Me with a group of folk on a walk last year.

YEAH!!!!!!!

At long last I have found a way of importing my old journal to a new one.

Log Journals

I reckon it SUCKS that AOL is getting shut of log journals!!!!!!

Bees

Yesterday, saw my first bee of the year, an enormous brown and orange striped one, not sure which variety, but was one of the largest I have ever seen. It was on the pavement of a main road so I bent down to pick it up with the intention of moving it to a garden area. Unfortunately, when I did so, I found out it was dead, stepped on by someone.I just hope that it was an accidental killing of such a beautiful insect. I love bees, they are so interesting and industrious, People are scared of them but they just go about their business oblivious really to us humans. In summer my lavender bush is throng with so many varieties of bees and I will sit there in my little camping chair right next to them all. Even when fruit picking I will be right next up to them, feel them touching my bare arms, and never once have I been stung. Wasps, however, are a different story!!!!

A few weeks ago I mentioned a caterpillar which was on a geranium leaf, about to turn into a chrysallis. Well, it ate the leaf which then dropped off into the pot, wrapped around the budding chrysallis. Now, it seems its vanished from sight!!!

The earthquake was quite good I thought, in that my daughter rushed upstairs asking " Mummy, is it the end of the world". How dramatic can you get I wonder? All that happened was doors rattled, bottles jangled in the bathroom, where I was at the time, and the floor moved a bit. At work the next day, a girl thought it was a poltergeist, or God even, shaking her bed. I told her God is way too old for tricks like that!!! The worst quake I once felt was in Tunisia, then I though the hotel would colapse. At least I am thankful nobody was killed, and I an truly sorry for folks who's houses had damage done to them, for I bet they have a hard job getting insurance payouts.

Tonight we are having gale force winds, but at least the rain has settled a bit. was soaked to the skin coming home from work this lunchtime. Tomorrow is March 1st, and they say if March comes in like a lion it will go out like a lamb. BAAAAAAAAAAA.

 

Starlings

My lovely starling family have been back over a week now. The first I knew about it was when I glanced up at the troughing and saw straw protruding, at first I though it was some old dead grass which the wind had dislodged, then out from the eaves flew a bird which landed on the roof opposite. Sure enough it was a starling. Would love to know where they go to in winter, North Africa, the south of France?

Last sunday being sunny and warm in the sun, me and Bill took an afternoons walk along the canal bank. In parts it was quite frozen, so we fed bread to the ducks en route. Having reached a modern housing estate, we left the tow path and walked down an avenue towards the river, noticed dandelions growing in profusion in one place. At the river several horse riders were exercising their beasts and a dog decided to have a swim. rather the dog than me!!!! We then joined the Burnley way to get to another district, should have crossed a field but we would have been above our ankles in water, so instead walked round by the road. Eventually we got back to the river again at a place which in the olden days had stepping stones across it. Nowadays there is a wooden bridge, much safer by far, but the old photos are more picturesque. It is a beautiful rural setting, so peaceful, and the mistiness only added the the ambience. My grandma told me how her grandfather had found arrow heads there in his youth, and it was rumoured that this was the place where the Battle of Brunanberg took place. Whether this is the place we will probably never know, but its hard to picture men killing one another in such lovely surroundings. From there we walked along to Padiham, was hoping I might see pheasants but didnt. However, I saw several from the train last week at a place near to Blackburn. Could see Gawthorpe Hall across the river, shrouded in mist like something from a gothic horror film. The hall is a National Trust property, but as yet I have never been in it. Once had a job interview for there, needless to say I was unsuccessful!!! Having finally reached Padiham, nether of us fancied a 4 mile walk home along a main road, fortunately a bus arrived after about 5 minutes.

The last lunar eclipse to be seen here for about 8 years was a non event, too much cloud cover, so saw nothing. NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!

Spring

In December a garden at the bottom of our street was in full bloom with daffodils, something i have never seen before. My daffs were in leaf but no sign of buds. However, this week I observed in my bedroom a geranium plant which I had taken in for the winter, on one of its leafs was a caterpillar. Today the leaf has over folded itself over the caterpillar which is now becomming a chrysallis. Can anyone tell me how long it will take before it becomes a butterfly? I dont wish the butterfly to emerge within the house as one of my cats will surely eat it.

Also, at the bottom of the hill a plum tree which is normally in bloom in late feb/march, is now in full flower. In 11 years of living here, this is the earliest recording. My daffs are now in bud, so are my crocuses, my snowdrops are actually flowering. My anemones are sending up plenty of leaves also.

Wycoller

 

Last saturday Bill and I decided to go out for the day. I had last seen Wycoller when it was a ruined ghost village in the early 70's, since then it has been restored and inhabited again, in fact Penelope Keith bought a house there for a while.

We caught the Burnley to Trawden bus, then walked up past the field where I camped for the Pendle Witchcamp 2 years ago, then on the public footpath to Wycoller. Its actually a tarmacked road, so there was no concern over hubby getting his pants mucky, or shoes even if he minded horse droppings. Once we were appraoching the country park, we left the raod and went on a parallel footpath, which is a good idea as the road is so narrow. Its just over a miles walk from Trawden, so it didnt take very long. On entering the village on the left was a tourist information place cum cafe, cum art gallery. We decided to eat first then explore later. After we had had an excellent lunch at reasonable prices, we set off to see the village. The sky was darkening though it wasnt too cold and at least it was fine. Soon we came upon the old hall, sadly now a ruin, there was a show place where we could see old pics of the hall in the late 1890's. Some old vicar had sold all the roof tiles and a lot of the timbers and much of the stone work for a mill in Trawden. He should have got an ASBO for that!!!! An old barn dating back to the middle ages has been restored and many artifacts kept in it such as a key to the old hall. In the village itself are 2 ancient bridges, one an old clapper bridge, then further up the valley is an even more ancient bridge.Near to the duck pond an archealogical dig was going on, they had found an old wall, then more walls, so up till now there is no info on what exactly they were digging up. As I dont have a camera, I will update more photos from the net soon.

Panopticons have built one of there sculptures on a hillside nearby, so off we went over the fields. Luckily it was dry underfoot, yet still hubby complained about not having a road to walk over. I cannot understand fellas, grass is so much softer to walk over. G

oing up the hillside was well marked with eye posts, ancient way markings with holes in them, till we came to an old drovers track, backed with an old vaccary wall on each side. These date vack to the middle ages. Eventually we got to the top of the hill and the Atom was there. You can go inside the sculpture. Actually I think it is quite ugly, but it has these holes in it you can view the landscape from, so in a way it is inkeeping with the eye posts.An official guy asked us about our visit, think I was the first person to mention a connection tween the old and the new. After a rest there, a cup of tea from our flask we back tracked down to the village, then walked back to Trawden.