beacon fell

27 May 2015

Incredible showing of bluebells this year

The actual flower is the plant’s highest fulfilment, and are not here exclusively for herbaria, county floras and plant geography: they are here first of all for delight.   John Ruskin

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had an especially generous showing of snowdrops outside the house this year, probably some fabulous Mother Nature alchemy using the weather and conditions in the year since they last flowered.  It seems that same combination of climate and rainfall etc. has worked wonders with other plants too.

Gorgeous woodland bluebells in golden evening spring sunshine.
Gorgeous woodland bluebells in golden evening spring sunshine.

Having looked at the Bank Holiday weekend weather forecast, we decided that Saturday evening was going to be our best option to get to our favourite spot for some quality R&R – that usually entails a decent walk through woodland, a picnic at the car followed by a combination of drinking coffee, reading, gawping out of the car window, looking at stuff through binoculars – well, that’s me at least.  He on the other hand does coffee and snoring, not necessarily in that order.

We set off with picnic food in the car boot as the light cloud of the day evaporated and gave rise to a gorgeous spring evening, suggesting that our choice of day was indeed well selected.  Unfortunately, the plans were scuppered somewhat when a work problem arose – he does on-call duties – and this wasn’t even meant to be his weekend.  But as is often the case, the more you want a quiet time or have plans, the more likely the phone is to go bonkers.

I absolutely love to see bluebells growing in woodland.
I absolutely love to see bluebells growing in woodland.

We’ve decided over the years that once the phone goes with one problem, it then tends to escalate into something ridiculous, the opening of some telephonic floodgates.  If it’s quiet for a while, it tends to remain quiet.  Thus it was on Saturday, once one problem surfaced, then the phone would just not let up.  So our walk was abandoned and the remainder of our activity punctuated by calls, texts and e-mails.  So I did take advantage and took a short walk myself to take some photos in the lovely golden evening sun.

The last remnants of evening sun in the area just catching the trees, it must have been glorious earlier in the day with better light.
The last remnants of evening sun in the area just catching the trees, it must have been glorious earlier in the day with better light.

The route we drive takes us past a little corner which usually has a few bluebells growing amongst the trees.  It’s almost always late in the day when we pass, when the sun has long gone off this area, so we knew they’d be in shadow when we got there.  But we were pretty astonished to see the showing of colour we saw, it’s normally quite a scrubby patch – lovely in itself, but not the most vibrant patch we know.    But it looked gorgeous, enough so that I actually got out to walk along and take some photos.  The land drops away from the road surface and I could see that there were more spilling over that edge, so some of the photos were taken with the camera above my head at arms length, using the tilting back screen to try and frame the shot and get as many of them into view as possible.

Vibrant gorse in flower at the hedgerow. The farmland behind it makes a nice backdrop too.
Vibrant gorse in flower at the hedgerow. The farmland behind it makes a nice backdrop too.

We were forced to stop a mile or two further on as the phone was going again, so I jumped out to enjoy the peace and quiet.  I’d heard somewhere on TV recently, on something like Countryfile, that the gorse was especially vibrant this year and I’ve certainly noticed that myself.  Not only are the flowers particularly dense in their coverage, but the yellow is a lovely deep golden colour too.  I don’t know if the weather affects this, or more likely the soil it’s in, but sometimes it seems a much more acid and light yellow.

The early evening and lower sun of the golden hour certainly enriches the colour and it was a treat to stop and enjoy it all with very little to disturb the quiet save for the sound of birds and lambs and an occasional distant tractor.

Cuckoo Flowers, so delicate and pretty. We often see them growing in grass verges, as these were.
Cuckoo Flowers, so delicate and pretty. We often see them growing in grass verges, as these were.

There have always been Cuckoo flowers in this area and they too were especially robust, with large heads of flowers and in this case, it even looks to have double flowers.  They often grow just at the side of the road, I think water must accumulate a little there with the grasses, as they seem to like it  a little boggy. I’ve always thought that they must propagate along the roadside when passing vehicles woosh the seeds along the verge.

We also had three other lovely wildlife treats, along with amusing ourselves for some time watching the evening shenanegans of young lambs playing.  I’ve never quite understood why lambs congregate in an evening and run up and down en masse and search out the tallest bits of earth to stand on, jostling for top spot.  There doesn’t seem to be much preparation for adult-life purpose in it, but it’s lovely to watch, I’ll never tire of it.

Whilst watching the lambs through binoculars, I also spotted the movement of a hare in my field of view.  It was the same field I watched them chasing around over Easter and at one time I ended up with 4 individuals in my field of view.  No chasing or boxing this time, they largely had their heads down eating, but still a rare treat nonetheless.  We also saw the same kestrel overhead looking for supper and as we were packing up to leave, a movement to one side caught my eye and a barn owl was flying past.  Close enough that we didn’t hear a sound from him and I didn’t want to look away to grab the camera as it was going to be all too fleeting and I wanted to just enjoy it.

Vibrant yellow gold gorse flowers in the evening sunshine.
Vibrant yellow gold gorse flowers in the evening sunshine.

