FRIDAY PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - STARTS WITH "W"

Linking with Kate once again for our hunt.  I'm so sorry that I've gone a little overboard this week & kept thinking of another "W" thing.  Tough week with talk of maybe another lockdown here in Victoria & once again on border restrictions & I know I'm finding it harder than ever now, but thanks to blogging, I'm keeping my head above water & plodding along.

Here goes with a silly collection of photos from both my archive, recently & this morning.

This morning I snapped this (in the rain) to show the WAYWARD WONGA vine & WISTERIA on the pergola.

          WATER lilies flowering on our small pond, taken yesterday afternoon in the sunshine.

WASHER & WRINGER probably circa 1950s as this is so similar to my Mum's first ever washing machine.  This photo taken in January this year on a rare outing to a favourite antiquey/bric-a-brac place which I still haven't blogged about.

Now for a selection taken from browsing my archives.

A WITCH.  Taken on an afternoon drive in 2018 and we did discover this was part of The Great Southern Witch Hunt. We did find a few more, but my camera died on that particular day with a flat battery.  

WINDSWEPT ladies sitting  in the dicky seat of an old Model A Ford & laughing our heads off.  I think this was in February 2017 as part of the local Ficifolia Festival.  Not sure it is going ahead this year as we normally see it.

And just one last photo because I couldn't help myself.

This WICKER WORM photographed at Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire was so cute.  Taken on my birthday in 2019 on our visit to UK & "hopefully" not our last.

Enough from me "W"altzing down memory lane and thinking of those care free days of old.

Have a wonderful weekend all, take care, stay safe & huggles.  A big thanks to Kate especially.

Susan.

FRIDAY PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - LOVELY MEMORY.

 

   Linking with Kate at I live, I love, I craft, I am me, although I'm running late again for our Friday word/photo.  My thoughts for this were very mixed & I got myself into quite a state, but opted for something simple among the many memories that came to mind.  I also needed a few decent photos and I don't know whether we'll ever travel again & see family or friends & hoping to meet a few new ones, so a few favourites from to see list, that I was able to tick off in 2019.

DAVID AUSTEN ROSE GARDEN.

I loved the whole garden & the staff were lovely in the tea rooms & I came away with the most wonderful Rose catalogue which was free.  I'd dearly love to visit again.

GREAT DIXTER.

The house above which is something you'd never see here in Oz, is so beautiful.

Below was a pretty potted corner, which I've sort of been trying to emulate on the corner of our verandah in a somewhat modified version.

OK, this is my small lot for this week as I've really struggled keeping it together & being neat & short.

Take care all, stay safe & huggles from down under.

Susan.

SORRY & JULY SCAVENGER HUNT.

A huge sorry to any of my followers for being on the silent side of late.  The Pandemic is doing my head in & what with the "huge" new wave here in Victoria, it's hard to stay focused, have any mojo or inclination to even blog.

Another issue I have too, is this new interface on blogger.  It's been a learning curve over the years and as I'm not very tech savvy, another change is a challenge, but here goes.

JULY PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT.

I've missed the link up, but this run by the lovely Kate over at I live, I love I craft, I am me.

1.  SOMETHING PURPLE.

                                            The wisteria on the pergola over at No. 4

                 I snapped these this morning after I had washed up & as I realised I could use them for                                            "purple' too.  Our hand wash, violets from the garden & my gloves.

2.  SHADES OF GREEN.

The hills, paddocks, trees & hedges around West & South Gippsland.  Taken on a rare outing before we went back into lockdown.

3.  STARTS WITH... F

FARMYARD on the hill in the middle of our town, which we can see from our driveway.

4.  STILL LIFE.

A beautiful black cockatoo snapped whilst I stood very still & he kept still too.  

5.  SNAPPED AT THIS MOMENT.

This was taken yesterday, when I thought about posting after I realised that I was way behind on the HUNT & reading blogs.  We had a very cold day, which brought a few snow flakes, tiny hail, which we call sago snow, and rain.  It was "miserable".

6.. MY OWN CHOICE.

                                                                           Terracotta pots.

I love these, especially the rhubarb forcers, which we don't see out here.  This photo was taken last year on our UK trip at Great Dixter garden, a place I loved visiting.

OK, that's it from me & although I'm late, hope somebody enjoys and I'll be back sooner than later this month, catching up on a few other bits & pieces.  

