An eventful doggy walk.

My friends, Barry and Linda and I meet up every week to walk our dogs and have lunch out somewhere.  On Thursday we decided to go to Respryn and walk in the grounds of Lanhydrock where the shade of the trees would be a reprieve from the hot sun; my dog Zac, and their Red Setter, Rua, were not comfortable when it was hot weather. Goldie, their other dog couldn't care less about the heat!

I got there a little early in order to take some photos; this is Respryn Bridge which dates from the 13th century.

The bridge spans the River Fowey (pronounced Foy) which at this time of year is running very low - note the exposed  river bed on the right. 

When I turned to photograph the opposite side of the bridge, I was surprised to see a heron, totally engrossed in looking into the water for his next meal. Apologies for the fuzzy photo; I zoomed in on him but didn't focus properly in my haste, expecting him to fly off at any minute.

 Slightly better, but at least you can see the heron quite clearly.

 I wonder if he'd read this sign!

 Another surprising thing to find, on the handrail of a footbridge, was this dragonfly which had just emerged from its nymph stage and I was able to snatch a photograph while it waited for its wings to dry off, enabling it to fly away.

There were lots of rhododendrons in flower; this one was at the entrance to the car park.

We began our walk along Station Drive, the ornamental carriageway created by the Robartes family, linking the nearby railway station to Lanhydrock House. 

 But soon we turned off the carriageway to enter the woods that border the River Fowey; there are Kingfishers and Otters in there, but with 3 dogs in attendance, we really didn't expect to see them!

But then, as we headed back towards the car park, it happened - as Zac was ambling across a plank bridge which spanned a deep ditch, Rua came running up from behind, leaped across the bridge accidentally knocking Zac sideways and down into the ditch. I think we all screamed!  Zac is an old dog and he has arthritis and weakness in his hindquarters; we all rushed to look down into the ditch to see him sitting, looking quite dazed at the bottom of the ditch. 

My friend Barry, the only one of us without knee problems, climbed down into the ditch and helped Zac to his feet.  After making sure he wasn't injured, he managed to lift him high enough for myself and Linda to pull him up out of the ditch.

Zac found comfort in the coolness of the river . . .

On the final stretch to the car park, he was slow and a bit wobbly but managed to get back without any further mishap.

 I'm very pleased to say that after his dinner and a good night's sound sleep, he suffered no ill effects from the incident. 

Phew!!! 

I didn't walk him on Friday, but today (Saturday) we went up on Bodmin Moor and enjoyed an hour's ramble up there, before coming home for dinner and lots more sleep! 

I'm back!

Back from a camping trip to the beautiful Roseland Peninsula, that is. And this is my second attempt at bringing my blog up to date; last night I sorted lots of photos, put some on my blog and wrote about my 'doings'.  But after publishing the post, I realised I hadn't given it a heading, so I clicked on 'Edit'  . . . . well, I thought I had, but I managed to delete the whole thing!
If at first, you don't succeed - try, try, try again!
I was invited to be a witness at my niece's wedding in Truro, so rather than battle with Bank Holiday traffic on the morning of the wedding, I decided to get the tent out and organise a week's camping a bit closer to the wedding venue.
So I was just up the road from Veryan - these are two of the famous Roundhouses which were built at the entrances to the village in the early 19th century to prevent the devil from entering the village; they were built that shape so that the devil couldn't hide in corners and the cross on top was an extra precaution.  These days, some of the Roundhouses are available as holiday lets.

 At this time of year, our Cornish lanes are particularly beautiful.

 I wanted to visit Hemmick beach after reading about it in another blog, but it was a scary drive down the very narrow, steep and twisting lane that led to the beach; foliage was lashing the car on both sides and I was very glad that there was nothing coming the other way - I couldn't have passed even a cyclist! And when I reached the entrance to the beach, it was to find that there was only sufficient space for 3 vehicles; luckily someone was about to leave, so Zac and I were able to enjoy a short time on the unspoilt and quiet beach.

 Thrift growing on top of an isolated, tall rock on the beach.

]

 Porthcurnick beach with Portscatho across the bay and the famous Hidden Hut on the cliff above the beach, where I had a very tasty lunch.

The Hidden Hut was doing good business that day - and the aromas from the cooking area were most enticing!

After lunch, I drove round to Portscatho and was lucky to nab a parking space in the village square when someone obligingly left, so I indulged my passion for wandering round the art galleries - and bought a pretty little jug to add to my collection, as a souvenir of my holiday.

