Hawthorn's August Photo Scavenger Hunt

Hawthorn's August Scavenger Photo Hunt

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!  For some reason I found this list hard and struggled with some of the photos!  I was running out of time so had to think hard and act fast!.  So here is my offering for August.

1   Blue

Ah, so many choices; felt I had to keep away from sky photos and in the end settled for this one.  

This mobile was given to me by a dear friend who opened my eyes to all sorts of crafts (quilting, paper making, felt making, card making, etc etc).

2   Eye

Now my original idea did not materialise as the photos I had were out of focus and then the subject I required to capture has proved to be elusive.  So instead I did some lateral thinking!

A small sample of  some of  my many sewing needles that I use; as I get older I am beginning to struggle the really small one but then  just have to use my needle threader, if I can find it!

3   Button

I've a huge collection of buttons but again I felt I had to find something different.  Beloved came to the rescue!

Just in case you do not recognise it, it is a START button from a lathe or similar machine.  It is in his spares department, just in case....

4   Favouite

Oh this was so easy!  I chose my favourite friend!

Yipee, Boris is back on his usual perch at the old house.  He is so tolerant as I move under the tree, well as close to it as I can get as it is growing out of the small river behind the house, taking photo after photo after photo.  For a hoot, the last photo I took that day he had turned his back on me!  He has been there for 3 consecutive days (I found excuses to go back to the old house), just to say Hi and watch him.  Such a treat and I realise how lucky I am.  I do hear owls at the new house (less than ½ mile away from the old house) but I've only glimpsed one, on the first night that I came to sleep here it hooted as I got out of the car; was it Boris?  No idea.

5   Feet

Another one that had me scratching my head.

Voila, some of the feet I use on my Janome sewing machine!  I'll not bore you with their names!

6   Glass

I had taken a photo of a special glass vase I have here and felt it was not WOW enough.  Then I remembered going to an exhibition in July 2014 and saw this!  Oh, how I wanted it.

It is a curved piece of glass with fish and bubbles in the design.  From memory it is about 60 cm wide and about 30 cm high.  The gentleman bringing it in carefully cradled it in his arms.  If I had had a spare lump of cash (about £600) he would make me one.  If it had been £60 I would have gone for it but I could not spend that much money on something so fragile.  Upon reflection I made the right decision as there is no suitable place to display it in the new house.  But perhaps it could sit on top of the big unit in the dining room??????

7   Green

My camera struggles to take decent photos of anything green or red.  A bit annoying but I've no idea why.  I've tired all sorts of settings.  Strangely Beloved's camera (which is a slightly newer model of my camera) does not have this problem.  He did suggest I swap cameras, and perhaps I might!

Some of my green yarns I use to crochet with.  Yes the brown ones are green!  Puzzling for me is the fact there is a £20 note tucked down next to these yarn balls.  I've no idea why it is there.  I just cannot remember but I've left it there!  Usually I know where every penny is so to find a note is a great surprise.

8   Floor

Another tough one from Hawthorn.  I did take a photo for this and was congratulating myself  that I'd got one.  Then I remembered a better floor!

Back in August 2008 Beloved decided to splash out and get half our shed (yes it is not your average sized shed!) made over with a concrete floor.  I was working that day and as soon as I could I left to come and see the progress.  I'd missed all the concrete being brought into the shed (someone forgot to take photos....) but here they were starting to polish the floor.  We had to set up some lights as they worked into the night.  Now we can wheel stuff (and we have a lot of big, heavy stuff) with ease over this smooth floor.  Ah, how I love this floor.

9   Knitted/crochet

At first this seemed easy as I've a lot of crochet blankets etc but in the end I decided to show you a cardigan I knitted.

It was a Kaffe Fassett pattern, knitted in Botany Wool.  I think I knitted it in the late 1980, prior to digital camera so I've no photo taken when I knitted it.  I spent time making a lining for it and have worn it a few times but it just hangs in my wardrobe.  If I did wear it, I'd not relax!  I could not face knitting another one, the yarn is too fine and all the yarn that I had to carry across.....

10  Own choice

My initial thoughts for this one was to be a photo of Boris and find something else for Favourite.  But then Fate dealt me a stunning card!  Beloved and I had been out for a walk and we'd got back at about 6.30 pm.  Still glorious sunshine!  Straight away I went into the kitchen to put the oven on when I stopped in my tracks!  I called for Beloved as I raced to the front door to get my camera.  Look what I could see on the decking just outside the patio doors in the kitchen!  It was amazing.