Take care, stay safe & huggles,

Susan.

PS:  Not sure I like this new interface, but I will try and come to terms with it.  Does anybody know if there is a "caption" bit anymore?

😌💖

MAY PHOTO SCAVENER HUNT - 2020

Joining in once again with Kate from I live, I love, I craft, I am me, for the scavenger word hunt.
Wow, did I find this one difficult and not because of the words, but more than likely these unreal times we are experiencing.  I had high hopes for the words to start with & it just fizzled, so have had to go to the archives yesterday & scout around.  Hope it doesn't disappoint.
1.  TRIANGLE.

I think I've shown this before, but it looks triangular shaped to me.  We see many of these teepee type structures on the beach at Inverloch, I guess made by visitors, from the flotsam that gets washed down from the river & the scrub that lines the shore.  This beach has been getting badly eroded over many years & the native plants are succumbing to the battering. 

2.  CIRCLE.

Thinking about this one, I'd just heard something about the cancellation of the Olympics, which got me thinking about rings & circles and I remembered this photo I took at Lake Wendourie in Ballarat a few years ago.  My Dad spent a few weeks here in 1956 for the games, relaying messages across the world from the rowing venue on the lake.  He was a telegraphist & I was all of 7 years old & so excited when he came home to hear all about it.
 
3.  SPLAT.

I had to scan this one from an album.  When we belonged to the Morris Minor Touring Club, we had many adventures across much of this wide brown land.  We had been travelling along the Sturt Highway between Mildura & Euston & went into a service station & realised we had a bad case of BUG SPLAT.  So much you could barely read the number plate.  This photo was taken in the late 90s.

4.  SQUARE.

Lovely mosaic squares on the wall in the park at Thornton-le-Dale in North Yorkshire, which I posted about earlier this year from our holiday in 2019.

5.  STAR.

Notice the the star in the background of this bit of paving at York Gate Garden, in Adel, a suburb of Leeds.  I took this photo in 2016 & if you click on it, there is also some writing around the edge as well as the shamrock compass in the centre.  DH did point out that I could have used this for circle too.

6.  MY OWN CHOICE.

Using my older small camera the other day, I found a few odd photos lurking on it & thought I'd use this one for my own choice, as I really could not think.....
This is a beautiful stained glass window on Flinders Street Station in Melbourne with the old clocks denoting times when trains are leaving for the different lines fanning out over the suburban rail network.
Well, that is my lot for this month & although tougher than usual, I'm pleased I've done it.
Maybe things will get easier, though I know life will never be the same as before.  I suppose life is more about what lies ahead of us & the past is a bank of memories & at least I've got photos to go with those memories.
I'll be looking in on the other hunters later.
Have a great weekend, take care, stay safe and huggles from down under.
Susan.

APRIL PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT 2020.

Today we are linking with I live, I love I craft, I am me with our set of words for April  I did find this lot difficult, but here we go.

1.  HAPPINESS IS...

The bird life that visits our garden, especially the magpies who love snacking on breadcrumbs & then carol for me in thanks.  Buddy still comes to visit regularly & puffs herself out & has the loudest song of all.

2.  MAKES ME SMILE.......

Looking back through the photo archives of our trips to England & finding photos like this of the colourful beach huts on Scarborough's North Bay.  During these sombre times & dismal grey days, it makes me remember that summer will come again.

3.  RELAXING WITH....

My one & only coffee at morning tea with hubby & sometimes browsing a magazine or two on our back verandah in the sunshine.  It was definitely inside this morning, as it is still only 8° at 3pm as I do this.

4.  BUSY WITH....

Fondling fabric & coming up with new patterns & ideas for it's use today, but we have been busy in the garden earlier in the week.

5.  POSITIVE ABOUT...

Moving the veg beds to a better spot in the garden after we remove a very large hedge.  This particular spot is in shade now for much of the day & we intend making the beds higher & have four for better rotation.  The higher beds will be much better for my back.  It will be slow progress with winter coming on & not being able to access what we need for the ongoing project due to COV-19.

6.  MY OWN CHOICE.

Take all the above words and this is an amalgamation of them.  This photo and card sit just beside my computer in the study & mean a lot to me.  The photo is the most special I have.  It is the only one I have of our four children together due to distance.  The card on the left is one I've had for years & reminds me of my Dad who loved his cricket from a very early age.

