Almost Spring

After months of rain that brought devastating floods to the Somerset Levels there is a change in the weather due to the jet stream finally moving back to the north of the UK.
At last I can walk in the woods without being bogged down in mud and wellington boots.  A favourite place in the spring is the woods near Palace Fields which usually is carpeted with a variety of wildflowers.  Not the case this year yet, these primroses were just a few brightening the evening light.
More wild flowers from wandering in previous years are here

Changes to Website

Since my photo hosting site SmugMug released its new release in 2013 I've been updating my site.
You can see the new version at www.carolineshipsey.co.uk

Valentine's Day 2013

After deciding there were other and better ways to make occasional posts I've come back to the blog, it's an uncomplicated place to do a little writing, post a photo or to and link to other sites of interest to me.

The first 6 week of this year have continued to live up to the title of this blog and this morning is no exception, it's another Blog from the Fog day.

Catching up on the weather so far, it continues to be wet, wet, wet!  Everywhere I walk is absolutely sodden and the sky is mostly grey day after day.  In the middle of January we had some snow which fell thick and fast, then hung around for almost a week.   You can see some of my images over at my website www.carolineshipsey.co.uk.

There are signs of spring despite the weather - snowdrops in my garden have been coming up for about 2 weeks now and there are plenty in the hedgerows.  Catkins and pussy willow can also be seen in hedges and in woodland.   If we are to have a better summer this year the Gulf stream needs to move back north a bit and let our normal weather pattern return.

Goodbye from the Blog

It's time to say goodbye from this blog.

Since I started it times have changed and there are so many other ways of sharing odd bits of news and photos apart from my website. I find it difficult to decide which to use G+ or occasionally 500px. So if you want to keep in touch bookmark those and my website  www.carolineshipsey.co.uk. and do keep in touch - byeeee:)

Winter Has Definitely Arrived

What a surprise when I woke up this morning to see the garden covered in snow and huge snowflakes still falling! Not great weather for driving or walking but as usual the dogs won and we walked from home to Stockhill.

The snow was still falling and the wind bitter but dogs never seems to care. I struggled for shelter from the snow so I could capture this early winter wonderland. The Beech trees are still hanging on to some of their leaves, so it was a very unusual site to have snow laden trees with their yellow and golden leaves.

 I walked for about 90 minutes and by then the snow had stopped and the skies were clearing. By about 11 am the snow was thawing and blue skies provided a beautiful backdrop to the now bright white hills. Given that at least 2 inches of snow had fallen the thaw has produced huge puddles across the roads and saturated the ground even more.

Farewell Swans of Wells

 

Last night was the culmination of the Swans of Wells event with a gala dinner held in the Bishop's Palace and the auction of all the swans.
 I watched the auction on i-bidder.com eager to see just how much money some of my favourites would sell for. Two swans in particular had won the hearts of the people of Wells - Guinivere, who has graced the moat at the entrance to the Bishops Palace, and Hot Fuzz at the Police station. Sculptor Ian Marlow created the beautiful nest of leaves for Guinivere, who symbolized the theme of the project.  The film Hot Fuzz was filmed in Wells, many locals performed as extras and familiar locations appear throughout the film.

FANTASTIC NEWS!!!! GUINIVERE and HOT FUZZ TO REMAIN IN WELLS!!!





From the Swans of Wells website:-
 Swans have been synonymous with Wells in Somerset for centuries, where resident swans patrol the stunning 13th century Bishop's Palace, which has been home to the Bishop of Bath and Wells for over 800 years.

 The swans of Wells have the unusual habit of ringing a bell by the Palace drawbridge to ask for food. This unusual spectacle started 200 years ago, when the daughter of an 19th century Bishop taught her favourite swan to ring the gatehouse bell for scraps of food, a technique that has been passed down the swan generations! 

 Swans of Wells 2012 is a major tourism initiative for Somerset, which has featured the public display of sixty, magnificently decorated, 5ft swan sculptures, one for each of the sixty years of the Queen's reign. 

 The flock was displayed in locations around Wells and the surrounding Somerset countryside for 3 months this summer, from June to September 2012. This eye-catching, high profile event brought thousands of visitors to the streets of England's smallest city and a smile to the faces of all who saw them. 

 The swans were sponsored by businesses, individuals and organisations and decorated by a team of talented artists and craftspeople from across the West Country and beyond, who transformed the impressive, avian canvasses into beautiful works of contemporary art.

Mendip Ploughing Match at Yoxter

God Speed the Plough
Let the wealthy and great,
roll in splendour and state,
I envy them not I declare it

I eat my own lamb
My own chickens and ham
I shear my own fleece and I wear it

I have lawns I have bowers
I have fruits I have flowers
The lark is my early alarm

So Jolly boys now
Here’s God speed the plough
Long life and success to the farmer.

 

By some miracle the weather was kind to us and there wasn't too much mud to spoil proceedings.  This was the 143rd meeting of the Mendip Ploughing Society and it was well supported with almost 90 entries.  I didn't see any hedging and there were only 2 entrants in the stone walling.   Entrant in ploughing came from Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and even Wales.  The horse ploughing had just 2 entrants but as usual they attracted a great deal of admiration.   Thanks to the ladies for an excellent lunch as usual!

 

This is one of my favourite events in our local calendar, great for photography and meeting friends.  If you've never been to a ploughing match I thoroughly recommend it as a gentle way to enjoy a day in the countryside amongst real country folk.

You can see more photos from the day and previous years here.