 

An especially vibrant showing of buebells this year. What could be lovelier.
An especially vibrant showing of buebells this year. What could be lovelier.

 

5 Apr 2015

Mad Easter hares

And if it’s so we only pass this way but once
What a perfect waste of time – ‘My Sad Captains’ / Elbow

Yesterday was Easter Saturday and we had the most lovely day.  We visited our favourite spot, had a pretty decent undulating walk (at least my leg muscles say it was this morning), had a picnic outside (granted, we scoffed with increasing speed as our hands got cold once the sun moved off) and spent some quality time in the car with our coffee.

I've rarely seen a hare for more than a fleeting glance, let alone watch several for an extended period of time.
I’ve rarely seen a hare for more than a fleeting glance, let alone watch several for an extended period of time – there are two individuals in this frame.

My husband pretended to read through closed eyelids (he watches TV using the same rather odd technique) and I spent about an hour with my binoculars welded to my face watching a handful of hares, just being hares, in an adjacent field.

I know that this is the perfect time of year to see hares, when they become more active during daylight in the pursuit of a mate and I also know that this area is good for hares, as we regularly see glimpses of them, so I was hopeful that I might get to see more activity than usual.  And boy was I not disappointed.

The distinct long hind legs of a brown hare and you can see how perfectly their colours blend them into this environment.
The distinct long hind legs of a brown hare and you can see how perfectly their colours blend them into this environment.

As we settled in the car with a cup of coffee and books etc., just to enjoy the peace and the view – as we do at every opportunity (I suspect this is an activity that only becomes attractive beyond a certain number of years lived), I commented that three bunnies appeared to be engaged in some early evening shenanegans and were just chasing each other in circles.

We laughed at them running around and turning back on themselves and how the order of the chase changed often and it was only when I decided to get a better look with binoculars that it became evident that they were hares and not bunnies at all – the distance we were from them had completely skewed the scale and once seen properly, it was very obvious; their huge black tipped ears and much warmer colours, distinct yellow eyes and long hind legs.  They can apparently run at up to 35 miles an hour, so it’s no wonder I struggled to keep up with them with binoculars.

beaconfell_4072h
You can see the distinct long-legged action of a hare at a run, compared with the delicate hop of a rabbit. No wonder they can cover the ground so fast.

The chase disappeared from view into the thick reeds and I scanned the field looking for signs of movement.  I just passed over the field of view where they emerged from the reeds onto a flat green raise in the surface, just in time to see two of the hares leap right up from the ground, to land in boxing stance and put on the most fabulous, albeit fleeting, display of mad March hare boxing.  I’ve only seen it in person once before at distance and as on that occasion, it was over before I could swap binoculars for camera and try to get a shot.  Just a brief spat of handbags.  Unfortunately, they calmed after that burst of energy and from then on they were only interested in feeding, no more chasing, or boxing.

By the time we decided to leave for home, we calculated that we’d seen at least 6 or 7 different hares.  I found that after watching them for a while that I could easily identify individuals – one had a very fluffy white tummy, one had markings on its back, almost stripey like a tabby cat, one had a very fluffy tail and one a long skinny tail.  At one point, a movement caught Barrie’s eye in the car mirror and one was crossing the road behind us.  On the drive home, we spotted at least another half dozen in fields and at the roadside.

Is this a form where a hare might hunker down during daylight?
Is this a form where a hare might hunker down during daylight?

As I was scanning the field for activity, the light caught a shape in the grass and I wondered if this might be one of the forms that hares sleep in, usually during the day, before venturing out at dusk to eat.  I knew that they made rudimentary forms from a scrape in the ground amongst long grasses for camouflage and shelter and certainly since I’ve got home and researched it, I’ve seen several photos of similar structures where a sort of tunnel has been formed in long grass in this way.

beaconfell_4088h
A kestrel settled to survey the area for a short while.

 

I’d also been watching a kestrel, rising up on evening thermals and hovering whilst hunting for food – we regularly watch a kestrel in this same spot.  So it was an extra treat so be able to watch it settled on a nearby hawthorn bush, surveying the ground beneath intently.

Quality of the photographs:

I’m sorry that I’m not able to share better quality photos, but in all of these cases, the hares and the kestrel were some considerable distance away and whilst I could really enjoy them through binoculars, my camera unfortunately doesn’t enjoy the same magnification or clarity.  So these photographs were taken at an equivalent zoom of a 720mm lens and are significantly cropped too.  Plus, there were several objects between me and the animals, such as tall weeds, wire fencing etc., hence some odd blurry patches disturbing the details.  I could have got out of the car to try and get closer, but I think that was likely to have spooked them and I preferred to go on enjoying watching them quietly, as it was such a privilege to spend some time in their company.  But please do click on any of the photos for a larger version.

And finally:

I don’t think I ever posted about my Christmas present from my husband in 2014 – which I have yet to enjoy.