A heron, resting with his other leg tucked up.  I managed to take another photo and was about to snap another one when Beloved accidentally kicked a cardboard box and the heron decided it was time to fly off.  Since we moved here we have seen a heron fly over, seen on the wall of an adjoining field and as I cross our bridge to the main road I've seen one there on a few occasions but to have one on our decking...  How cool is that!  So now when I go into the kitchen I look to see if it is there or if something more exciting (elephant??) is standing there.  What a treat for us.

Well that's all for this month.  Hope I've not bored you too much!

Hawthorn's July 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 July.

1  Reflections

Years ago we used to go to Loch Feochan, near Oban with our boat and stay with friends.  Sometimes it rained a lot but there were some clear, dry and hot days!   It took a lot of effort to get there (such a lot to pack into the car and boat trailer) and then more effort to get onto the water, but, once there, it was great.  Our boat was a RIB.  Anyway, one day we and our friends set off, sailing out of the Loch and turning left.  We'd follow the coast line, enjoying the sun and views (sometimes we'd see dolphins and Golden Eagles) until we get to the channel that leads to The Clachan Bridge.  I took many photos as we approached the bridge, watching it get bigger and the reflection develop but the one I have included here was taken just after we sailed under it.  Hard to believe it was taken in May 2002, 14 years ago!

The Clachan Bridge is a simple, single-arched, hump-backed, masonry bridge spanning the Clachan Sound, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) southwest of Oban in Argyll, Scotland. It links the west coast of the Scottish mainland to the island of Seil.

The bridge was originally designed by John Stevenson of Oban (and not by Thomas Telford as sometimes quoted) and was built between 1792 and 1793 by engineer Robert Mylne. The original design had two arches, but it was finally built with a single high arch, of roughly 22 metres (72 ft) span and about 12 metres (39 ft) above the bed of the channel, to allow the passage of vessels of up to 40 tonnes (39 long tons) at high tide. The bridge is still in use today, forming part of the B844 road, and is in the care of Historic Scotland.

Because the Clachan Sound connects at both ends to the Atlantic Ocean, and might therefore be considered part of that ocean, the bridge came to be known as the Bridge over the Atlantic.

A path leads down the North side of the Inn across the hill to the famous yachting anchorage of Puilladobhrain (translation 'pool of the otters' and pronounced Pull-door-ran). This is a very worthwhile short excursion, with superb views across to the Isle of Mull.  We have visited Puilladobhrain in our RIB many times when we used to go to Oban.

2  Stripe

Even though I am retired, there is little free time!  I had hoped to find a better example but in the end I had to look through my photo collection.  This was taken on one of our many trips to the Yorkshire Dales; I just love the scenery.

3  Secret

We have Tree Bumble bees that live in our house wall; they seem to have two secret entrances into their home.  I have assumed there is only one nest behind the stone facing but I will resist the urge to pull the stones out to verify my thoughts!  Just before I took the photos a bee went into each hole.  I waited and waited and waited but had to forget the idea of a photo of it emerging!

4  Red

Back in May 2014 I was busy (for several months) building a stone wall to hold back the soil that was slowly creeping down onto the path.  I'd spend time finding the right stone in the pile of stones we had created over the years.  Then I had fun and games moving the chosen stone from the pile, across ground and down the path.  I ended up disturbing the ground and often a robin would be there, picking up delicacies I'd uncovered, which I could not see (or want) but it was happy to have them!

5  Contrast

I did struggle to find a suitable subject for this category but I stumbled across this photo in my collection (in desperation it is always a good idea to trawl through one's photo collection!).  We were walking one evening around the village when I noticed this strange cloud in the sky.  Initially I thought it was a weird reflection of the areofoil but later I discovered it was called a Moustache cloud.  Apparently it is a rare event that happens as a cloud passes over an updraft.  I also found out that they can be called Horseshoe vortex clouds but I prefer to call them mustache clouds.  They can form at the edges of horizontal cylinders of rapidly rotating air – essentially tornadoes tipped onto their sides. The vortices form from updrafts created by powerful super cell storms.  I can report that there was no tornado that day in our village.

6  Forgotten

May 2003 saw us back up at Loch Feochan and off out with our friends in our RIB.  I cannot remember where we landed but this tractor (once someone's pride and joy) had been left on the foreshore.  I wondered what happened to it and why it was forgotten.  Beloved wanted to salvage it and bring it home but (thankfully) this was not possible.

7  Soft

I love bees and both my old and new gardens (we moved last year) have been blessed with bees.  Mind you I've brought many plants with me to my new garden and it is a joy to see a bee on a newly planted plant.  The bee shown here is a Tree Bumble bee.  They look so soft but I'm trying to be sensible and not stroke it!  Mother used to stroke the bees in her garden....

8  Cold

For once we had snow in December!  On our way home (Boxing Day 2004) I noticed the moon, shining brightly on a very cold landscape.  I'm so glad I take a lot of photos as otherwise one would forget!

