[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 6 September 2022].
public footpath
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 23 August 2022].
For those who aren't aware, England, Scotland, and Wales have a system of public footpaths and bridleways collectively recognised as rights of way.
They allow folk to travel across private land without fear of a charge of trespassing. Or threat or reprisal from landowners.
In rural areas, they can make getting from Point A to Point B on foot a much quicker journey than if you had to stick to the footpaths alongside roads. They also make for interesting routes for those of us inclined to photo walks.
The entrance to this public footpath can be found north of Cotton End.
I didn't take it while I was cat-sitting for Jo and Becky this time, but hopefully, if I have the chance to cat-sit Meg and Mog again, I will be able to explore it further.
Or, at least, others not far away which lead to places that seem enticing to my photographic eye.
If you want to see how extensive the right-of-way system is in the UK, check out the Footpath Map.
bunny
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 22 August 2022].
amber treasures
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 19 August 2022].
The last of my Gazania photographs from St Kilda Cemetery from my visit in 2007.
priory country park
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 18 August 2022].
In 2018, on a drizzly November day, I met my friend, Khanisa, for a walk and a late pub lunch in Bedford.
We wandered along the River Great Ouse out to Priory Country Park and back, despite the rain.
I didn't manage to get out and about as much as I'd have liked while cat-sitting in Cotton End last week, though I did attempt something of a photo walk one day.
And I did catch up with Khanisa for an afternoon for a long overdue face-to-face chat.
So, I thought I'd edit and share some photos from our walk that day in 2018.
suffer little children
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 7 August 2022].
...and a shed in the back
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 6 August 2022].
I took these photos in October last year when I was in Minera, Wales, cat-sitting Meg and Mog for friends.
In a few days, I'll be cat-sitting Meg and Mog again, but it will be in a village a short distance south of Bedford.
When I went to Minera, it was because Meg and Mog's mothers were house-hunting for a new home within a more manageable commuting distance from London. They had previously been neighbours living at the other end of my street.
I'm hoping to head back to north Wales sometime this summer. But with my health issues making travel nerve-wracking at the moment, Cotton End will be a chance to test the waters, the effectiveness of my new meds and, hopefully, get my mojo back.
Cotton End is a shorter journey from my home than Bromley, where I stayed last weekend to cat-sit Sammy, Lily and Poppy. While I was there, I chose not to venture out much. Literally, two supermarket runs less than ten minutes walk from the house.
Unfortunately, the mercury is set to soar this coming week. That will make going out less appealing for me. But I hope to get out at least a little with my camera.
If possible, I'll also meet up with a friend and her mother who live in Bedford. But it will depend on their schedule and health.
edward-howard howard-gibbon
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 10 July 2022].
The final resting place of a Norroy King of Arms.
between the trees
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 4 July 2022].
the lighthouse keeper’s son
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 5 June 2022].
Nearby the lighthouse at Table Cape in Tasmania lies the small grave of the infant son of the first Table Cape lighthouse keeper.
Bertram Jackson passed away a little over two weeks after the lighthouse opened in 1888.
The lighthouse keepers left Table Cape sometime after 1920 when the lighthouse operation became automated. However, his little body remains.
banksia
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 3 June 2022].
My plant-identifying apps failed me, with one thinking these were an ornamental pincushion. And the other knew they were banksia but couldn't identify the cultivar. They are, obviously, a different cultivar to these beauties.
My gut instinct/plant memory said banksia, but I did check in with Bellamy (otherwise known as Dad)*. He confirmed they are. But as with one of the plant apps, he couldn't narrow it down to a cultivar. He is a font of plant knowledge, but no one is perfect ;)
Either way, they're photogenic. They caught my eye in the front garden of a home on Table Cape that gave a lovely view of Stanley in Tasmania. I took this during my visit in 2018.
My last visit with my parents in October 2019 seems a lifetime ago. It was bittersweet for so many reasons.
My next visit, which could be as soon as this year, will be even more difficult. As though dementia, hospital visits and a car accident weren't stressful enough in 2019.
Some days (or nights), thinking and talking about it, pragmatism wins out. Other times, raw emotion wins the day (or night).
*My dad is not, in fact, David Bellamy. When he used to point out and tell us about the plants on our walks through the rainforests and national parks of Australia, my then-teenaged brother liked to respond with a sarcastic "Thanks, Bellamy". It has remained an affectionate jibe in my mind all these years.
table cape lighthouse
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 31 May 2022].
A series of photographs I took of Table Cape Lighthouse during my visit to Tasmania in March 2018.
outcasts always mourn
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 May 2022].
road to lamington
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 28 May 2022].
untitled #9
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 10 May 2022].
Tonight was the calm, creative and productive evening I had hoped to have last night.
Something I desperately needed after an unexpectedly stressful and emotional 24+ hours.
Tonight was an evening spent editing photos, sharing work here with you and listening to my illuminations playlist followed by Dubstar's latest album, Two.
For much of the evening, I've enjoyed the company of a brimstone moth who you can see on my Instagram, chilling on my desk. S/he's nestled in a crook of the hutch on my desk as I type this.
I guess if I don't have cat-sitting therapy this month, then at least I have the calming company of a pretty moth. Though initially, s/he had the 'zoomies' around my monitor :P
untitled #144
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 9 May 2022].
I love the quality of sunlight after rain, especially on graves.
Phil and I were wandering the churchyard at St Nicholas' Church in Arundel just after the rain stopped and the light falling on the graves was just lovely.
Because the clouds were still moving across, I had to time my shot just right to take full advantage of the light.
I saw this photo before I took it, but as I lined myself up to take it, the light changed. I had to wait patiently in a squatting position until it returned.
I wanted a good pun on this fellow's name as a title, but I couldn't think of anything that didn't feel too forced or didn't quite work.
Contenders were:
the sun shines out of his puttock(s)
a firm puttock
Let me know if you have a contender, and if it works, maybe I'll rename this photo.
wisteria sinensis
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 7 May 2022].
birdhouses in my soul
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 5 May 2022].
I didn't notice a swan was photobombing when I took these photos!
Unfortunately, you probably can't make it out in these photos at this size, but s/he is behind the white house with red trim in the centre.
The realisation made me laugh very loudly as I was editing.
free stonemasonry
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 2 May 2022].
pure mourning
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 31 March 2022].
Painting: