Siblings' adventure 2012

Instead of buying each other birthday gifts, my brothers and I decided to take quality time-out together instead. Last weekend the three of us camped near Swanage on the south coast.

Here are a few pics...





Swanage itself is nothing special, but it does have the most amazing off-licence with lots of local beer, interesting wine and cider by the barrel! I keep some (very poor) cider-tasting notes. Mark helped me out this time - he described the above, Dorset Cider Company 'Smoke Oak', as "Dry with a throaty twang, hint of autumn crabapples with wasps on them".

The next two pics are by Mark.





We spent our only full day walking, climbing, swimming, and sitting along the coast path. We saw lots of wildlife including butterflies we remember only from childhood, beetles, bugs and a slow worm. Oh and I made them both taste random plants...









We visited the Square and Compass pub at Langton Matravers for more cider. I enjoyed a half of 'Eve's Idea' (home pressed), but Mark said it was not waspy enough for him. It's a great pub, deserving of its fame. It even boasts a little museum (of very random objects)...



After packing away our little camp we drove home via Durdle Door which is very beautiful, as is that whole stretch of coastline.



There are a few more photos on my Flickr.

The siblings' adventure was great! Happy belated birthday Mark and Chris! :)

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A few photos from July (so far)...

At the beginning of the month Matt and I camped at Symonds Yat (near the Forest of Dean). It's such a beautiful place! He has written a lovely blog post about it, so I will say no more.





A week later, adventuring in Brighton, we discovered a hidden wildflower meadow right next to one of our favourite pubs. It's actually a cleared but unused building site, completely enclosed by corrugated iron fencing, but there are a few holes big enough to poke a lens through...





Last weekend we had an allotment barbeque to celebrate the end of all that rain. Whilst waiting for my meal I rediscovered the joy of plaiting with plants (I remember making corn dollies as a child).





And lastly, I was given this amazing box of fruit! Always a good idea to be helpful to greengrocers (it's a long story)!

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I have to admit I'm getting slightly tired of all this rain. It seems every time I go out I get soaked. Today I spent my lunchbreak dodging puddles and sheltering under trees.



In my wet weather walks, though, I've spotted rings of mushrooms and I've seen some amazing wild flowers - they can be quite dramatic when they all bloom at the same time. There are meadows full of cowslips near my home (see my previous post), and masses of garlic mustard, which I don't think I've ever seen in such lush abundance! I've also been noticing subtle differences in the way various leaves reflect the light - some give off a blue tint, others seem to glow a bright yellow-green. The contrasts in the fields and hedgerows are strong at this time of year, and even more striking after the rain.


Ground ivy


Hemlock


Silverweed

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I think the cowslips were actually glowing, not just reflecting the light this evening.

2012

Christmas and the solstice have passed, the holiday is almost over and we've started a new year. I'm noticing signs of spring before we've had any proper winter weather - there are tiny buds on the trees, Daffodil shoots coming up in the hedgerows and Lords and Ladies peeking out from under the leaf litter. Today I even saw Cow Parsley in flower (confused perhaps) and eggshells dropped far from the nests of careful (but not so wise) birds.





My resolution is to make a positive, personal record of 2012 in my paper diary. I am going to write about, draw or photograph one event at the end of each day - something that has made me happy.