April in Photos

29 April 2016

It has been a month of contrasts.  Quiet times, busy times.  All seasons of weather, but most definitely April showers.  We have soaked it all up and noticed: 

Orange


Lichen on a rock in a drystone wall.  I haven't been able to identify it............

Feather



I have to admit I struggled with this category.  We didn't find a single feather during the month, or something that resembled one.  Taking photos of birds is really difficult and not something I am particularly good at.  I then had the idea of taking some photos of our bird feeders when this little Robin came visiting.  You would be forgiven for thinking, given my difficulty with this category,  that I took this photo months ago and have sneaked it in here but I can assure you that this was taken yesterday afternoon (28 April) it snowed on and off all day!

Something Fresh


...as a daisy, which have grown in their wonderful carpets this month.  Did you know that Daisy's get their name from day's eye as they close their petals up at night and spread them during the day?  Hence the expression as a fresh as a daisy, you have had a good sleep and are a full of energy just like the flower.

Horizon


The view from the spot where our singing/nature group meets on a friend's farm.  The hills in the distance are the view from my house (I live on the other side of them).

Wet


I could have used this for feather but it was much more about wet, a scrape at a bird reserve we visited for the day when my parents came for a visit.  The Avocets were back for the summer and feeding in the water.  They were one of 53 species we saw during our visit. 

Craft


You are probably wondering what on earth it is?  A craft on two counts, a canoe shed built by my husband in our front garden.  It is empty at the moment but will eventually house two open canoes (scroll to bottom).  We have a large garage/workshop at the back of our house, but with two open canoes, two sea kayaks and a general purpose kayak the garage bit was getting a little full (not to mention a chest freezer, seven bikes, scooters and all the gardening equipment) we have been doing some building work at the front our house and decided that part of the garden would make a good place to store some of our boats.  It will have a green roof, we also have one on our garage roof (again scroll to the bottom), hence the slight tilt so that it can be viewed in all its, eventual, glory from the house.

Growing


My garlic is shooting!  I planted this in mid January, normally I plant in late October/ Early November but it was so wet then and for the rest of the year I decided to wait.  I am not sure whether they would have survived the 9.3m of rain we had in November and December!

Memories


April is the month when the wild garlic is ready for picking in my area and a huge carpet of them grows in one of our local woods.   We lived in the village nearest this wood when we got married and would visit often for a short walk at the weekends.  It was the place I took both of my children for the first big walk of their lives it took about six hours with lots of stops, now we can walk round in a couple.  We have spent two years, one when Alice was a baby and last year visiting every month to observe the changes in nature.  We always visit a this time of year to pick the wild garlic to make pesto.  It is one of my favourite places to take a walk and is close to where I live now.

Sticks


A stick lady puppet made at our singing/nature group.  She has a rather Barbiesque waist which was not intentional I can assure you, luckily my children don't know who Barbie is.

Flower (my choice of category)


A beautiful camellia flower from a small tree, covered in these wonderful blooms, in the grounds of a the buddhist temple we visited with our home ed friends.   I will hasten to add we didn't pick it, we found it on the ground next to the plant.

Joining in with the Photo Scavenger Hunt hosted by Hawthorn Spellweaver.  I have really enjoyed this challenge.  I have seen photo scavenger hunts on other blogs but the categories didn't pull me in to take part, but this one did.  I loved that all these categories were a catalogue of our daily lives and I wasn't take pictures for pictures sake if you get what I mean?   I am looking forward to seeing the categories for next month.......

46 comments:

  1. Great pics and glad quite a few have joined. Favourite of yours is the stick doll. I'm too old to have had a Barbie, but have made clothes for grandchildrens. Have a good weekend and take care.

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    1. I didn't have a Barbie either my mother didn't like them!

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  2. Green with envy here that you get to see Avocets. Good choice of photos and I hope Hawthorn does another one.

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    1. They are beautiful birds aren't they. I could have watched them for hours as they slice their beaks through the water whilst feeding.

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  3. Wow - you are an active family - so many boats and bikes! That view of the hills is beautiful; such a different landscape than my home. Are there not a lot of trees where you live? Great daisy picture - so cheerful! We saw some ramps the other day, but they were on the grounds of a nature education center, so we refrained from picking.

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    1. Some of those bikes need to be sold as they have been outgrown by little legs! I love the hills round here they look different every time you look at them. They were what drew me to settling in this area. There are a fair amount of trees but they tend to be in the valleys. Most of the hillsides round here are populated with sheep and deer who eat all the shoots of any young trees that are growing. Sometimes areas are planted and fenced off to let the trees get established but those areas are few and far between.

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  4. What a beautiful view, and how lovely to see the blue sky in the daisy photo. We've had snow flurries over the last few days too and we woke to a covering this morning, madness, it's nearly May.

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    1. A blue sky never fails to lift my spirits, especially when it is that deep deep blue. I could cope with it year round!

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  5. I love April...and I love your beautiful pictures.

