happy winter solstice!!!
now the days will start getting longer as we head into the new year and spring :)
check this link for webcam images of the maeshow winter solstice http://www.maeshowe.co.uk/index.html
and if the wind and rain stays off long enough then the garlic will get planted today! i read something a while ago which said you should plant on the shortest and harvest on the longest day - not sure we can wait that long to harvest our crop, the temptation to pick meant we had wet garlic last year and had nothing left to hang and dry - it was very tasty though.
Sunday, December 21
Tuesday, December 9
Thursday, December 4
photo taken by brian aslak gylte from norway
having lived without a tv from my mid-teens to my late twenties i can totally identify with the sentiments of this website http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/not having a tv meant we spent more time together as a family, we went out to visit folk, we got ourselves outdoors and into nature, there was also a lot more time for creative pursuits and for time spent doing things rather than watching things.
on finding out we managed to survive without a tv, folk always thought we were a little odd! one chap at work asked my colleague if i was 'one of those funny religions' because i didn't have a tv?!
so, as the price; size; technical spec of tv's increase, discussions with my o-h half turn to the 'do you think we should get rid of the tv?' kind. although we have additional channels over and above the terrestrial five, we don't really watch that much tv, with the familiar complaint being that there's nothing decent to watch. we do however watch a load of dvd's and for this reason are reluctant to get rid of the tv totally. both of us much prefer time spent reading, star gazing, wildlife watching, creating (poetry and paintings for m, textiles for me), the list is pretty much endless.having said that ... occasionally there are some pretty good documentaries to be found. in the last week alone we've watched andrew graham-dixon on vasari, alan yentob with richard serra, a documentary on iraq’s one and only metal band - acrassicauda and had a gastronomic tour through french history, from versailles through to ethnic fusion food!!!
with thanks to melinda (http://melindaschwakhofer.wordpress.com/) for discovering the turn off your tv site
p.s last night we watched the simpsons
Sunday, August 3
what i've learned by cycling to work ...
... five miles each way really isn't that far
... i'm not as lazy as i thought i was (now i don't think i'm pushing myself hard enough!)
... the ride is different, so very different, each and every time i do it - new sights, smells and sounds greet me on every journey: each morning the sky changes, painted with colours from a new day's palette, with a variation of cloud type and density; each day the river flows with a new rhythm, with more or less urgency, fluctuating depth and waves; every morning there are new flowers and plants growing, a variety of scents from the foliage dependant upon what's blooming and the weather which assails it; so many different birds, not all of which i can identify by their call alone. all of which is very obvious and i was of course aware of, but somehow missed it all on every previous journey cocooned as i was in the car
... freewheeling is fun
... wet grass is slippery
... falling off hurts
... especially on concrete
... i bruise like a peach
... and whine like a whiney thing
... i can smell the fresh scent of washing drying on the line as i cycle past
... i can cycle through a river
... the edge of the pedal is sharp - although i don't think my brain has fully appreciated this fact yet given the alarming frequency with which i pierce my leg with said pedal
... the sewage works really smells some mornings
... i have discovered my very own 'cyclists wind' - no matter which direction i cycle in, no matter which way the wind is initially blowing ... it is always in my face, with occasional gusts from the side
... pedestrians can sometimes be more of a hazard than cars
... keep my eyes open for clouds of bugs, and my mouth closed
... and just to be doubly sure, breathe out through my nose when cycling through them, on no account inhale - as this leads to a noseful of bugs (not pleasant for them or me!)
... there is no small amount of pleasure in being able to cycle up that big hill in a larger gear
... much as i adore the sun (oh yes i do), cloudy days make for better cycling than thirty degrees in the shade
... it's best not to breathe in when a bin lorry passes
... the leaves are starting to fall already
... the person/people who developed padded lycra should all be made saints
... there really are otters in the river
... i feel a smug, guilty pleasure as i cycle past all of the cars that, having whizzed past me five minutes ago, are now stuck in a traffic jam
... i'm not as lazy as i thought i was (now i don't think i'm pushing myself hard enough!)
... the ride is different, so very different, each and every time i do it - new sights, smells and sounds greet me on every journey: each morning the sky changes, painted with colours from a new day's palette, with a variation of cloud type and density; each day the river flows with a new rhythm, with more or less urgency, fluctuating depth and waves; every morning there are new flowers and plants growing, a variety of scents from the foliage dependant upon what's blooming and the weather which assails it; so many different birds, not all of which i can identify by their call alone. all of which is very obvious and i was of course aware of, but somehow missed it all on every previous journey cocooned as i was in the car
... freewheeling is fun
... wet grass is slippery
... falling off hurts
... especially on concrete
... i bruise like a peach
... and whine like a whiney thing
... i can smell the fresh scent of washing drying on the line as i cycle past
... i can cycle through a river
... the edge of the pedal is sharp - although i don't think my brain has fully appreciated this fact yet given the alarming frequency with which i pierce my leg with said pedal
... the sewage works really smells some mornings
... i have discovered my very own 'cyclists wind' - no matter which direction i cycle in, no matter which way the wind is initially blowing ... it is always in my face, with occasional gusts from the side
... pedestrians can sometimes be more of a hazard than cars
... keep my eyes open for clouds of bugs, and my mouth closed
... and just to be doubly sure, breathe out through my nose when cycling through them, on no account inhale - as this leads to a noseful of bugs (not pleasant for them or me!)
... there is no small amount of pleasure in being able to cycle up that big hill in a larger gear
... much as i adore the sun (oh yes i do), cloudy days make for better cycling than thirty degrees in the shade
... it's best not to breathe in when a bin lorry passes
... the leaves are starting to fall already
... the person/people who developed padded lycra should all be made saints
... there really are otters in the river
... i feel a smug, guilty pleasure as i cycle past all of the cars that, having whizzed past me five minutes ago, are now stuck in a traffic jam
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