En route to this favourite spot, we pass a local glider school who are often flying when we pass, so we tend to pull in and watch for any take-offs, as they’re winched into the air and it makes quite a spectacle to watch.  I’ve often commented that I fancied having a go, so I now have a voucher for a ‘lesson’ in one to be taken at some time this summer.  Whenever I think about it, my stomach does a somersault of excitement and terror, just about in equal measure. Watching them yesterday just heightened both sensations.

Glider being prepped for take off. This two-seater is one of the craft I am likely to fly in.
Glider being prepped for take off. This two-seater is one of the craft I am likely to fly in.
22 May 2012

Ladybirds and pine shoots

Further to my previous post about the emergence of spring flowers and the bright optimistic green of new foliage, I’m going to make a quick interim post with a couple more photos on that theme – and my next post will be the work in progress blog that I’m working on. I apologise for getting side-lined, but if I don’t post photos I’ve taken here, they just languish un-loved as files on my hard drive.

We’d had such a lovely day last Saturday on our day out that we decided to avail ourselves of another favourable weather forecast for Sunday and do it all again. Just because we could.

Please click on any of the photographs for a larger view, or if your browser supports it, click to open in a new tab to see them at the size I prepared them.

The bright green new shoots of the pine trees had developed tangibly in the intervening eight days and were starting to stretch out as new branches. It also must be the time of year that ladybirds emerge and we saw more in that one walk than I’ve seen in a long time. This particular young tree was especially abundant and I was able to get quite close to take some photographs. I loved the abstract of them against the vibrant green textures.


We also saw more of the delicate Pink Purslane flowers I posted last week too – they do seem to like to nestle against fallen rotting logs and where they must get occasional patches of sunshine too. The day was largely ‘fine’ but we did get odd flashes of warm sunshine through the trees and it’s always such a delight to me to see the patterns that form as it fingers its way between the trees to the forest floor. One of my very favourite things.

It doesn’t take much to make me happy and re-charge my flagging spirits.

12 Feb 2012

Birthday walks and extreme picnicing

My husband’s boss called it infantile – that he wanted the day off for his birthday this last week – “what are you; 12 years old, that you want a day off on your birthday?” he laughed. It’s something we’ve always done, try to take a day holiday for birthdays so that we can get to spend it doing something nice.

We’re not terribly adventurous in this regard, but it is nice to spend the whole day doing something that you choose, without feeling the need to get on with chores or meet commitments. Unless you’re actually away on holiday, probably not many of us actually spend days just doing what we want, so it’s a nice and much appreciated treat when we do – and all the more enjoyable for it.

When it was my own birthday in January, we had intended doing the same, but the weather was about as horrid as it ever gets and we were both laid very low with a terrible cough, so just decided not to squander a valuable day when we weren’t fit to fully appreciate it and it just wasn’t suitable to be outside.

So this week, when it was Mr Boo’s birthday, it happily fell on the most perfect winter day – deep clear blue sky (albeit starting foggy) and very crisp cold air. The snow of the previous weekend was still lying and frozen solid, so it wasn’t good underfoot, but we were determined to make the most of it and headed off to one of our favourite spots, with a picnic packed, including hot soup, freshly baked bread and pots of birthday sherry trifle that I made the evening before.

The area we visited had less snow, so although the ground was clearly very, very cold and walking on rutted mud that’s frozen solid is an odd sensation, the going was pretty good and we wrapped up in many warm layers, opened an air activated hand warmer and managed a decent walk. It’s always a treat to get out mid-week at this time of year as you often have the place to yourself and we only passed a few other ‘mature’ couples walking dogs or spending their days off doing the same as we were. So it was especially enjoyable and very peaceful.

Please click on any of the photographs for a larger view.

The cold did deter me from much photography as my hands were incredibly cold, despite the hand warmer and thick ski gauntlets, so I don’t have much to show for the day. But as I’ve posted often, I do have a passion for the sight of sunlight through trees and occasionally it caught some of the lifting mist, highlighting the shafts of sunlight.

It’s much easier to see in person than it is to capture well in a photograph, the light is much too subtle to freeze in a split second, but hand holding the camera I couldn’t really allow a slow enough shutter speed to do it justice. But they’re probably enough to show why it was such a lovely and enjoyable day.


I decided to have a tinker with the camera’s built in panorama feature. I love taking panos, but usually take my own frames and stitch it myself, but the camera has the ability to take 120, 180 and 360 degree panos (in any direction) – giving rise to a reduced resolution but pre-stitched and finished image. It was too cold for messing to take my own frames, so I mounted the camera on the tripod screw my father added to my walking pole and just spun it round slowly to take this 120 degree frame of the woodland. The resulting image was rather poor quality at pixel level and almost entirely lacking in colour, but with a little work, I made something acceptable from it, although it isn’t good enough quality for anything further than viewing at this scale.

We relocated the car a couple of times during the day to enjoy the best light and views and as sunset approached we settled in one of our favourite laybys to catch the sun setting over the Fylde coast (Lancashire England) and we had a little snooze in the car before heading back. As darkness drew in, the light went very cold and the atmosphere grew misty again and diffused the last rays of light from the sunset, leaving these three closest trees in relief against the mist and pastel coloured sky. Not a bad way to end a lovely day.