Well that is my lot and although probably a bit disjointed & with the possibility of not joining in I've sort of done it.  I'm sure I have a lot more to smile & be happy about, busy & relax with & be positive about, but there you have it.

Have the best weekend available to you & thanks if you pop by.  

Take care all, stay safe & huggles.

Susan.

UK TRIP 2019 - THORNTON-LE-DALE

As promised, although a little late, here is a look at the above village through an Aussie's eyes & camera lens.
Carrying on from my last UK trip post, we'd had a lovely lunch & headed toward Thornton-le-dale, to have a look at the Motor Museum, only to find it closed for a week after their auction.  We did see a few cars out the front & through the windows, but couldn't go inside to wander.
Parking the car in the large car park, we headed toward the main street & along the way saw all of these beautiful carvings & other photogenic bits.

An owl & a squirrel.

Some ducklings with Mum.

Ah, real ducks on the water.

Another owl.

Houses along the stream.

A small weir on the other side.

These were all taken between the car park & the main shopping area.  It was all so lovely.
Finally made it to the Museum, where I took my one & only photo of these cars for a friend in our Car Club who own a collection of Austins too.

We kept on exploring and came across another footpath along the stream & madly kept snapping.  You can tell I was quite captivated by this place.

Very artistic/

Tranquility plus.

Back along the road & more stopping to take photos.

The church.

A row of stone terrace houses.

Flowers on the wall.  I looooooooooove these.

Further along back on the bridge over the stream I took this photo, although I took a few of it from the footpath, I kept getting people in it.  This time I caught it people-less (is that a word?).   Most will know this cottage from calendars & possibly even biscuit tins & other memorabilia.  Why?

It is Beck Isle cottage. (I think that is what it is called).

Heading back into the car park & I noticed these.

Bug hotels.

Stunning golden rod.

That was an afternoon spent in a wonderful village, wandering to our heart's content.
About it from me for this post & future posts will have only positives and not how I might be feeling, but what we are doing to pass the time and lots of photos.
Take care all, stay safe and huggles from down under.
Susan.

UK TRIP 2019 - WHARRAM PERCY.

Heading out from Scarborough one day while house-sitting for DD we decided to head south to Wharram Percy, a deserted medieval village I'd read about.  It sure didn't disappoint, being so peaceful & serene.  We weren't quite alone, but basically had it all to ourselves & lots of photos were taken.
Lets start............

I'm not going to bombard you with signboards, but will start with this one about the village.  Click on it to make larger to read.

 Looking towards the barn & some of the archaeological diggings they've been doing for many a                                                                                     year.

                                                                        The other side.

                                 Looking across to the church.  More digging in the foreground.
The next two boards I also found very interesting, so thought I'd pop them on anyway.

                                              Again you may need to click on them to read.

                                    I loved the old stonework & shapes of the mullein windows.
Wandering further on from the churchyard the path meandered down to the old mill ponds.

                                          Across a timber boardwalk and we came out here..............

                                            A beautiful still body of water with reflections.

Just pass the pond, we came across this sign.  Tempting to go walking, but we kept exploring around the village on another trail looking back across farmland.

Can't forget another tree photo. See where two main branches have joined forces again further up.  Sorry, but I love my trees.

                           The church ruins from the higher trail & the barn, photo below.

                                     Heading back to the car park, through a tunnel of trees.

                                                 Wild flowers with a beautiful butterfly.

           Just before you get to the car park, there are far reaching views across farmland to the hills.
This is somewhere I could visit many times and never tire of it.  After this we travelled on towards Thornton-le-Dale ( a post for next week), stopping on the A169 between Old Malton & Pickering, at a farmshop for our lunch.  Very nice.
OK, enough from me and although we are in lockdown, I don't seem to be able to settle into a routine, and seem to keep faffing around.  Doing an on-line shop takes me ages & does my head in.  I'd like to make more headway in the garden, but it seems to be either "very" windy, raining or inclement, threatening to rain.  We are managing a walk most days & exploring streets we've never walked before & as we live in a very hilly town, it's certainly be strenuous. 
OK, I;ll be back on Friday for the Scavenger Hunt, so stay safe, take care and huggles from Susan.