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7.45am, Sunday 24th January 2010 Buzzards circling the crows and the black backed gulls. The lark singing. Empty. Cold rain. Incoming tide. Solitude. Isolation. Chapel Porth. Pothtowan. The Old Chapel.  Stream  Bracken  Memorial  Ground  Skeleton  Rust  Metal  Even Redruth (the flea pit of Cornwall?) looks pretty in the snow – especially if you’re blind! This is a video my friend Stu took this afternoon… Not sure he always wanders along looking up at where he thinks the sky might be – could do with something to stop the ‘camera shake’ Stu! Do you think Brett’s looking at the camera as if to say “I’m over here Stu! HERE STU!!!”. I think maybe he is!
I’m sooo excited! We had our first snow fall last night! We had plenty of ice before that, but what’s ice without the pretty stuff? Of course, I have a few pictures to share with you…  The wee one is over at his Daddy's and they texted me this fab picture of their morning's activities!  Closer to home, in my kitchen in fact, Lily refused to go out the door until I gave her a push at about 3 this afternoon!  Once she finally had the courage to spring about in the snow, she took up residence on the bench under the bird feeders! And don't my leeks look good?!  And what's a girl to do in all this white stuff? Marvel at how well insulated her loft is, obviously!  And when she's been Chapel bound for several days? Well, get outside to sand the dresser of course! What have you been up to in the snow? Anything fun or unusual I wonder? Hope you’re managing to keep all snuggly and warm . And if you’re in the other hemisphere I hope you’re managing to keep lovely and cool! Let me know how the winter’s treating you, I’d love to hear all about it! I love The Eden Project; even at this time of year there are some fantastic things to see in the plant world. On the grey, mizzly day that we visited I couldn’t stop myself being drawn to the bright exotic colours of the Tropical Biome. Oh, no I couldn’t. Here for your delight is a selection of the sensation grabbing eye candy that woke me up from my winter slumber. Enjoy!  Vibrant, variegated leaf  Large ribbed leaves in bronzes and yellow  No, you're not going bananas!  Pom poms with zing!  Wow, wow, WOW! That's all I've got to say.  Ahem, who put those there? I thought this was meant to be an arid desert...  Kim takes a rest on a goat. Well, his jumper's quite colourful!  Sheltering from the rain, in a cave! Hello all. Had a lovely day? I have! I’ve been over to the other side of the county. Not quite out of it (the Cornish are often derided for not crossing the Tamar river, that marks the boundary into the heathen lands of Devon and England!), but definitely off my beaten track. I drove about an hour from home to the south east Cornish coast to meet up with my oldest and dearest friend. She’s dog sitting in Devon, and Polperro was pinpointed as the halfway point between us. It was a great choice. Polperro is one of those quaint old fishing villages that’s picture perfect, the stuff of postcards, chocolate boxes and calendars. We only had three hours together so we decided on a mooch on the beach, a local lunch and a wander round the tiny streets. Cars are prohibited in the village, unless you’re a resident, so it was pleasantly quiet and relatively tourist free. Though the evidence of the busy summer months was all around: tourist shops and cafes closed for the winter, signs for coaches and boat trips. I was so glad we were here at this time of year. It gave us the time and space to notice things: the camouflaged skin of a washed up shark on the sand, the beautiful purple and greens of the wet rocks, the bright sunlight casting strong shadows between the heavy showers. And of course we talked. And talked. And drank coffee with lunch in a 16 century cafe/pub – nachos in this environment seemed a bit incongruous, but tasted oh so good! It was sad that it was such a short get together, but any time with your closest friends is a good time, is it not?! (Trite but true!) I’ve put together a gallery of some of the pictures I took there, what do you think of the format – do you like it? I’m undecided, but I like the fact that it cuts out all that scrolling. Just creates a lot of clicking instead! (As ever, just click on any of the images to see a larger version.) I’d really love to know whether you’d like me to use a gallery again or not, so please leave a comment. I love to get comments, it’s nice to know you’re there. Nice ones of course. But I can cope with the other sort. I’m all grown up you know. I think!
I had no plan to walk today, but when I woke up and saw that the day looked mild and sometimes sunny I knew I had to head out. Actually I have Bec Thomas to thank for the idea. She’s off on a photo hike in Washington (US not Lincolnshire!) up Mt Pilchuck, and it made me very nostalgic for some mountain hiking myself. But in the absence of any mountains around here, that ain’t gonna happen in a hurry! The next best thing in this part of the world is the rocky coastline of the north Cornish coast. While snowy Mount Pilchuck may have an elevation of a fantastic 1,628m and St Agnes Beacon a paltry 192m, it still gives a breathtaking 360 degree view from the trig point on the top! Not to be sniffed at. I started my walk near Wheal Coates (OS 104 SW703500) above Chapel Porth and headed east along the coast to St Agnes Head where I sat and sketched for a while. There were a lot of people out – something to do with the half-term holidays I guess. The next stretch was eerily quiet though, which I loved. I watched the black backed gulls and finches and listened to the waves crashing below as I marched along at a brisk pace. By the time I got to Trevaunance Cove (approx 3 miles from the start), there were a lot more people about – some nutters even surfing! From here I made my way up to St Agnes village, for the most tasty ricotta and spinach slice I’ve ever tasted, and then on up The beacon to take in the misty panorama before heading back down to the car and home. Sometimes I forget just how much of a passion for walking I have. Note to self: do more.  Come along the path with me  and marvel at the autumn bracken.  Look over the russet fronds towards Perranporth  and take in the wow factor of lichen on the rocks at Trevaunance Cove  where we can stack it up  before we pass the ageing beauty of an old telephone box  and climb a hill to catch a last view of the Cove  We'll cross the fields to The Beacon rising on the horizon  and we'll catch our last burst of surreal colour in this muted landscape: an anonymous dahlia memorial. |
I'm running a 28 mile marathon in memory of Josie this February. Come and find out why. |
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