After a week away, my garden had undergone a transformation - everything was blooming - but that's another post.  I was lucky that the unexpected hot spell didn't kill all my little potted plants which I had taken out of the greenhouse and put on the large patio table; thank goodness my son came round in my absence and watered them all. 

My First Anniversary as a Blogger!

It's exactly a year today since I started this blog, all eager and ready to record all my daily doings . . . then realised after a few days that I don't lead such a very exciting life after all.  

So the blog has settled down to a ramble every now and then, rather than a daily record of all life's minutae.  Well, you don't really want to know what I had for breakfast or what bargains I found in Tescos, would you?

And for this first milestone, is there a momentous occasion to record with scintillating photos to match?  Afraid not, because I have spent this sunny day at home, in the garden and my trusty canine companion?  Well, he has slept away most of the day.

So all I can offer are a few photos of the blooms in the garden - which when compared to the photos from a year ago, seem to be well behind in their appearance. Last May I had lilac in flower; those 'Triffids' I asked about have completely disappeared and these 'Bleeding Hearts' blooms are nowhere near as prolific as last year.

Saxifrage - such tiny flowers but they add a welcome splash of colour and seem to go on and on.

I love these 'Sugar Candy' double tulips, which I had to move to a more sheltered spot by the kitchen door to protect them from the strong winds.

More pink tulips

Lovely to see the bees being attracted by this Borage plant, which was my treat when I visited Trewithen Gardens earlier this year. It nearly always has two or three bees buzzing from bloom to bloom throughout the day.

I bought a net of these deep purple, almost black, tulips and look what else grew up amongst them . . . . 

 . . . . yes, this contrasting yellow tulip.

The bluebells in the front garden are looking a little washed out now as their season comes to a close.

One of the Azaleas, looking stunning.  The striking orange Azalea is only just showing signs of budding, so it will be a week or two before that one comes into bloom.

So that's it for this post, but hopefully there will be more flowers to show next time.

And . . . I'm hoping to have a guest blogger to write a post in the not-too-distant future, which should be quite a contrast to my ramblings and flowery posts!

Along the Cheesewring trail

After having lunch with my friends in The Cheesewring Inn, I thought it a good idea to walk it off by taking Zac on the Moor (Bodmin Moor, where my home is within a couple of miles of this inn).  It was a lovely, sunny day and he seemed ready and eager for a reasonable walk, so we set off along the grassy track that leads across the Moor to the Cheesewring rock formation on the edge of the quarry. 

Wilkie Collins described the Cheesewring in 1861 in his book Rambles Beyond Railways:

If a man dreams of a great pile of stones in a nightmare, he would dream of such a pile as the Cheesewring. All the heaviest and largest of the seven thick slabs of which it is composed are at the top ; all the lightest and smallest at the bottom. It rises perpendicularly to a height of thirty-two feet, without lateral support of any kind. The fifth and sixth rocks are of immense size and thickness, and overhang fearfully all round the four lower rocks which support them. All are perfectly irregular; the projections of one do not fit into the interstices of another; they are heaped up loosely in their extraordinary top-heavy form on slanting ground, half way down a steep hill.

It really is extraordinary, not man-made, but a pile of rocks left exposed by continual erosion of the soil around them, leaving you to wonder how it has survived all these years without falling.

We walked past a couple of ponies grazing contentedly at the edge of the track; even my close proximity as I took photos didn't warrant even a blink of their eyes.

Looking across towards Caradon Hill with its transmitter mast, which serves Central and East Cornwall and some parts of North and West Devon for their UHF and DAB services.

 Houseman's Engine House which has lots of information boards all about the mining history of the area inside.

 Time for a rest - I found a handy rock to sit on and told Zac to lie down, but he soon wanted to go further on.

There's the continuation of the track leading to the Cheeswring in the distance, situated almost on the lip of the quarry.  Apparently this landmark rock formation was threatened in the late 1800's by the blasting in the quarry, but locals banded together to save and preserve it.

Here's a close-up, showing the precarious nature of its position at the edge of the quarry.  Nowadays, parts of the quarry face are used by climbers looking for a challenge.

 More mine ruins, close to Minions village.

 A pause in the shade of a stunted thorn tree.

  And finally - as we passed the grounds of a house right on the edge of the Moor, a little flurry as a flock of hens came running to see if we had anything for them.
I love to hear hens chuntering and gossiping and felt quite sad that I didn't have any tasty tit-bits in my pockets.

Missing - one young son.

