and a Happy New Year

on the road to Malham (where a few of us spent Christmas)

a christmas wish

night life

snow, a moon lit night and light on the church tower make for a magical Christmas scene at the bottom of our paddock.

dreamy landscape

an unusual view across the Tamar valley shrouded in mist towards Gunnislake, Tavistock and Shaugh Prior on a very cold and snowy morning. And below another view of our little village.

and snow lay roundabout

 

Stoke Climsland church this morning, under a light covering of snow

and the village shop looking warm and welcoming

the cassie

the new self propelled Dyson vacuum cleaner with cyclone action, also with self emptying bag and adjustable deck for that extra special deep clean, just lick and go!

hogweed flowers again

hoar frost or rime on the remnants of the dead flower head of hogweed

spot the bullfinch

the cold is driving some shy birds out into the open, but they are not always easy to see!

and the view from the bottom of the garden

frost, blue sky, Venterdon barns and the church

more from aladdin's cave

another magical image from our favourite lane, thanks to the exceptionally hard frost

minding the sheep

whatever the weather the sheep need tending

aladdin's cave

freezing fogs, mist, and hoar frost are making for magical morning walks.

wagtail of a different kind

during these cold spells some birds, like this foraging pied wagtail, which are normally quite shy come much closer to habitation

Spot's Sports spots

the weather has turned very cold and Spot has taken to wearing his winter cap. There was a great gathering of rooks today (this group was only a small part of the parliament), goodness knows what they were up to but something was going on

the quick and the not so quick

steam gets to Cotehele

steam arrives at Cotehele this morning ... parking outside the pub of course (well, tea room now).

the commute to work

starlings off to find food for the day.

raven's moor

Ravens are the largest of the crow family. They have a bluish tinge to their intensely black feathers, large heads and throat feathers. They often are seen in pairs (as here)

They like open moorland where sheep and other livestock are to be found because it is easy for them to find carrion to feed off.



They have a distinctive low pitched cry (described as prruk prruk) and a silhouette in flight, which is very similar to the buzzard.

quarry dogs

colours and reflections in the quarry near the Minions.

piteousness

a dole of doves descendeth upon us. As they are collared doves perhaps it should be a neck, or a wring of doves. I wonder why doves have this association with pity and sadness?

going browner still

the colour of the leaves on the rowan tree at the bottom of our estate (!) are very vivid this year and make a pretty sight mixed with the bright red of the berries. Many fields locally have a large tree (usually an oak or beech) standing in the middle to provide some shade for the livestock, and in the autumn they provide these picturesque images set against the natural mixed deciduous woods that cover the valley sides.

autumn colours

Our favourite lane has slipped into its autumnal livery.

the drive into Duchy College is lined with sweet chestnuts and looks very grand at this time of year.

end of the rainbow

Showers and strong sunlight make for vivid rainbows, and provide a fitting photo to mark a break in Spot's blog, at least for the time being, unless we see anything visually interesting over autumn and winter. There are over 1500 pages on this blog, and more photos, to trawl through if you should happen on the blog and be interested in our home area. Use the labels, or blog search facility to find the things you are interested in

Penny's piece in Greenscombe woods, looking like a Constable painting (or vice versa?)

on the interweb

fine webs on a fir tree in the bright morning light make it look like a Christmas tree, and below an amazingly intricate but random web.

on Weir Quay 2

we walked along the footpath going North from Holes Hole, and eventually came upon this stunning view of the river and wetlands looking North towards Cotehele Quay (the grey building towards the top left on the river), and below towards Pentillie Castle on our way back.

on Weir Quay

on a stunningly beautiful day we went for a walk along the Tamar between Weir Quay, Holes Hole and Hooe (the white house in the picture is at the head of the Hooe).

staff notes

starlings are beginning to gather into large flocks, and when they perch on a stave of telegraph wire look like Elizabethan lute music notation.

last of the summer wine 3

and a late red admiral basking in the unusually warm October sun, showing the amazing complexity and subtle colouring of its underwings.

last of the summer wine 2

this is a stinkhorn, usually smelled rather than seen, but this was a very fresh and especially pungent specimen. It spreads its spores by attracting flies which land on the slimy sticky tip and carry the spores away.

last of the summer wine

this jet black mushroom is a chanterelle known as Horn of Plenty or Black Trumpet, and in France as la viande des pauvres (poor man's meat) where it is used in stews. It is an occasional species found on oak and beech leaf litter (note acorn in top photo). This is the first time it has appeared for four years at this particular spot.

at the Honey fair Callington 3

Kit Hill in the background adding some perspective to the man on stilts

street entertainers for MacMillan nurses

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the handiwork of local primary schoolchildren.

at the Honey fair Callington 2

John Trevithick (under trilby), Lawrence Reed (VIP) and town criers of Bodmin and Launceston.

the loudest guy on the street (from Saltash of course).

and the town criers of Callington, Saltash, Newton Abbot, Crewkerne, Torbay, Bodmin, Ilfracombe and Barnstaple