Somewhere, Beyond The Sea

Not quite golden sands but I do love Bobby Darin so I thought I'd pair him up with Morecambe Bay! It was strange weather the day I took these photos with sudden fog banks racing across the water but on a clear day (cue for another song) you can see the beautiful hills and fells of the Lake District quite distinctly all around the sweep of the bay.

Ghost World

 

Once again I had the park to myself. This time the fog and hoar frost and a bone-chilling cold seemed to have deterred everyone from setting foot in the place. This always amazes me as it's a huge park, well two actually: Miller and Avenham, which are joined seamlessly together. So Sam and I spent a happy hour wandering around this enchanted ghost world as if it were our own private estate!

The Sea, The Sea

I am having repair work on the house at the moment. The improvements are wonderful but I'm not getting much in the way of arty things done. It advances the Master Plan one step closer though so I'm rolling with it. The MP, in case you haven't guessed, involves me and the sea - but more of that later.

I have a wee Folksy exclusive to show you. These cards are all one of a kind and I don't have them available for sale anywhere else. They're all original collages and make unique note or greetings cards. Or you could pop them in a frame and put them on the wall!

   

Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside

Southport is well known here for its lack of sea which is rather unfair. The coast shelves very gently and the water goes out a long way at low tide leaving a beautiful, somewhat barren landscape of open sand merging into treacherous mud flats. On stormy, blustery days in autumn, when most of the tourists have gone, it becomes a lonely, haunting space; the preserve of black-headed gulls and the occasional heron. When the cloud lifts you can see Blackpool and the tower across the bay to your right and, if you're lucky, the mountains of North Wales off in the far distance to your left.

These are a few pics I took this week from the pier whilst dodging the rain.

Reasons To Be Cheerful

I have spent the last week being a very sick bunny and as a consequence need cheering up. So today, as I am feeling slightly more together, I started painting some sheets of watercolour paper just with random splashes of colour because I have a few half-formed ideas about a project I want to try. And also because colour has a wonderful ability to lift my spirits.

The daffs in the garden continue to bloom which inspired me (before I was laid low) to go out and photograph some of the neighbourhood cherry trees. For one glorious week or so at this time of year they are stunningly beautiful, laden with delicate white and pale pink flowers, making walking around the streets beneath them quite magical!

Thought For The Day

Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering. ~ Winnie the Pooh

Thanks to Kitty for reminding me of this great Pooh quote!

Neighbourhood Photos

   

Wandering around with my camera again. Top pic is looking out over the valley at sunset and the bottom one is the beautiful spire of St Walburge's church, built by the man who invented the Hansom Cab no less! 

A Small, Good Thing

Well, several actually. Moments from my day: the paperbark birch in my garden; daffodils in a pot braving the frost; the blessings of a wood burning stove; Sam in his favourite spot. Very cold and wintry here, keep warm everyone.

Neighbourhood Watch

I've been meaning to photograph these houses for ages, before they're claimed by the wrecking ball. They are the last remnants of several streets which were demolished some years ago to make way for a new road network and stand like a forgotten island in a sea of concrete, tarmac and railway sidings.

The View From Here

 

Another rare day of that wonderful de Chirico type light meant I had to go out and shoot a few pictures round the neighbourhood. 

Stormy Weather

Yesterday was one of those autumn days where the weather can't make its mind up. There are some glorious colours in the foliage and the light was filtering through storm clouds which gave way to bright sunlight occasionally, so I took the camera when I went out with Sam for his afternoon walk and photographed the neighbourhood.

More New Camera Love

Took this late yesterday afternoon with my new Lumix. Needless to say the lighting was poor, a mixture of deep shadows with a few stray shafts of sunlight thrown in and I took the picture without the aid of a tripod. I have burned the background out as it contained the distracting clutter which lives on top of my work table and played around with the colours just a little for effect but otherwise this pic is pretty much straight out of the camera. I really am impressed with how well it handles low light and the lack of camera shake, and all this was on the default auto settings too - often not the best choice with a lot of cameras given the situation.

Anyway, there's a selection of my hand carved stamps along with three little African wood blocks which I picked up a few years ago. Today's been yarn dyeing, and over-dyeing, day and I'm pooped now. Time for another cup of coffee methinks!