Evening Walk

We walked down by the Ouse one evening this week. Cattle in the evening sun; not a bad place to live.

Retford to York

I took my bike on the train for the first time since lock-down. 30 minutes on the main line to Retford, then a great 70 mile ride back to York on roads and bridleways. This shot is high on the hills to the east of Retford, with a disused power station in the Trent Valley peeping over the horizon.

The Old Mine

Rowan took this shot of Layla in action, when she and I walked to the old mine at Escrick. A lovely day.

Wolds Way

That is me with Layla on the Wolds walk the other week. It is a steep slope up which we struggle.

On The Town

We went out for a family meal in a restaurant last weekend. Masked up obviously.

New Track

I have recorded a track in response to the pandemic. Usual disclaimers about being well aware that I am not a professional musician apply. Click to hear. Then Came Covid

Cranes

Here are the Cranes flying over Thorne Moors on my visit there yesterday. I have seen Cranes in three places, here, a high plateau in Turkey, and migrating over a gorge in New Mexico. Each location made magical by the birds.

Thorne Moors Dog

I took Layla for the first time to Thorne Moors, the sacred peatlands that I treasure. She was great there and a real companion, as Milo had been before her. Highlights were seeing a pair of Cranes; the third time in a row that I have seen these magnificent birds here.

Humber

The Wolds Way starts down by the Humber which drains pretty much half the top half of the country. This discarded balloon reminded me of a seal. That is the Humber Bridge on the Horizon.

Chalk Stream

Somewhere in this beautiful chalk stream beneath the Wolds escarpment, behind that Hawthorne tree, is Layla causing a ripple.

The Tilmire

This is the Tilmire, old unimproved wetland south of York. A pretty wonderful place. It is part of a cycle route I devised that loops south of the city, that I rode last week with Edward.

Veg Patch news

The Vegetable Patch continues to go well-ish. The mangetout have, as usual, started to produce less and less, but everything else is looking good. The blackcurrant harvest usually starts the end of July (final stage of the Tour de France) and it looks on target. Even the courgettes on the roof are doing pretty good.

Wolds

One of the beautiful woods on the Wolds Way, with additional dog related action bottom left.

Yorkshire Wine

Went walking Monday and Tuesday with friends Sue, Eddy, Gail and Duncan on the Wolds Way. This is a vineyard on the south facing chalk slopes of the Wolds escarpment, it looked just like the chalk hills of northern France.

Le Quatorze Juillet

Six years ago I was cycling across the Alps with Dave en route to Tuscany. So as it is July 14th here is a shot from that trip of France the beautiful.

Photo of the Week

Some drummers from Burundi were playing outside at Covent Garden in London in 1983. At the time it was a happening sound and a bit of an event. So the plaza was packed and it was hard to see anything. This woman was getting a better view; there was something about her hand on the stone that caught my eye, as though she was crawling up and escaping from the throng. Over the years it has got a lot of reaction.

Leeds and Ilkley

I combined delivering a photo to Ilkley with a walk on Ilkely Moor yesterday. It was the first time Layla had tackled a proper hill: she enjoyed rolling around in the heather. Alot.

Today I drove Rowan to a black hairdressers in Leeds where she had braids put in her hair, meantime I saw Jo and Ashley for an outdoor coffee in the garden, it was great to catch up with them. I walked through the woods to where the bizarre arch for Queen Victoria has been placed.

Puppy Class is Back

Layla did her best at Puppy Class in Huby. For a post-class reward I took her to Juno Beach on the Ouse at Benningbrough, as you can see she was pretty happy to be there.

Cooking

Making dhal has become a bit of a weekly event for me during Lockdown. This is a dhal with paneer and cavallo nero, and homemade chapatis. Washed down with a nice IPA.

Leaves

Sycamore Leaves in the Forest.

Back at puppy training class today. Fair to say that Layla has a robust approach to the niceties of group work. 

The band are making first steps to getting together to play again. It is pouring with rain. Life seems to be heading back to something of other.

Triangulation

Walking over the Ouse on Skeldergate Bridge, I saw this collapsed triangle of posts. It made me think of the UK government's response to the virus.

Woman with Grandfather

From my walk across Europe. I had just come down from the planina summer grazing lands, where I had stayed with some shepherds. Back in the valley a family invited me in for a drink and a chat. The young woman in the photograph had taken the unusual step of having her hair cut short. Her husband was up on the planina for a week and would be returning home later that evening. She was a little anxious about how the change would go down. Her grandfather reassured her; and wanted to be with her for this photograph. In 1984 there were no cameras around in these parts, so I would first ask if I could photograph people. They would almost always assent, and often ask for me to send them a copy when I could. I was more than happy to do this.

More Flowers

Cornflowers in a field of Rape. On Tilmire, south of York

Peas

It has been a good harvest so far. Mange Tout peas are one of the great delights of veg growing; the hard bit is trying to not eat them all before you get back to the kitchen. 

Trial and Error

It takes time to work out whether a shot in the forest is going to be one that works; works enough for people to want to buy it. I do not think this one will work in that way, but I like it.