Summer Garden

Alliums at the local botanic gardens yesterday.

Promotion

On Sunday there was an open top bus parade as the football team got promoted to the premier league. Its been many years since I want to see them and I only recognised one player but rare events like this are photo opportunities and something different. They made us wait for 40 minutes longer than scheduled and I saw two elderly people actually collapse in the warmer weather. However, it was not too bad and I went for some peace at the local cemetery afterwards. There were many thousands of people there and it was mostly good natured although I could not get very close when they came out on the balcony but got some better close up shots as they went by on the bus.

Another spring walk

“If it makes you happy
Then why the hell are you so sad?“

Saturday I went back to the other smaller bluebell woods. They also have some nice patches of wild garlic above. I have tried to be more mindful/spiritual when out and about as my mood has progressively nosedived since Christmas and its been hard to be positive or optimistic about much these days.

A Walk in Bluebell Woods

Yesterday was the warmest day of the year so far so I was able to go back to the Bluebell woods I have been going to for years. I was exhausted by the time I got home as I am not as fit any more but it was worth it and something I wanted to do before I go away and its gone for the another year. There is another wood not too far away I have never been too and would like to explore but I only like to go out if the sun shines as cloudy dull days are simply not the same.

An Ideal World

I had planned to go to the bluebell woods today before its too late but the grey overcast weather is still unrelenting so I made do with a local abandoned church instead. Its up for sale now and has not been used in years. The graveyard is still a thing of beauty and peace and small wildlife sanctuary complete with an old yew tree. If someone buys it to flatten the land and built yet more flats then then would be a sad loss for something that has been here for over a century.

St Georges day

Saturday was the annual St Georges day festival. It was a quite small event with much of it for family or kids but as I have already missed seeing any Morris dancing from January due to flooding in Whittlesea I thought I would get my yearly fix nearer home instead. I wonder if events like this will die out completely or gain in popularity due people feeling a need to keep ancient traditions and history alive. Still thinking photography is not very good for mental health issues, especially paranoia and not where there are lots of people around anyway. I do want to see some bluebells before its too late but the weather is still cool and cloudy almost every day.

Grotesque

Some grotesques(not gargoyles!) on a local city church taken last Saturday. They are quite strange but I like them, I would like to find out about their origins sometime or if they are just completely random and unknown.

Grotesque; adjective. odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre

Pictures Past

I don’t have many of my pictures as prints, well apart from the dogs but I wanted to have three on my wall to look at as they can bring back good memories of past times and improve my mood. This is one taken in the peak district over 10 years ago. Its by no means perfect but I like the winter sun and mist with the snow on the ground and the three horses in the foreground.

The next is a favourite tree on the deer park I have been to for so many years. The snow again on the ground plus the vivid orange glow instils in a me a feeling of calm. I love watching the setting sun and would have especially liked to have seen the total eclipse in the USA last week but there are none due in the Uk now for decades.

The final one is of Chatsworth, my favourite stately home in the Uk and where I have been many times. Its a reflection of the south side of the house in the canal pond which still has a thin layer of ice on it. I now think the close up with no background does not work and may replace it with a similar one showing the landscape and sky. I used an online firm called Snappish. They are reasonably priced at about £8 for an A3 size print to fit in a 20X16 inch frame but they come in a smallish tube. Unfortunately its very hard to flatten out entirely when you put them in a frame as the print tries to curl up again and this somewhat spoils the image as the slight curvature every two or three inches still shows and reflects the light unevenly which is highly noticeable.

Blossom Time

The Cherry Blossom in the local parks on Sunday. It would be nice to have more of them as they are so spectacular. In fact in on weekends there is usually a queue of people waiting to take selfies under them.

Resist, resist.

“There ain’t no more
You’ve taken everything
From my belief in Mother Earth
Can you ignore
My faith in everything?
‘Cause I know what faith is and what it’s worth.”

More spring like at the cemetery and warmer than of late on Saturday afternoon. I will try to still go out until May at least when the bluebells appear fully and then I visit my friend for my birthday. It gets harder though, not easier and my paranoia often shows itself to be real rather than delusional.