living up in the trees: October 2007

And it's off we go to the West Country (Devon and Cornwall,etc).

The motorways of England frequently carve their way through farmland. Hence the bovine 'flyover' below, enabling the farmer to get his stock from one paddock to another!

The photographer, by the way, wasn't being artistic when taking this shot (black and white) she just didn't realise she'd got it on the wrong setting!

We couldn't resist stopping at Stonehenge on the way. The three of us could remember visiting this amazing place as children. We were able to walk around the stones then and actually touch them. Now, visitors are kept well away and I am glad. It's a national treasure.

This (above) is the Eden Project. Something I've heard lots about and looked forward to visiting. As I walked round, it was hard to believe it hasn't been there for decades. The 'biomes' are full of huge plants and trees. The whole place is so obviously loved and cared for.

Eden is all about man's relationship with and dependence upon plants. Much of our food, our clothes, our shelter and our medicines come from the plant world. Without plants there would be no oxygen for us to breathe, no life on earth.
The Eden Project is a showcase for all the questions and many of the answers. But Eden is not a worthy, over-serious, guilt-ridden place; nor does it preach. It is about education and communication of the major environmental issues of the day, always presented in an engaging, involving, even humorous way.
(click on images to enlarge)

This (below) is a setting in the tropical biome. It has everything - the old motorbike, vegetables growing in the yard, and the building is made of anything and everything from the forest.

As we walked through the tropical biome we climbed higher and higher. Consequently the atomosphere grew hotter and hotter and more humid. Jackets came off, jumpers came off and I started to expect huge, blood-hungry mosquitos to appear.

It's an amazing place and I'd recommend it to anyone, especially people with children.

The it was on to the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

As with the Eden Project, there is a team of dedicated people who love this place.

Our discovery of a tiny room, buried under fallen masonry in the corner of one of the walled gardens, was to unlock the secret of their demise. A motto etched into the limestone walls in barely legible pencil still reads "Don’t come here to sleep or slumber" with the names of those who worked there signed under the date - August 1914. We were fired by a magnificent obsession to bring these once glorious gardens back to life in every sense and to tell, for the first time, not tales of lords and ladies but of those "ordinary" people who had made these gardens great, before departing for the Great War.

Then it was on to Watergate Bay in Cornwall.

And, yes! I did take this photo below. More by luck than skill. But it's one that will go in my album. My happiest holiday memories are of seaside places in Devon and Cornwall. Sandy beaches, rock pools, clifftop walks, castles, oh... when I'm old and can't remember my name I will remember these places.

That's our hotel in the cliffside. It was magical.

And three sisters in one room? It was comical, hysterical even.

And below is a picture of a rock. How could I not take a picture of a rock?

People don't believe you when you try to describe the narrow roads in these parts.

So LOOK! How do cars pass eachother? Well, there are little bulges every now and then where one car can cram itself against the hedge while the other passes.

Aren't we just gorgeous?

It's time to visit Blighty again and it's autumn. I go to be with my family and friends; to refill my 'tank'. I'm often asked what do I miss about England: obviously, primarily, my family; second, British people (they have the most wonderful sense of humour); third, the 'oldness' of England and authenticity of it all. Not the weather, however. And whatever the weather produces while I'm here - it isn't going to spoil anything we do! 'Cos I say so!

Doggie walks.

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Doggy wasn't allowed to take this rather large branch home so she took a very large pebble from the beach instead. This is a regular thing so a rockery of round rocks is taking shape in their garden.

I was at home alone one morning and thought I might attempt to get a photo of doggy and me sitting in this chair. She had other ideas.

Got one eventually with the aid of a treat.

Some men buy Harleys. My brother-in-law buys one of these. He's got taste.

(And the ok from 'er indoors.)

And here is dear old Joshie.

My eldest sister has retired from nursing and although she still does a couple of shifts a week she now enjoys embroidery. This is some 'stumpwork' she is working on and as you can see, the bee is about to receive his wings.