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Sandpiper in the Valley

8 May 2020
Categories: Blog
Tags: birds, River Breamish

Common sandpiper in Breamish Valley

I last posted some images of Common Sandpiper on the River Breamish back in June 2015. Not that I haven’t seen them since, only that I haven’t taken the time to photograph them. Anyway, out on my once-a-day exercise a couple of days ago, I saw a few sandpiper along the banks of the River Breamish, along the valley towards Ingram. I’m not really a wildlife photographer, as I don’t have the proper equipment to do it. However, I did manage to get these shots of this fairly small wading bird that can be seen here in Northumberland during the summer months. It typically arrives around March-April each year and then, after breeding, it leaves around July-August.

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Seeing Again

28 April 2020
Categories: Blog
Tags: environment, exercise

Seeing again what we saw only yesterday

Still having that Groundhog Day feeling, still feel like I’m rather going round and round the mulberry bush – but at least with a new perspective.

Just taking one step to the left or standing on my tip-toes, just a slight inclination of my head to the right, or even lying down on the grass – they all give a slightly different perspective. Just letting me see the same thing just that bit differently. And, all-in-all, it’s not too onerous moving a bit this way and a bit that way – although getting up off the grass when I’m down there isn’t quite so easy!

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Here We Go Round The…

26 April 2020
Categories: Blog
Tags: coronavirus, environment

Here we go round the mulberry bush

Children have such an appetite for repetition, don’t they? And so much energy for it. How many times have you heard a child gleefully shout, “Again! Again!”, demanding that we repeat the same silly ‘Knock, knock’ joke or play the same tune? As for me, I know that I’m likely to want to stop playing far sooner than any child. This repetition is instilled in children’s learning. What about all those nursery rhymes that repeat the same tune over and over but with just some minimal change.

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Still Looking Up

23 April 2020
Categories: Blog
Tags: birds, River Breamish, wildlife

Still looking up above the Breamish

My once-a-day exercise frequently finds me somewhere along the River Breamish. And now that Spring has very much set in, there’s lots of undergrowth to be careful of as you’re walking. So, I spend a lot of my time watching my feet, so as not to trip. Even as someone who enjoys taking photographs of whole landscapes, I have to force myself to look up. And it can be rewarding. There’s a lot to miss when we forget to look up.

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Wool Catcher

21 April 2020
Categories: Blog
Tags: crafts, livestock

wool catcher : dream catcher

Dream Catchers are used to encourage only good dreams for those that sleep under them. They’re usually placed over the place you would sleep, so that the morning light shines on the catcher when you wake.

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Breamish Blossom

19 April 2020
Categories: Blog
Tags: nature connectedness, trees

Beautiful Breamish blossom

One of my favourite films is the 2003 movie ‘The Last Samurai‘. While I find it memorable for all sorts of reasons – the stunning panoramas, the evocation of a strange and often cruel cultural practices – there’s a quote that sticks in my mind. The samurai leader Katsumoto (played by Ken Watanabe), is grounded in the old samurai ways and the Bushido code of honour. In contrast to his relentless warrior instincts, when confronted by Spring cherry blossom in his courtyard, he says:

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