Poetry - When Peas Broke Out (April 2020)

Hello there!

This week its another rummage in the ragbag of NaPoWriMo 2020 poems. Enjoy!

When Peas Broke Out

Sausage and mash.

That's what started it.

The menu was a flowchart

designed for maximum efficiency.

And to help procrastinators.

Poetry - The Riddle of the Cutlery Drawer (April 2020)

Hello there!

This week's poem is a throwback to NaPoWriMo 2020 and based on a prompt from The Poetry Society (UK).

The Riddle of the Cutlery Drawer

I am an eternal enigma,

well at least simnce humanity first sculpted me.

According to evolution,

my species branched out into two distinct life forms

and spread.

Poetry - One Last Evening (April 2020)

Hello there!

This is one of a number of poems written in 2020 that I'll be sharing over the coming months.

One Last Evening

 

The bench is damp but there is no feeling of wetness

Senses are fixed on the slow water, rapid birdsong,

Fragrances of the season, anticipating that moment

When bird flits, creature skulks through.

100 Miles in May Updates

Hello there!

Day 12, and I've now passed the halfway mark. Another 4.9 miles, bringing it up to 52.1 miles in total.

I also saw the first Cuckoo of the year as well.  

Now that I'm halfway there, I will be stopping the daily Blog notes for this fundraiser. 

This is because my Twitter, Instagram and Flickr feeds are now integrated into the sidebar of this Blog.  Please use these to keep up with the latest goings on from the sett.

There will still be regular weekly posts here on Saturday.  And I'm still planning to additional content as well.

And of course, I'll let you know when I hit the next milestone in this challenge.

Thanks for all your support so far. 

Cheerio for now!

100 Miles in May for Mind Day 11

Hello there! 

A beautiful morning for today's walk, out along the usual route by the River Great Ouse.

Pleasantly warm and filled with the sounds of various warblers and the occasional Wren.

Highlights were seeing:

• 6 Brown Hares 
• 1 Marsh Harrier (male) 
• 1 Barn Owl - which I was happy about, as it's been at least a couple of months since I've seen one.

All were either too far away or too quick to get a phone photo.  

But it was too lovely a morning not to be filled with joy.  Spring really feels like it's catching up after a cold April.

And now for the stats...

100 Miles in May for Mind Days 9 and 10

Edit: Since this was written, I've now added Twitter, Instagram and Flickr to the Blog sidebar. 

Hello there!

Been busy hence the lack of Blog updates.  

For more regular updates, please allow me on Instagram and Twitter.  

(I bet you didn't know that badgers could tweet!)

With ref to the 100 Miles challenge and fundraiser, I'm now up to 43 miles total. 

I'm very hopeful that I can get past the halfway mark this week.

Thanks for all your support so far, and normal service should be resumed tomorrow.

As usual, there's a few new pics up on Flickr as well for you to enjoy.

Cheerio for now!

100 Miles in May Day 8

Hello there!

With all the rain today, I didn't think that I'd be able to get a walk.

So I decided to make a rustic apple tart instead.

But thankfully we got a break in the weather (yay!)

So I managed to get a short walk around town.

The highlight was seeing my first Swifts of this year.  Always a welcome sight.

And now for the stats...

Poetry - Lies and Truth - (October 2019)

Hello there!

As metioned a while ago - I've been looking to get more poetry posted as part of improvements to this Blog.

In case you're wondering, I write because when I am doing any creative activity I am in flow.  

This week, it's a throwback to  UK National Poetry Day 2019 and the theme of truth.

Lies

I worked out what was said, between you,

them and all the asides,

Under laden sky and dim-lit room,

Probing, delving, uncovering the lies.

100 Miles in May for Mind Day 7

Hello there!

A bright and cold start to the day with an overnight ground frost.  

The sky and air had had a fresh feel to it and the sunshine was pleasantly warm.  One of those perfect days for heading out of town on a walk along the river.

It was also a good walk for some nature spotting too.  

I saw 3 Brown Hares bounding about, darting and zig-zagging across the edges of fields and paths.

Then later a bright Kingfisher darting along the river.  First as a flash of orange, then electric blue.

Both were too far away and too fast for me to get a picture though. 

But still a great walk to end the first week of the 100 Miles challenge!

And now for the stats...

100 Miles in May for Mind Day 6

Hello there!

A cold, wet and overcast start to the day.  Despite the soggy weather, I still managed to do a decent distance.  

Also saw a few birds  - mainly Corvids, a few Pigeons and some unidentifiable Little Brown Jobs.  The highlight was again seeing some Brown Hares.

