Flirting with Facebook, Tweeting on Twitter etc

After resisting completely any association with Facebook, I've spent sometime over the past couple of months making contacts, keeping in touch with distant friends, and getting a far bit of useful information about all sorts of thing - and useless stuff too!

I've enjoyed myself and learned quite a bit but it's so distracting! You find me there at http://www.facebook.com/carolineshipsey . I also have a page for my business Healthy Lifestyle Success where you can see what's happening with all developments there.

I think I've got the hang of it now, keeping a balance between what is useful and not getting involved in useless chitchat is the key to it for me.

Twitter has defeated me though! I think I could do with a crash course in how to Tweet usefully! It must be beneficial because so many businesses use it and it apparently is a 'must have'. Until someone comes to my rescue and guides me through hash tags, and @ symbols etc I'll just have to resort to the occasional "It's snowing"!

I've not been as active here on my blog as I should be - it's therapeutic to write here, I enjoy adding my photos and I hope others have enjoyed it, so once again (yes I know I've said it before!) I promise this time to write at least weekly.

Rain - It's Everywhere!

OK I know that's stating the obvious but I'm often amazed to find that friends around the world are experiencing similar weather to me! This is usually when I'm spending more time than I should browsing blogs, Facebook and photo galleries of friends, while outside is dark and wet.


Anyone familiar with this part of the Mendips where I live will understand why this blog is called "Blog From the Fog"! This is the home of rain and fog! As ever though full of surprises it can clear as quick as a wink, or I can drive a couple of miles in any direction and be in a different climate - clear, bright blue skies, bright white clouds drifting across the hills, the gentle warmth of autumn on my back .......if only I had more time:-)

Classic Mendip Weather

This morning was a typical 'Blog from the Fog' day, just about as dismal it can be up here - fog, rain etc living up to the term 'thick as a bag' which often used to describe fog.

The forest was gloomy with cobwebs hanging amongst the trees and sticking to my face as we wandered amongst them. Strangely beautiful, quieter than usual because the fog dulls the sound of distant traffic. By 10.30am it's all gone, the sky is blue with puffy cumulus clouds and it's as warm as any spring day.

Frustrated Photographer

It's hard to accept that autumn is now well and truly here but the bracken is changing colour and leaves are being battered from the trees by rain and gusty wind, so it must be.

It feels as though this year is a non-event for photography and me - missed workshop opportunities, trips away and local events. Sometimes the momentum of life just too fast to spend time indulging myself into photography, and the longer I'm prevented from doing so the more frustrating it is.

So what's stopping me? - I've got my camera, computer and most importantly my eyes. Mostly it has to do with the health of those close to me. Bessie has been my companion since Fly died but now she can't walk long distances and especially not up hills, and Chris has just been diagnosed with a potentially very serious condition, which being a man he is ignoring!

I've also developed an aversion to Photoshop etc, I really don't want to mess around with my pics, I want them perfect, straight out of the camera. If they need much adjustment I dump them! When I worked in film the challenge was to get the negative 'right' and then make a decent print. Now it seems that it doesn't matter to some if the light is rubbish or the content/composition non-existent it can be tweaked 'til it squeaks in PS and voil⸍a - the perfect image :((

Time for another coffee while uploading about 4,000 pics and to contemplate a trip to the Lakes, or Snowdonia, or Cornwall ...............zzzzzzzz

SBI! eLearning - Earn While You Learn

Wander at Weston-Super-Mare

Perhaps not the obvious place to visit on a Bank Holiday weekend but the weather seemed to have kept visitors down to reasonable numbers, at least where I wanted to be.

Parking on the beach cost a massive £4 but worth it so the dogs could be free almost immediately. It was very windy and occasionally chilly, sand blowing in clouds at times. The tide was out revealing the mud that catches out the unsuspecting person who thinks they'll walk out to the sea. It's not the most attractive seaside holiday resort but at least it is only 20 miles away!

What the beach lacks in features the sky made up for with it's own natural beauty - amazing light at times and great clouds - the blowing sand was a problem though, so I didn't want to expose my camera for long.

Feels Like Autumn Already

Almost 2 months since I last wrote here, the longer the gap the harder it is to write and also to get into the routine of taking photos and writing.

It feels like summer has passed me by, important markers in my photography calendar have nothing to show this year. I didn't even take a camera to Sidmouth Folk Festival and was totally uninspired by Priddy Fair this year.

It was sickening to see the number of tiny puppies being offered for sale by Travelers in the Horse Field. One lorry had crates stacked up with all sorts of different puppies and on the ground there were about 8 poor little things without their eyes open yet and no mum. Despite the presence of the RSPCA, DEFRA and Trading Standards there is nothing they can to do protect the puppies - at best these people hide them away. There were also cockerels in a cage - I don't even want to think about what they do with them, it's certainly not to show what wonderful specimens they are.

I don't know whether I was particularly influenced by this but the whole event felt very flat to me. The organizing committee have done a great job of reducing the appeal to the Traveling community but the horse traders come in greater numbers it seems, just for the day now.

I've been pre-occupied with looking after the old dogs, especially Bessie - they take up as much time as puppies but in different ways. Whatever Dusty may have lost in terms of hearing and vision her nose makes up for it. Hardly a day goes by that she doesn't do something naughty - super snitch can find anything edible at 100 yards!