Making plans. Worcestershire.

I love this time of the year. My garden looks a little scruffy in places as things start to die back. Tidying up in the garden is so satisfying as you know it will stay looking great for months.

On top of that the spring bulbs and winter bedding are in the shops. Lidl is particularly brilliant for bulbs this week. A very satisfactory morning spent planting bargain bulbs means I am looking forward to more hyacinths, tulips, crocus, and allium next spring. Deep joy.

Beautiful butterflies in my garden, Malvern, Worcester.

Cabbage White butterfly

I have at last found the secret to photographing butterflies. I have been trying to photograph the butterflies in my garden for weeks but they kept flying off before I could focus the camera. If you go out first thing on a sunny morning they haven't yet warmed up enough to fly off as quickly as they do later on. Using this tip, hurrah I finally got some decent pictures. Hope you like them.

Peacock butterfly and a Bee

The garden they were enjoying

Romantic Roses, Malvern gardens, Worcestershire.

Roses are very much the traditional flower of the English country garden. Climbing, standard, bush and traditional forms, all are beautiful. They come in every colour and grow reliably. Dead head them once they bloom has passed it's best, and you prolong the number of flowers and length of flowering period. Enjoy these pictures of some of my roses.

St Lawrence Parish Church, Appleby, Cumbria.

St Lawrence's church in Appleby is rather sweet. It has many stunning stained glass windows but it is the ornate stone carving that really sets it apart. There is a large marble carved monument to a local lady, but it is the jolly sandstone buttresses that make the place. Each one is different and looks to be based on an actual person. My favourite is the rather jolly foppish chap with the elegant moustache.

Exterior of St Lawrence's

One of the stained glass windows

Organ top

Two of the old locals?

My favourite

Evening recollections

Evening recollections

On a warm summer evening such as this
The years recede and I remember young loves tender kiss
Warm perfumed air enfolds us in its caress
You relaxed and cool, me in my summer dress
Two young people too young to recognise and know
The gentle flutter of first feelings from which love will grow
I still recall the tilt of my head as I gazed
Absorbed in your eyes but feeling quite fazed
By the strength of emotion
Recollected and still felt.

By Izzy Silver

Ross-on-Wye, River walk.

Town centre

Fish statue

Rowers racing on the river Wye

Little girl feeding swans

Ducks statue by river

View back towards Ross

                                Today I walked along the river Wye from Ross. Parking in Ross is free on a Sunday, otherwise I recommend the long term car park which is pay and display. The town centre is a mix of Tudor and more modern buildings. Horatio Nelson once stayed here and there is a plaque commemorating this. 

Following the brown tourist signs to the river walk, which is an absolute delight. When I was there the local college team were practising rowing on the river whilst children were feeding the ducks and swans.

The trees along the river were dotted with spiders web nests. these curious nests were dotted with hundreds of baby spiderlings whilst a mother spider in the centre guarded them. Quite beautiful but rather scary.

Spiders webs

Panoramic view

Biscuits

They say, write about what you know, so I decided to write a poem about what I both know and love.

Biscuits

Oh I do like a biscuit.
Something crunchy and almondy,
Custard cream, bourbon, garibaldi,
Or for a treat one that's chocolaty,
All washed down with a hot cup of tea.

by Izzy Silver

Upper Beacon Road, Malvern Hills, Worcestershire.

L-R Broom and Gorse bushes

Pathway

After just over a week of warm sunshine filled days the rain has returned.

One of my favourite walks in this weather is over the hill, towards the beacon from the Upper Beacon Road car park. An easy climb, and although you cannot see very far due to the heavy mist, the large expanses of yellow gorse and broom plants at this time of year.

Broom 

Church of St Andrew and St Mary, How Capel, Herefordshire.

Church exterior

Fresco

Altar

A sweet little church surrounded by beautiful rolling Herefordshire countryside. The stained glass windows are particularly enchanting. I don't think I have ever seen such an odd subject for a church window as a load of cherubs appearing to fall from the clouds and transform into babies. The church also boasts a four part fresco and some rather splendid tiles.

Fave window

Window detail

Tile floor

Orchids and Lizards at British Camp, Malvern, Worcestershire.

View of hills to the north of British Camp

Bright yellow fields of rape seed flowers

 Today is a cloudy dull day. British camp is still a beautiful place but the subtle beauty revealed by such a day you have to see first hand to appreciate. Either that or I need to get much more expensive photographic equipment. I bought my Nokia lumina expressly because it, at the time, had the best camera of any of the mobile phones, but in these light conditions it loses clarity and sometimes everything fades to dull silhouettes.

Orchid

That said there were a few decent vista shots, and somethings were just so beautiful. I came across a number of yellow orchids. They were only about six cm tall but once you spotted them and stooped down for a closer look they were exquisite.

The wood near the reservoir is carpeted in bluebells, though slightly faded and more subtle in the low light, their beauty could not be diminished.

Little violet flowers

Add to that the wildlife. Swifts and swallows feasting on flies flew overhead in great swooping patterns stunningly over the surface of both the hills and the reservoir. Their flight path undulations matching exactly the undulations of the land a mere three or four cm above the surface. Their speed though again means you need to be there to see it.

Slow worm

A slow worm, which is neither a worm or a snake but actually a legless lizard, I did manage to snap. Being cold blooded it needs to absorb the suns warmth to get itself moving in the morning. On a cloudy day such as this, that takes longer and it was trying its best to sunbathe on one of the paths. I just about managed to sneak up and get a decent shot off before it slithered away into the nearby brambles and vanished. Very rare and quite endangered spotting one is an absolute treat.

Bluebells in the wood near British Camp Reservoir Wood

View to the south of British Camp