9  Seat

So many possibilities for this category.  In the end I decided to complement my Red photo picture, in which I mentioned a stone wall I had been building over several months.  Finally it was finished and I was able to make myself a seat on it; hopefully you can see it!  When I was working in the garden, I'd often sit there while I had my brew and contemplate my next job!  I've brought this seat to our new house and it sits on top of a stone wall.  Once the ants have moved on (they have build a nest under it), I can sit on it again.

10  Own choice

First an apology about the poor quality of this photo as it was taken through a double-glazed unit that had misted up.

You can imagine my delight to see a woodpecker on the feeder, quite a regular visitor at the old house.  Suddenly to my amazement it hopped down and fed another woodpecker!  I assumed it was a parent feeding its young.  I knew if I went outside they would fly off so I had to make do with the photos taken within the house.  Such a treat to see this.

Hawthorn's June Scavenger Photo Hunt

Once more Hawthorn set a challenging list of words.  Please click here to see her offerings and everyone else who took part.  My original photos were on her blog but that page has now gone so I have posted them here, mainly for my records but then again you might enjoy seeing them.

Stone

In our old house we found a stone lintel; no matter where we moved it to, it was in the way.  About 10 years ago we decided it would be ideally placed as part of a retaining wall for raised bed.  Last year as we prepared to move out of the old house, we offered it to our friend.  It was quite a challenge for Beloved to remove it and take it to our friend's house.  The story included getting the tractor stuck, getting another tractor to pull the stuck tractor out, moving the lintel with the tractor down a steep slope (I was instructed to keep out of the way in case the brakes did not hold....) and placing it gently into the trailer, driving the trailer to our friend's and then unloading it from the trailer using our friend's tractor, which would just lift it!  Our friend was creating a doorway and the builder used it as the lintel.  We are so pleased that it now has a proper home and that we will never have to move it!

View

Just over 2 years ago my sister moved to Port Carlisle.  It is a good 2½ hour drive there but the views are lovely.  Usually my sister and I go for a walk and a natter.  Along the path we take we catch glimpses of the Solway Firth looking across to Scotland.  Here is one such view.  Lucky for us, it was a fine day!

Sky

Once more I am at my sister's (that trip provided quite a few photo opportunities for the June Photo Scavenger hunt).  The huge sky looking from the foreshore (about 4 minutes' walk from their house) across to Scotland.  The seaweed etc marks last night's quite high tide.  Sometimes the road to Port Carlisle is flooded with high, spring tides!

Trees

Beloved and myself like to jump into the car and drive around the countryside that surrounds us.  We have a favourite place to visit and this is a small road that passes through farms and farmland.  We have to remember where the passing places are just in case we meet another vehicle!

It was about 5 pm, at the end of a fine day and the sky was a wonderful gold/red (hard to describe) colour.  Everything was bathed in this wonderful colour.

Water

Once more Port Carlisle provided me with the picture of water; the tide is coming in and it is mesmerising to watch it.  The structure you can see is the original port that used to serve Carlisle; sadly it is derelict now.  At low tide one can get across to it (I have done this) but one has to watch the tide!

Dwelling

Ah, how I felt for the cormorant as it clung to its 'dwelling', drying its wings out as the tide came in (at Port Carlisle!).  Shortly I noticed the wooden stake had disappeared beneath the water and the cormorant had flown off.

Garden

Last year we moved to a new house and the garden needed much attention! It will not be completed this year but I like to think I am making progress.  I am optimistic that it will look even better next year.  It does not help that the soil is poor, full of tree roots or clay or rubbish (or in one bed, thankfully only one bed, rampant, invasive bamboo).  But I am winning!

Gate

Guess where I am!!! Yes, Port Carlisle.  It was a lovely gate to someone's private garden but all I could see was a path, the other side of the gate, leading to who knows what!

Leaf

Some years ago a friend gave us an oak sapling which we planted up at the fields.  Oak do not grow fast and this little one was also hampered in its early years by being nibbled by, we think, deer.  Roll on a few years and it is coming along nicely, though we did notice that a branch has been nipped off recently.  It is a special tree for us as it grown from an acorn that was collected from the Auschwitz Concentration Camp by our friend who visited there many years ago.  I hope it fares better .....

Own choice

Walking through the grass in our long field I espied an interesting butterfly; it was 'tame' enough to sit on the flower which Beloved picked so I could get a better view of it.  I thought I'd have to try to identify it when, after a few minutes, it flew away.  It was an Orange Tip butterfly!  Normally I see them from the top so it was a treat to see an alternative view of it.

Well that's all folks!  Roll on the July Photo Challenge posts from everyone.