Hawthorn's November Scavenger Photo Hunt

Once again Hawthorn Spellweaver (click here to visit her blog) has organised another Scavenger Photo Hunt.  She provides a list of 10 words and the objective is to select a photo for each word.  We are encouraged to think outside the box!  This month's list I found rather challenging.  So here is my offering for November and you can judge how I got on.

1   Menu

Now how's this for being spoilt for choice!

Such loveliness, such softness, such fun.

Hours of entertainment for little money.

I recently completed her Cosy blanket

and it was money well spent!

So pleased with it that I am thinking of

ordering another 2 kits.....

PS  A short while later and I did order 2 more kits!

See how irrististable this menu is...

2   Album

Many years ago (20 perhaps?) a good friend asked if I'd like to go on a 

book-making day with her.  YES PLEASE.  So off we went to the

Bankfield Museum in Halifax.  Click here to read about this

museum (which is worth a visit).  What a day we had.  It was 

solid work as there was such a lot to do but we each came 

home with an individual hand-made book.

I've never used mine as it is too precious but I will find

a use for it, just to cherish it and enjoy it!

3    Shoe

X marks the spot of the hot shoe on Beloved's little used film camera.

Give me a point and click digital camera any day and don't mention aperture,

film speed, etc etc to me!

4   In my hand

As we race towards Christmas, the phrase 'A partridge in a pear tree' popped into my head as I

went into the garden a few weeks ago and noticed a female pheasant flying out of our

pear tree.  In the above photo you can see the pear she was feasting on and in my hand

is another pear she has also sampled!

5   Macro

This was another tough one; so many photos to choose from!

In the end I selected this one showing an orange tip butterfly we found on 

a plant as we walked through our fields.  

Amazing detail in the photo, which I never seem to see with my naked eye.

6   Morning

One dismal and dark morning recently, the pheasants arrived for their breakfast.  On the menu

that day is wheat we scatter on the grass (can't call it a lawn, so wet and muddy) and in the

container is some unused semolina, which they love!  Also on the grass and some small

potatoes (too small to bother to peel) and the last of the pears (which did not keep).

At least the pheasants enjoy it all, well they must as they keep coming back and

tap on the doors if we are not quick enough to spot them and then feed them!

7   Rule of thirds

Well Hawthorn, this was difficult to find (weather against me, been slightly ill etc etc)!.  In the end I resorted to your advice, think outside the box!  So rather than find a traditional rule of thirds photo, I found a substitute one.

Here it is!

I've included the 1 kg bag of sugar so you can get an idea of how big this 3 layer sponge

cake is.  Each sponge layer is covered in home-made raspberry jam (sharp and not over sweet) 

and then a generous portion of whipped cream is added...

Rules for eating!

A third for Beloved.

A third for me.

The remaining third is fought over!

It is a lovely cake too and does not last beyond 2 days....

8   Starts with H

Let me introduce you to Houdini the h-evermore h-escaping hen.  She never wandered far

and knew when I appeared there would be food so she'd follow me into the shed

and pop back in with the others when I opened the inner door.  I'd then have to have a look at 

my fencing (rough and ready) to see where she'd broken out.

It was a good game!  

Sadly when we were preparing to 

move house, I gave my last few hens away as well as Eric the cockerel.

9   Tools

Can't imagine lift without tools!  I have so many and Beloved, being

an engineer, has many, many more, all sizes and shapes.

Anyway in my photo you can see some of my quilting, crochet and 

handy tools I use; the curved saw blade fits on a pole that

I can extend up to about 2 m long so I can cut off tree branches

without getting a ladder out.  One of my best garden tools ever.

It is from the Wolf range of tools.

10   Own choice

Whilst in the garden recently, clearing leaves from the watercourse, I became aware that I was

being watched.  She is one of the pheasants which visit each day for food.

The top of my head was about 1.5 metres away from where she chose to sit and

she seemed content to stay there as I walked up and down past her.

I had to go and get my camera, walk back to her, focus the camera

and take several photos.  She just sat there, bless her.

Well that's all for this month and it seems we get to have December off!  I hope we are all able to start again in January 2017.  Until then, keep well, have a good holiday and Happy New Year to you all.

Hawthorn's October Scavenger Photo Hunt

Hawthorn Spellweaver (click here to visit her blog) has recently organised a Scavenger Photo Hunt.  She provides a list of 10 words and the objective is to select a photo for each word.  We are encouraged to think outside the box!  I try hard (some would say I am very trying ...).  So here is my offering for October.

1  A is for .....

I see a lot of wildlife in my garden (all sorts of birds as well as ducks, pheasants and the occasion Moorhen).  I had hoped to see an Aardvark but there were none so I had to settle for A is for Apple.  The little apple tree has done much better this year (mostly by being ignored by me).  I have sampled some of the fruit too!

2  Lunch

Most days it is as shown here but this one is special.

An apple from my own tree with home-made crab apple

jelly flavoured with cinnamon.

3  11 o'clock

In the September Photo Scavenge hunt for New I showed a picture of a crochet blanket kit I bought 

at Yarndale this year from Lucy of Attic24.  I noticed the time approaching 11 o;clock so 

requested Beloved take a photo!  I have organised the next 4 colours so I can sit and 

crochet and not have to get up to find the next colour.  

I am loving the colours and the soft feel of the yarn as the blanket grows.

