:43:51 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

Here's another photo I wouldn't normally do! This is my entry for #106 Jewellery in the group 113 pictures in 2013 . I was impressed by the shiny dangly glitziness of all the jewellery, but apparently it's all just cheap tat! I did a bit of post-processing with effects software called "Perfect Effects" which I donwloaded on a 30-day free trial.

crocus carpet

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:30:58 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

Today I was trying to remember a time when it didn't rain non-stop, when daylight had light instead of grey gloom in it, when the flowers bloomed, the sun shone, the dew-specked grass grassed, and so on.... so I cheered myself up with these photos from last month. I hope my weather-wise fellow-afflicted flickrites will be cheered too!

Don't walk on the snowdrops

nobody@flickr.com (Cath in Dorset) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:16:26 -0700

Cath in Dorset posted a photo:

At Kingston Lacy a few weeks ago, the Lime Walk was roped on either side to stop people trampling on the snowdrops (as if we would...). As well as taking the usual snowdrop photos, I was also thinking of the group topics and trying to look at things differently, and took this for #78 Rope, String or Twine in the group 113 pictures in 2013 .