SKY-BLUE PINK AND THE TREE IS UP

Sorry this picture is spilling over the side of the allotted space but it just wasn't big enough in 'extra large' mode. We are all in the mood for Christmas now. Origami Boy has been having a difficult time recently so we're throwing a little Christmas party for him and his three best friends on Friday. Everything needs to look festive. I'm a huge fan of the colour changing LED and bought what I thought were five rather naff angels until I put them up and started the lights going. I love them! The effect in the dark is fantastic as you can see below, alongside my father's Lion and Unicorn pieces from 1952. He and his first wife, Susan, ran the Richard Parkinson Pottery in the 50's and early 60's. More about that some other time......

A few of you mentioned 'sky-blue pink' after the last post and so I had a look online for its derivation. The only thing I could find was on a site called 'World Wide Words' which says:

The expression has been variously used — by exasperated adults to children when pestered about names for colours, as a “mind your own business” off-putting reply to an unwanted question, a sarcastic description of some over-the-top or inappropriate colour, as a hand-waving term meaning “whatever colour you want”, or a dismissive comment to the effect that colour doesn’t matter.

However, it first appeared in the states at the end of the nineteenth century, for example:

Brilliant colors in masculine garb are beginning to appear in Paris. ... The innovation will be a boon to some of our young men, who will find ample exercise for their faculties in determining whether pea green or sky blue pink would better suit their various complexions.

The Haverhill Daily Bulletin, Massachusetts, 14 July 1881.

I haven't shared any bird table pictures recently so here are some from the last week:

Great Tit

Great Tit with the Sparrows

Great Tit....again

Chaffinch

Great and Blue Tits

That gorgeous Woodpecker again

and again.....

and here relaxing on a branch and, at one point, closing its eyes for a snooze!

I saw this amazing fungus a few weeks ago on a beech twig in Trigger's field. It disappeared over night but then reappeared about a week later on exactly the same twig. I've had no luck identifying it so submitted this picture to the i-spot web site in the hope that someone will be able to. If you know what it is please get in touch!

I know I go on about Fernworthy Forest being an eyesore, but the other day, with storm clouds building and whispy mists swirling, it did look quite dramatic, so I've deigned to give it space

Hmmm - the clouds are definitely more interesting than the forest. 

The herd have really come back together over the last week or so, minus Lizzy and numbers 1 and 2 of course. Difficult to photograph them all together but here a couple of groups and some individuals:

Number 3, Thelwell candidate

Plush velvet. I think this is number 8's sister, born last year

Number 8

Numbers 4 and 8 

This post was actually meant to be published two days ago but we lost the internet on  Saturday and have only just got it back for long enough to finish writing and uploading. When Snip and I were out, we met this dopey hound, miles away from his pack and very lost. They're really not very bright.

Finally, a HUGE thank you to Cindy at justnorthofwiarton.blogspot.com who sent me a lovely unexpected Christmas present of two maple leaf shapes made of crystalised maple syrup after I mentioned how my great uncle used to send them to me from Toronto when I was a child. They arrived this afternoon and a nibble transported me back forty years. What a lovely surprise!

And so, with only a week to go, I will leave you with a fluffy Snippet. Hope all your Christmas preparations are going well/finished/started. I will no doubt speak to you before the day. Until then..............