I've also done some dabbling - not involving a duck - but with the native Photo Editor in Flickr:

As for the ducks, they were not enjoying the weather.  

And all the ducks were not swimming in the water.  I only saw one on the River Great Ouse.

Which means that this song is very misleading - 

But on the brightside, I'm now just over a quarter of the way towards my goal.  

Which leads us neatly into the stats...

100 Miles in May for Mind Day 5

Hello there!

A bright and frosty start to the day meant a brisk walk along my regular route (same as Day 1).

Brisk meaning going a bit quicker than the snail in today's picture:

An earlier start and quicker pace meant that I managed to do a bit more distance.  I also had to make a detour on the way back, which added a little bit more. 

Despite that, I still had time to pause to watch a Brown Hare, a couple of Reed Buntings, a Cormorant and listen to the various warblers and other birds.

And now for the stats...

100 Miles in May for Mind Day 4

Hello there!

Just to warn you all that there is a rude four letter word further down in this post.

This morning was grey and very windy and the walk followed the same route as Day 1 - which also happens to be my regular route.  

Which presents a challenge in finding items to take pictures of.  But it's a nice challenge to have!

The distance isn't quite as long as Day 1, as I usually do a morning walk before work.

I also do apologise for using the word 'work'.  

I fully understand that is a rude four letter word, and I am sorry for any offence caused.

I'll try to not use it again.

And now for the stats...

100 Miles in May for Mind Day 3

Hello there!

This post begins with a useful tip for boat owners.

Always check the roof of your boat for Grey Herons before casting off:

And now for today's walk, which was another morning walk.

This was because after a few weeks of mainly bright and cold weather, rain and strong winds was forecasted for later today. 

Because it is a Bank Holiday here. 

I don't need to say any more than that.

Today's walk was heading out of town, along a Fen Drove, then back into town near the river.

And in addition to seeing the Grey Heron pretending to be a statue, I also saw my first Speckled Wood butterfly of the year, and a Kingfisher. 

I also heard a Nightingale, the first I've heard for quite a few years.  And certainly the first I've heard since living in the Fens.

100 Miles in May for Mind - Day 2

Hello there!

Day 2 has been all little walks around my local area that add up to a respectable 4.5 miles.

There are also a couple more pictures on Flickr.

And now for some stats:

Today's total: 4.5 miles

Running Walking total: 10 miles

Remaining distance: 90 miles

Number of days left: 29

Average distance per day to get to 100: 3.1 miles

Cheerio for now!

100 Miles in May for Mind - Day 1

Hello there!

My 100 Miles in May for Mind has got off to a good start.

The began on a bright but chilly note after another ground frost last night.

Then it was off on a 5.5 mile trundle alongside the River Great Ouse out to a neighbouring village and back. 

The highlight was watching a Brown Hare in a field for a few minutes.

Here is one of the phone photographs taken along the route:

I've also created a Flick album for this here.

You can donate to this cause here.

And don't forget to follow this Blog for progress updates as well. 

Thank you for your support.

Cheerio for now!

Serenity Improved

Hello there!

It's been a while since I shared some virtual doodling along with appropriate mental noodling.

It was an edition entitled 'Serenity' on BBC iPlayer. A lovely backlit forest scene. Peace, tranquility, the aura of calm and suchlike. 

I think my effort came out just a tad too bright. It wasn't serene, more like retina searing white light.  The kind that can damage your eyes or fix them. I can never remember which.

'Shades required due to the lack of shade in this image.'

I wasn't sure what to make of it.  I was half-expecting some aliens to then turn up.  And then they did.  

'Take us to your happy little world.'

Now it was slightly better.  But I wasn't sure if I was slightly missing the point.   It had lost a tiny bit of tranquility due to the aliens.  

Not that it was the fault of the aliens.  Who wouldn't want to have a little downtime on a cool day by a forest stream. It sure beats the searing heat of Venus.

Still dissatisfied, I then decided to try a more rational approach:

1. The scenery looks ok.
2. The lighting looks like an atomic blast in a really bad old science-fiction film.  
3. The aliens look like they are from the same really bad science-fiction film referred to in 2 above.

That didn't help either, so after some dithering I decided to add something else to the scene:

'Trees need friends.  We are friends of this tree.'

Now that is much better.  It still needs some work, but it might be salvageable as a moonlit scene.  

It also reminded me of the person who added their cat to famous artworks.  Someone needs to do the same, but with badgers this time.  

Cheerio for now!