Project 365 2015 #9

So the half term week was over and it was back to work and school.
I am desperately trying not to be negative at these points in the year.
The work/life balance is evening out with careful planning and I am focussing on me on my days off.

Project 365 #9

Day 53
Nothing like leaving things to the last minute! The boy worked really hard on his homework project today making a book about Emperor Penguins and Magpies. I don't mind homework - that they enjoy.
Day 54
The children were still off due to a training day but they busied themselves. In between the rain showers I nipped into the garden to have a play with the shutter speed on my camera. I was pretty pleased with this one of the kiddos' wind twirly thingy!
Day 55
The children were back to school today. Determined to make the most of it I got my school work out of the way then grabbed the camera again. Today I played around with the aperture - I'm a big fan of this setting. The primroses were looking rather beautiful. You can see more of my back garden here.
Day 56
Back to work for me today which meant a night of restless sleep with anxiety dreams and waking up way earlier than needed - why is that? Back home I returned to more pots of Spring bulbs including this dainty Lily of the Valley for Grandma.
Day 57
When I got in tonight the boy was busy with his Lego in the conservatory. Battle scenes were set up with Obi Wan Kenobi at the helm.
Day 58
Friday has become 'easy tea' night - or mummy's shattered and can't be arsed to cook anything half decent. Tonight's culinary offering was spaghetti hoops on toast. Yum.
Day 59
The husband is in London with his brother so I took the kiddos to see Grandma and Granddad. Living so close to the canal is a real bonus - and having them closer again definitely helps. This part of the canal is quieter than Bradford-on-Avon but still beautiful. I love the old road bridges passing over the water.

 

x x x

5 day B&W photo challenge - Day 3

Muddy puddles.

Today we took a walk along the Kennet & Avon canal, one of our favourite local spots.
The muddy path and puddles reflected the light well with the camera set to monochrome...

 

I have been nominated, by the lovely Katie, to participate in the 5 day B&W photo challenge, as follows...

1. Post a black and white photo each day for five days.
2. Invite another blogger photo taker to take part each day.

 

Today I nominate the lady, who got me a little bit addicted to daily snapping, The Boy and Me.

 

x x x



5 day B&W photo challenge - Day 2

Agnes had laid some eggs!
If you're not too familiar with the pets in my garden, Agnes is one of our chooks.
They have all been off lay, with Agnes always being the most temperamental of the three, but slowly the eggs are coming back.
Still not sure if they outweigh the havoc they have caused in the garden though.

I have been nominated, by the lovely Katie, to participate in the 5 day B&W photo challenge, as follows...

1. Post a black and white photo each day for five days.
2. Invite another blogger photo taker to take part each day.

I know wouldliketobeayummymummy.com loves her photography so I've invited her to join in - no pressure though!

x x x

5 day B&W photo challenge - Day 1

My camera is becoming permanently attached to my arm so much so that the children now question me if we go out without it!
I have gone a bit photo crazy lately but am loving experimenting and learning more and more each time I use my 'proper' camera - although the mobile phone is still well loved and well used.
As a lover of monochrome photography I have happily been nominated, by the lovely Katie, to participate in the 5 day B&W photo challenge.

So, Thursday, let's get started with Day 1...

Tonight I came in from work to find the boy knee deep in Star Wars Lego.
I always love the colours when the Lego is strewn across the floor and wanted to see how it looked in black and white.
I've always had a soft spot for Ewan McGregor's Obi Wan Kenobi so was happy to get down on the floor with him...

So, the challenge.
1. Post a black and white photo each day for five days.
2. Invite another blogger photo taker to take part each day.

I'm inviting TheLoveBump who has great taste in camera straps and likes to get behind the lens.

x x x

The back garden {#HDYGG}

Stepping outside the back door this morning, armed with my camera, I was happy to see that the sun was shining.
After the recent rain there was a sense of Spring in the air.
The wind blew, sending with it a chill reminder that cold days were still on the cards.
I perused the garden with a slight optimism; the grass was scratched bare in places by the chooks, the path to the shed was covered in mud, the vegetable and flower beds were too empty.
However, potatoes are chitting in the house and packets of seeds lay waiting for warmer days.
And I did notice the pots.
Bulbs were beginning to shoot and the daffodils and primroses were out.

These pots usually sit atop the old garden piano, as pictured above, but the recent winds means they are currently safely ensconced underneath by the pedals.

The crocus bulbs are working hard but I have given up on my grape hyacinths ever flowering.

Not all the pots were looking so good. Some are severely weather beaten and one is housing random weeds, chicken feathers and children's garden tools.

At the bottom of the garden I await my flower bed to bloom - fenced off as, although butterflies are welcome, chickens are most definitely not.
I have planted alliums, tulips and daffodils as well as the wildflowers whose seeds were sown last summer - and over which I got in trouble for pulling them up after flowering as I thought they were weeds.