We've had thick fog overnight but it has now lifted and since 9 o'clock it has been raining. I hope it isn't right across Cornwall, because today is 'Obby 'Oss Day and Padstow will be packed solid with thousands of people attending this most ancient of traditions. I've only ever been once, when I first moved to Cornwall with my 2 youngest sons. There was a bench seat on the harbour so I stood both boys on it so that they could see the 'Obby 'Oss over the heads of the crowd as it danced past; Bess, my Border Collie in those days, lay safely underneath, away from all those feet. Perfect! So we waited along with a crowd of locals and tourists alike; we could hear the main crowd approaching as they accompanied the 'Oss. I took my eye off Peter - and he disappeared!!!  
Padstow harbour has no wall to stop anyone falling into the sea; a big crowd was almost upon us with lots of jostling for places where they could be close to the dancing 'Oss - and my 7-year-old was in there somewhere. I was shouting and shouting his name but daren't move away from the seat in case he found his way back. 
As the crowd moved further along the harbour, I started shouting his name again - and went to the edge to look down into the sea. Terrifying! Had he fallen in? Was he still in the middle of the crowd? Had someone taken him? OMG!!!   
Then his older brother said, "I just saw him. I know where he is." He pointed to a shop doorway across from the seat and a little head peeped around and shot back out of sight again. 
I won't go into detail about what happened next; suffice it to say that Peter soon regretted his little trick!
Apologies for having no photos of that day; when we returned home it was to find that my camera was missing.
But for more information about the 'Obby 'Oss festival, this is an excellent post  http://www.thequirkytraveller.com/2011/04/padstow-obby-horse-may-day-tradition/


And now . . . Ta Da!!!!!  I have been nominated for an award; the Leibster Award for new bloggers! 
For this nomination I need to thank Kay, a fellow Cornish blogger, who can be found at  http://countrylivingblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Thank you, Kay - I think!  I did a bit of Googling to find out more about this award and it has mixed reviews, some bloggers being thrilled and others feeling anxious in case it takes up too much time and becomes more like a chain letter.  Well, I'm quite chuffed that someone likes my blog enough to nominate me, so I shall bite the bullet in the hope of attracting more followers (not quite sure how that happens, but we shall see . . . )

These are the rules.

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to his/her blog
2. Copy and paste the Liebster Award badge to your post
3. Answer ten questions you’ve been asked
4. Nominate 5 new bloggers that you want to share with the world
5. Then create ten new questions for the bloggers you are nominating
6. Notify the bloggers that you have nominated

And here are the ten questions asked by Kay -

1. What is your favourite meal?    Roast beef with all the trimmings, cooked by my son.
2. What has been your best ever bargain buy?   This has to be when I wanted to lose weight, looked online and found a WeightWatchers plan at a huge discount and after going through Quidco, it cost even less - just £1.96 for a 3-month membership.
3. What are your top 3 favourite films?    A difficult one as I rarely watch films (I prefer to read books!) But 'Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey' for one; 'Champions', the story of Bob Champion who recovered from cancer to win the Grand National on Aldaniti, who was also recovering from injury and adversity; and the 3rd . . . . . erm . . . . erm . . . I can only think of 'Titanic' *blush*, memorable because my son was born the following day, 2 weeks early. Lol, lol.
4. If you could invite 3 people for dinner, either living or dead, who would it be? It would have to be my lovely Mum, Dad and brother, all of whom have passed away.
5. What was the last book you read?   "Jojo Moyes, having read her previous book, "Me Before You".  Recommended! 
6. You are stuck in a well and the cast of the last television programme you watched are coming to rescue you ..... who will be hauling you out? (Mine would be the cast of Gardeners World, I watched an episode I recorded a while back last night before bed lol)      Oh dear, I don't fancy my chances of getting out - I just watched a recording of Michael McIntyre's Big Show!  (Unless I can call upon the muscley dancers who took part?)   
7. Marmite .... Love it or Hate it?      Love it on toast. Mmmmm . . . 
8. If you could have a super-power, what would it be?    To fly - think of the savings on fuel!
9. What did you have for breakfast this morning?    Scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes.  Yum!
10. What is the one thing that makes you think of Summer    Any Beach Boys song.

The five bloggers I nominate are:

http://www.acornishmum.com/

http://thecornishlife.co.uk/

and this is where I came unstuck!  Despite hours of trawling through blogs, I was unable to find any more that could loosely qualify as 'new'; even the ones I have nominated are more than a year old.  However, these two are lovely blogs and I hope this will bring them many more followers and comments.