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  6. Yes I too love the daisy picture and the stick lady. Barbie dolls were long after my time too but I did have a 'Wetsy Betsy' complete with feeding bottle and a nappy!

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  7. I love your interpretations and stories, I have really enjoyed reading them - so glad you joined and I am GREEN with envy of your view in 'Horizon'!! xx
    PS just re looked at your pictures and was amazed how on looking at your wild garlic I could 'smell' them!

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    1. I could never tire of my horizons here either. Everywhere you drive round here they are beautiful. You live in a beautiful part of England too! Wild Garlic does have a strong smell doesn't it!

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  8. No, I didn't know about 'day's eye'. Fascinating stuff. You really have had some weather. Hail and sleet here today, but only for a minute or so. I want to feel the sun on my back again! Have a lovely weekend.

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    1. I would love the sun to shine too! It did today and I really hope it lasts......

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  9. great photos! love your canoe house x

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    1. Thank you. I love the wee house too, now just need to get the canoes out of the garage and in it.....

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  10. Congratulations on completing the challenge. Lovely pictures and very impressed with the canoe shed.

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    1. Thank you! My husband is great a creating things with wood, I am sure it has saved us a fortune :)

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  11. A very interesting photography challenge! X

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  12. What a lovely post. Happy weekend.

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  13. The stick puppet is a fantastic interpretation.
    Arilx

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    1. I had such fun making her, she sits in our porch watching the world go by!

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  14. I know what you mean about the storage issue as we have the same here. Our canoe is hung on pulleys in the garage but that means its such a mission to get it down that we haven't been out this season, despite the fact that there have actually been some lovely sunny days.
    I'm curious about your canoe storage, can you give some more details please? Do you slide the canoe in? I'm assuming that the roof doesn't lift up. We're in the process of reorganising everything and thought that the bikes would have to go in a shed or something, hadn't thought it would be feasible to move the canoe... but maybe...

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    1. That is exactly how our canoes are stored in the garage, hanging from the roof on pulleys! The front black panel is a sheet of some kind of fabric that my husband found, I am not entirely sure what it is, although he has probably told me before. The wooden baton across the bottom helps it to hang properly and also means that you can roll it up to get the canoes out. This shed will take two open canoes, our longest is 16ft, on their sides. We have bought two alarmed padlocks to attach to them just in case. We live in a main road which is not terribly busy but you never know......the shed is not that visible from the road as there is a large evergreen shrub/tree between it and the road. We had initially thought of a bike shed but decided they were more likely to be stolen out there as they are smaller and lighter. If you want to know more let me know. My email address is in a link in my About Me page.

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  15. Fun. I like your interpretations. I had to check a few times that it was your post I was reading. It was the canoe shed that threw me. I was expecting your handicraft! Must check out the challenge.

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    1. Ha ha. I post so often about my makes and crafting that I wanted something a bit different for this!

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  16. Stunning photographs. A real pleasure to view them :)

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  17. love the stick lady puppet and her style! our lichen is bright bright seafoam green. that mountain view is breathtaking!!

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    1. She's great isn't she, I had fun creating her. We have lichens of every colour and shape here probably something to do with all the rain..............I love our views here too, it's the reason I wnated to settle in this area.

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  18. Oh I can totally believe it was snowing - what an April we've had for crazy weather! I love your shot of the daisy, just stunning; and so lovely to see your beautiful hills too :)

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    1. Yep it has been crazy. I am so ready for some warmth and sunshine now tho', so if you could arrange that, that would be grand! I love my views too, I could never tire of them.

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  19. Great photos - I especially love the one of the daisy against that gorgeous blue sky. Here's to a lovely May. xx

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    1. I do hope so. Some more of the blue sky would be good.

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  20. Lovely photographs. We went on a wild garlic hunt this week but had, unfortunately, left it a little late. The daisy photograph is stunning and so simple. X

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    1. Oh no! I think you are south of me? There is loads up this way, with it being cooler we are a bit behind the lower areas. Having said that I was near Windermere today and there was plenty there still, perhaps it is worth still looking?

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  21. Interesting challenge!... Enjoyed your interpretations very much. A month of contrasts indeed, but it all ties up pretty well!

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    1. It was an interesting challenge. I love that the photos were ones I would take any way ;)

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  22. I really enjoyed your photos. I can believe it was snowing - it was even snowing here this past weekend in New Mexico! The weather has been a little kooky lately. I really like that boat shed, your husband did a nice job. I hope you're having a good week so far.

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    1. I am ready for it to warm up now tho' fun as snow at the end of April is.......

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  23. I'm intrigued by your references to your singing group- what sort of songs do you sing? The setting for it is beautiful! The wild garlic looks amazing! I made some pesto last year when I went to stay with my friend who has some in her village! It was really exciting.
    I LOVE your robin- they ARE hard to photograph- so skittish!
    I did NOT know that about the name 'Daisy'- how absolutely fascinating!!!x

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    1. It is a children's group so it's seasonal songs that appeal to them. It is a beautiful setting. The wild garlic is amazing, a real carpet and the smell is really strong.

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