You see, I love a good garden but a good gardener I am not!

What's going on in your garden?

 

x x x

Canal Life {Bradford-on-Avon}

This weekend we took a family jaunt along the Kennet and Avon canal, this time at Bradford-on-Avon.
This canal is a favourite of ours and we regularly take a walk alongside it at various spots locally.

 Determined to use the DSLR more I had it at the ready.

The colours, detail and additions to the narrowboats caught my eye; plant pots, woodburner chimneys and even a heron on board.

This time the men led the way having some deep detailed conversation about WW2 as they walked side by side.
Occasionally the boy would look back - not looking for me but with concern about approaching dogs.
We are still working on that.

We found a bench upon which to sit, and shiver, whilst we had our lunch.
I'm determined not to let the weather stop us eating al fresco!

At Avoncliff we stopped to take in the view, avoided the pub, and began our return to town.

Following a selection of rain, sleet and hail the sun came out providing some perfect light and reflections on the water.

Finally, can we mention this boat?!
I love this boat. I'm not stalking the boat, honestly, but it is very similar to one that I have spotted before, and fell in love with.
The colours are beautiful and it looks so inviting.
Just to say I didn't, but I really wanted to peek in the portholes. I have images in my head of what lies beyond.
Every time I see these boats, and walk the canal, it ignites my desire for a simpler way of living.

Maybe one day.

As a weekend getaway.

x x x

The B&W Photography Project no. 6

Door.

Driving out of Bath last week we found ourselves sat in traffic alongside this doorway.
Not your typical Bath Georgian exterior.
The slightly ajar door made me question what lay on the other side?

The original colour image is on Instagram here.

 

x x x

Project 365 2015 #8

It has been half term week so some downtime with the kiddos was in order.
The weather was a mixed bag but we made the most of the sunshine and caught up with friends on the rainy days.
All perfectly planned!

Project 365 #8

Day 46
The husband was at work so I had a lazy day at home with the kiddos. I say lazy - I cleaned the house top to bottom, baked and did laundry. Outside though I spotted the pots that the husband did yesterday. All lined up on the piano. Yes. There is a piano on my patio.
Day 47
Dentist day!! Does anybody actually enjoy this necessity? For once I managed to get through my check up without a telling off or a suggestion to see the hygienist at £40 a pop. Result. Outside the surgery, in the rain, was the town's yarn bombing. We are clearly hip round these parts.
Day 48
A beautiful sunny cold day today so we headed up to Dyrham Park where the kiddos showed me how to use my DSLR. I did manage to take some of my own photos - this being my favourite tree in the world.
Day 49
School day today - the only time I get to go in with my job-share and sort out the room without 30 children under our feet. Luckily it was a morning only job and the sun was still shining so in the afternoon we headed out to Lacock for a wander around the children's trail in the Abbey grounds then ended up in the play park. Here the boy finally mastered the balancing. You may not understand how long this has taken and how I proud I am.
Day 50
The rain came back. All day. Luckily we had plans in the form of friends visiting so I could drink tea and chat and the kiddos could play. Later I chilled with my new colouring book. Can highly recommend.
Day 51
A brighter day today but I needed to get on with a fox costume for World Book Day, Comic Relief and possibly Camp Bestival too. Hopefully I've made it to be robust!
Day 52
Today we spent a couple of hours alongside the Kennet & Avon canal at Bradford on Avon walking, picnicking in the cold and playing at the park. I love the idea of canal life and can never resist a peek at the real lived in narrowboats along this stretch.

Linking up with The Boy and Me...

x x x

Lacock Abbey ~ Spring World

It was only a couple of weeks ago when Lacock Abbey was a Frozen World but now it is definitely heading towards Spring.

Whilst the sun shone this week I took the kiddos for an afternoon stroll around the Abbey Grounds for the children's trail.

Whilst we found out some facts that, despite countless visits, we didn't know, I snapped some signs that Spring is nearly upon us.

In the Botanical Garden the famous Lacock cat sat watching over the Galanthus 'Magnet' snowdrops whilst the Peony buds ever so slowly begin their journey to full bloom. Nearby, the walled greenhouse was bursting with colour, the crocuses in particular catching my eye.

Inside The Brewery we noted inscriptions in the wall alongside etchings to ward off the threat of Witchcraft back in the 1400s to 1700s. The children's trail alerted us to this - it is amazing what you miss when it isn't pointed out to you. The door handle, although nothing of importance to my knowledge, was, for me, needing to be photographed!

Back outside, the grounds continue with their carpet of snowdrops and crocuses. I will never tire of this sight this time of year. Particularly beautiful, to me, were the clumps of crocuses beneath the old tree by the pond. This will always hold a special place in my heart having been proposed to here nearly 15 years ago.

x x x