election result special

the poll of the world for lurcher of the year, and most attractive dog has now closed (see side panel). The result is an overwhelming vote for President Spot (the hairy, black one), with 77% of the vote cast (by 7 to 1 !! (one spoilt vote)). Provided that there are no sudden changes in the count, or vote rigging by GOP (friends of Harriet, the smooth brown one) Spot is declared the winner. May he rule wisely and kindly. And we wish whoever wins the other little election good luck and a fair wind; none of us can afford for you to fail, or to let us down.

dryad's saddle

the top two photos are of a bracket fungus or of Dryad's saddle (the little people and wood nymphs presumably use it for riding on unicorns), and the bottom photo from 2002 and just downstream is definitely a Dryad's. And we found a white feather on our walk.

beals mill

meanwhile, back at the mill there has been some progress (again see earlier pictures by clicking on the label for Beals Mill). The foreman on the site told me that there is evidence of buildings even earlier than the twelfth century, so there may have been a mill on this site for more than a thousand years. I wonder how long it will be before it becomes a mill once more.

autumn has arrived

one of my favourite spots on the Inny meadows (see earlier pictures as well).

autumn's coming

It hasn't been a good year for mushrooms so far. Unfortunately, we can never sort out what sort of mushrooms we are looking at, milkcaps, honey fungus or something deadly. Every year we try and identify them, and we have always forgotten by the beginning of next autumn.

spike's place

the sun always shines on Spike's house, home of Venterdon's second most famous canine blogger