sand art

I have just found this site "here" with the most amazing art created from sand

blessings!

many christmas blessings to everybody, and hope that next year is a good one.

(last years tree, fogot to go to get one this year and its too late now!!)

awwww.......

Daisy, with a new box and a new friend

frosty

its very chilly, I couldn't open the greenhouse door to check the themometer as the door was frozen.
nature being pretty. lots of little birds too at the seed feeders, but not when the camera is out!

muck and mushrooms

several weeks ago I recieved a mushroom growing kit for my birthday. I very carefully followed all the instructions. and here we have some growing!
there looks to be a good harvest coming!
outside in the below freezing temperatures this kaffir lily, usually autmn flowering, seems to be making a bid to join the lonely mahonia.

and the muck? I started a 'saturday job' yesterday. mucking out seven horses, turning them in and out, filling haynets, etc. I survived, but only just. it was easier twenty years ago.

a little colour

this mahonia is flowering all on its own. lat year there was sllightly more colour at this time
but it had been much milder than this year.

things happen for a reason?

so I put the kayak on e-bay. its bound to sell on e-bay.
however they just sent me this
"We appreciate that you chose eBay to list the following auction-style listing:: Valley Nordkapp sea kayak, compass, tow rope, However, your listing was in breach of eBay's Inappropriate Links policy and has been removed from eBay. All fees related to this listing have been credited to your account. We also notified members who placed bids on the item that the listing has been canceled."
I had decided if it didn't sell then more effort to regain fitness was in order as I would then keep it.
next week I start a Saturday job mucking out eight competition horses. that'll increase fitness.
right, back onto e-bay to look for a roof rack for the Fiesta.
see you on the water next year then.

ways to pass time

http://lovethosekids.com/playgrnd/sandart.htm

its time to get started.

in October 2005 I went on a Dolls House Holiday

on the first day you take some MDF
and just before lunch, Peter Alden holding the clock to prove it, you have made the main carcase of your dolls house.
add a few bricks
window details(very futery)
er, lots of windows, I think this is about 10pm on the fourth day.
time to make a fireplace on the last day
everybody working very hard
and the house is finished!! just like that. . . .

however its now been at home for two years and is still awaiting decorating and lighting. I am going to install a table in the living room so I can get to work on it, definately a good winter project.

real food

Real Parsnips, not the plastic looking, clean, uniform stuff the supermarkets flog us. and sprouts so fresh you can crunch them raw. (the parsnips are about a foot long)
my stoney soil always seems to produce very 'leggy' parsnips and carrots. no prizes for being pretty but they always taste fabulous.

greenhouse cleaning

there was a light frost this morning but it was a nice enough day to clean the inside of the greenhouse. I have washed down the inside of the glass with disinfectant and thrown whats left on the floor. sometimes this leaves the glass streaky but if I think it needs to be 'clean' then I'll do that in the spring.
how much stuff can you cram into one small greenhouse? this isn't even all of it!
future reference for benches: they need to be plastic and they need to be tall. the black one you can see is just about ideal. the tall wooden one was made for me when the greenhouse was 'new', its legs are starting to discolour at the bottom from the damp. there are two of the smaller wooden benches, they are too low to work at comfortably and the bottom of their legs suggest they may need to be binned after another years use.
everything is scrubbed with disinfectant before being put back in. why is that in the spring you never have enough seedling trays yet I now cannot move in my bathroom with the amount of stuff waiting to be washed?

Transport Museum

This is the Ardrishaig Belle, a 'charabanc' meaning wagon with seats. we were told this was built around 1890 and used up till the 1950's.
as we were having a guided tour we were allowed in the basement to see stored items. unfortunatley my camera did not cope well with the low lighting so most pictures blurry. in storage was this very stoutly built small wagon.

also in the basement some interesting harness

carriage builders left their trade marks on the brass in the centreof the spoked wheels. this is from the wheel centre of the charabanc, saying 'Mitchell, Builder, Dunoon'
this is from the wheel centre of a cab, saying 'Stoneham,Bedford Street, London, N.W.'
much clearer, 'Laurie, Paisley'
and 'James Barrie, Rodney Street, Glasgow'
also 'James Barrie, Rodney Street Glasgow', this one on the hefty wagon which said John Barrie.

there was very little information about the carriages, where they came from, what they were used for, who the builders were. this is information sadly lost in time, and the museum is looking for any information if anyone has it.

meme, but cheating?

I have been tagged to do the random eight meme by Diane, but as I've done it recently and again before that I am just going to leave links.

Random Eight

Random Seven

this afternoons view

the late afternoon sun creates a magical colour
this windswept tree still retaining a few leaves
as much zoom as I can get into the field behind, it was covered in Canada Geese. I had been hearing them all afternoon but hadn't seen where they were, I am taking these photgraphs from the high vantage of the stable muck-out trailer.

eyes

this is Katie, I always love the soft brown eyes that horses have
this is Smokey, he has the most fabulous eyelashes

Robbie, very pretty

...and I whispered to the horse; "Trust no man in whose eye you do not see yourself reflected as an equal" Don Vincenzo Giobbe circa 1700

chilly November morning

a spider bravely defends the greenhouse doorway
a little chamomile, surviving in the greenhouse
this fennel never made it out to the garden, its scenting the greenhouse quite nicely

and the last of the marigolds
I haven't the heart to throw them out while they're still flowering
out in the garden there is a pink monarda
and a blue one, just a few cheery flowers
persicaria
and on the doorstep a pink geranium
and a red one, they won't last much longer in the cold