Mans best friend

To complete the transition to country recluses my parents have just acquired some dogs.



Meet Meg and Gwen, Gwen is the bigger darker dog on the right, we think at some point she has some German Shepherd in her as she doesn't quite fit the usual border collie size and shape. Meg on the left is her daughter, and looks and acts like a collie, though obviously can't be a pure bred. They came from a home in Wakefield and have been with Mum and Dad for 2 weeks. They're slowly getting used to long walks every day, having three quarters of an acre to roam in, and most of all sheep!

America Part 2

Just a quick post today. I'm at my parents house and Mum is champing at the bit to go shopping.

One of my favourite things to do in strange cities is to just wander about, you find all sorts of thing by just taking a walk than charging from one sight to another. I have a bit of a "thing" about grave yards, they're a real connection to the real history of a place so I was delighted to stumble upon this one in downtown Manhattan.





In the same graveyard was also a monument to the people who died while being held captive by the dastardly British during the war of Independence, however no photos of that as the only way you could fit all of it in was to stand in the middle of a New York street which seemed like a bad idea!

America

I've just got back from 2 weeks in the US. Well, I actually got back on Tuesday, but since then have been busy doing some climbing instruction to pay for all the nice things I bought while I was over there... now my feet have actually touched the ground my camera has finally made contact with my computer!
I visited New York, New Hampshire and Vermont, visited and saw lots of people. When people talk about the states they often comment on how big and over whelming it is, and while I never had that feeling of having no idea what is going on, I certainly was starting to get a bit burnt out by the end of my trip.
I started off in New York and one of my favourite places that I visited was in uptown Manhattan called The Cloisters. In my oh so diplomatic way I described it to some friend as "a load of bits stolen from European Monasteries, all put together in one hodge-podge building where the MET stores all their Medieval art work". However as the US doesn't technically have any history that old I suppose they can be forgiven, it certainly is an oasis of calm in one of the busiest cities in the world.

Over the rainbow

Just a few photos from my trip to Scotland last week, It wasn't actually a holiday, but was a nice escape from daily life. I was helping look after some Gold D of E students who were doing their final 4 day wild camping expedition. Boyfriend and I spent 1 night wild camping close to a group as one of the members was a diabetic and it was decided that it was a good idea to have an adult close by in case of emergencies.
Just before we headed to bed a rainbow appeared....


Of course the midges the invaded so we very quickly retreated to inside the tent, Scotland is nothing if not predictable!

A belated birthday

My second secret pal parcel was waiting for me when I got back yesterday. I collected this morning and was amazed by the contents, it could be like the person read my mind!



My favourite is the beautiful pin, though the tube of Udder Cream (my new favourite) and the book are also fantastic, the hidden thread cutter will also come n really handy when I fly out on Monday.
Thank You!

Nothing to see here

A big fat fail on the blogging front right now, rather than bore you with boring drivel I thought it was better to say nothing at all, apart from writing boring drivel about how I have nothing to say!
I'm off to Scotland tomorrow so expect the lack of drivel, boring or otherwise to continue, oh and then after that I'm going to America, maybe that will lead to something non-boring....

Unexpected beauty

I had to take my car to the garage earlier this week and walked back home along the lanes and footpaths that go through the acres of allotments that surround this edge of the city.
I love looking in to the allotments, hidden glimpses through old front doors and small gaps in hedges. This flower on the other hand had escaped the allotment as was growing all over a section of hedge.


The final section of the walk takes me through several grave yards, in one area is a Jewish graveyard, at the bottom of the hill is the Catholic one, in some areas though nature is reclaiming the graves, ivy now covers the headstones, and the trees are growing back. Just how it should be really.