4  Black and white

Another of my main hobbies is quilting.  At the moment I am in a black and white phase (with 

red and black too!).  On the left is a very small sample of my black and white fabrics.

Top right is the central part of block I made for my new quilt; you can just about

see the red and black fabric surrounding the black and white part.

I used black and white fleece fabric to back the quilt.

So many ideas and not enough time!

5  Looking up

Yes I managed to get a picture of Boris into this month's words!

I am standing directly below him and had to make a noise to 

get him to look down!  Before I could get this photo

I had to clear a lot of vegetation below his perch

so that I would have a clear view of his favourite branch.

I did that when he was not there as I did not want

to disturb him too much.

6   T is for ......

T is for Turtle!!!!!!!!!!   Well it initially looked like a turtle to me but then I had to

re-think my thoughts as we were walking round Preston Marina and that is not at

all tropical!   In the end I decided it was an abandoned lampshade.

What do you think it might be?

7   Landscape

Pendle Hill, our local landmark.  There is a local saying which suggests the area around

this hill experiences frequent rainfall - "if you can see Pendle, it's about to rain, if

you can't, it's already started".  As you can see from this photo it was indeed

about to rain!  I've lived near it for 33½ years and have yet to climb to the

top - must make an effort to do this.  Click here to read about Pendle Hill.

8  Two

Two rainbows!  Can you see the outer, fainter one?

We were driving on the roads above Eastby, near Skipton in Yorkshire.

The other day I read in the news about a moonbow.

Not heard of this before.  Click here to read about it.  It too was taken 

near Skipton.

9   Swing

Well it could have been a swing!  I was visiting a quilt exhibition recently

in Haslingden.  This is one of the several chandeliers hanging from the roof.

10  Own Choice

We do not have a normal life!  Here we are moving two lathes from the old house

to the new house (about ½ mile away).

Top row, left photo - small lathe moved to the front door.

Top row, right photo - a long, iron pipe inserted on to the bale spike of our tractor.

Middle row, left photo - bale spike with iron pipe inserted through the front door.

Middle row, right photo - small green lathe strapped to iron pipe and ready to be 

lifted out of the house.

Bottom row, left photo - small green lathe now outside the house and ready to be 

put in the trailer and taken away to the new house.

Yes the iron pipe was bent!

Bottom row, right photo - using just the bale spike to lift the heavier, bigger grey lathe before

placing it in the trailer and taking it to the new house.

For us this is normal!  We often wonder what other people might do on a sunny day ....

Thanks for taking the time to look at my photos and I do hope you enjoyed some of them

See you next month!

Hawthorn's September Scavenger Photo Hunt

Hawthorn Spellweaver (click here to visit her blog) has recently organised a Scavenger Photo Hunt.  She provides a list of 10 words and the objective is to select a photo for each word.  We are encouraged to think outside the box!  I try hard (some would say I am very trying ...).  So here is my offering for September.

1  Web

Can't believe this photo was taken over 11 years ago!  It shows how busy the spiders have been weaving thousands of webs on the wall and grass in our fields.

2   Blade

In my new garden there are some areas covered in bits of flint; I find it a handy source of a suitable blade if I need to cut a piece of string etc, rather than having to trail back to the shed and find my scissors!  In the past I have been known to use a piece of slate.

3  Filigree

Earrings from my number 1 quilting friend; she no longer wears them so I was offered them!  Yes please, and thank you.

4  Travel

On our way up to visit my sister in Port Carlisle we pass some wonderful scenery.  This is one such view from the M6.

5  Bright

I like to be busy at all times....  on a dark evening I find I can crochet without thinking much and this is the latest blanket I have made for a homeless cat/kitten.  It is very bright but I am sure the new owner will not mind.

6  Asleep

Just had to find the opportunity to get Boris into this month's list!  Here he is having a sleep one afternoon.

7   Float

Staying with friends on Loch Feochan and this is the view that greeted us one morning.  No rain for a change!

8   Autumn

I was working at the last moment to get all the photos sorted for this month.  Earlier that day I took a photo for Autumn and was happy with it.  Then we called round at a friend's and I noticed all these wasps inside an apple on his apple tree.  He was not impressed as he had been planning to eat that apple soon; so I did not bother with my original photo!

9   Fur

Mickey the cat that 'adopted' us many years ago.  We found out later that he had several 'homes'. Here he is resting on top of my current quilt I was hand quilting.  Funny how they find the best places to call their own.  He was a very tactile cat and did not mind how much he was handled or stroked.  In fact when he came in wet (it does rain a fair amount of the time here!) he insisted on being rubbed down with a towel.... before finding somewhere to sit/sleep/rest!

10  New

These past few weeks I've had so many new things (books, plants (bought and gifted), yarn etc) but when I was at Yarndale the other weekend I treated myself to a crochet blanket kit (Cosy Stripe) from Lucy of Attic24 (click here to visit her website and click here to visit the Wool Warehouse from which you can order her kits.).  I nearly bought one last year but this year I decided I'd not let that opportunity slip away.  A friend (Blue and Yellow Morning) was with me and she also bought the same kit; she has made a start on her kit but I will keep mine in its bag for a little while as I must discipline myself to finish some projects before I start another one!

That is the end of this month's scavenger photo hunt; I wonder what challenging words will be in the next one?

Thanks for taking the time to look at my offering and reading my mutterings!