THE RAMBLINGS OF A STRUGGLING ARTIST ON LIFE WITH TWO TERRIERS, A PONY WITH ISSUES AND OTHER WILDLIFE AND BIRDS THAT CROSS OUR PATH

15 November 2013

AUTUMN COLOUR


I kind of feel like autumn has passed me by. We seemed to go straight from summer to incessant rain to winter. Only in the relatively short spells of sunshine of the last few days, have I noticed the colour in the trees and in the land. The moor just goes pale brown with green patches, but the fringes have a little more colour. These red leaves are from the small Acer in the garden but the rest has been looking pretty sad for weeks now.


Colour outside the garden.........





I'm beginning to wonder if Gorse is ever NOT in flower:


I find the light at this time of year, if there's even a hint of sunshine, just magical. 








This fungi has almost covered a discarded log in a corner of the garden:



The river is running very high after all the rain:




Trigger is definitely blue now unless the sun shines:


I'm finding it very difficult to find anyone to print the cards of my drawings. No one seems to ring back if you leave a message, despite the fact that they're potentially going to make money out of you. Photos aren't so much of a problem, but fine line drawings are not easy. They won't be going on sale any time soon. 

Am writing this sitting in front of the fire eating chestnuts that we collected from a woodland walk last weekend and roasted in the ash can. They're delicious and remind me of an urban childhood, walking down Oxford Street in London with my Grandmother at Christmas time and the smell of them coming from the street vendors' stalls. My Grandmother was a terrible snob, who thought eating in the street very uncouth, so I never got to eat them then; I did so when I was old enough to go on my own though. Until next time, have a lovely weekend and here are Snippet and Jack today. 



55 comments:

  1. Oh Em, such wonderful photos today. I adore #9 the waves of grass rushing up to the rocks is brilliant.
    The red leaves of # 1 and 2 and of course Snippet in full run. Your gud dugs live such a good life.

    cheers, parsnip

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  2. Love photos again.
    There is a saying something like "kissing is out of season when gorse isn't flowering" Thats not exactly right but nearly. So gorse is always in flower somewhere. Down in the village there is a lot of heathland, walking through the gorse on a sunny day is deliciously coconutty.

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    1. What a great saying - I must TRY and remember it in what my son calls my 'forgettabrain'!

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  3. Just look at those windblown/grown trees in shot 5.They must really take a battering!
    Jane x

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    1. They do - how they stay standing at all is a miracle!

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  4. I have been trying to capture the leaves in our garden and they don't look anything like yours! Your photos are fantastic as always but my favourites have to be the contrast of all the colour of the trees,the grasses with the tor in the background and Snippet. Hope you have more sunshine this weekend.
    Sarah x

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    1. It's a bit cloudy today I'm afraid and I heard on the news that snow is forecast next week. Always photogenic but we tend to have to dog our way out.

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  5. Em, I think these are your best collection of photos yet- the light and the colours are wonderful and the river looks like you could reach out and touch it. Just beautiful.
    Love the action shot of snip too! CT x

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    1. That action shot was a fluke as ever. Digital delay working in my favour for once!

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  6. Hi Em. Great shot. I love the red of the Maple and the light in the Moor shots are stunning. Love both dog photos. They certainly have a great life.

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    1. Those maple leaves have never looked so bright before. I'm not sure why but they're very photogenic.

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  7. I love coming here. This is such a beautiful post. I love the colour of the maple too and the moor shots and both dog pics so I am echoing Margaret Adamson!

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  8. You do know I love all your photos each and every time I am here to view them all. xx

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  9. The river looks lovely in your photo but freezing I would think if you put your foot in it. I believe the old saying is: 'When Gorse is out of bloom, Kissing's out of season,' which I would take to mean, it's never out of bloom. I can't remember if you've said but which camera do you use?

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    1. I'm obviously the only person never to have heard that saying, but I know it now!

      The camera is a Fuji Finepix SL300.

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  10. Beautiful photos as always Em and love the colours in the acer leaves. Seems a strange sort of autumn here too - autumnal colours very late arriving.

    Hope you get something sorted soon for your cards.

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    1. I'm glad it's not just me going mad thinking that. I'm sure there were Autumnal posts months ago from other bloggers but they were probably in the States. Blogging does shrink the world doesn't it?

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  11. Yup, that gorse saying is one I grew up with too! What atmospheric photos. My favourites are 8, 9, 17 and 18. I feel almost as if I have been down on the moor myself, looking at those. Thank you for sharing.

    A trifle worried about the snow, as we have to get Danny to and from work in town, by car, early in the morning and mid-evening. We may get snowed in at this rate. Extra cat food, a sack of spuds, lots of bread flour and yeast are already "laid down" to go with our other stores.

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    1. Snow chains are the way to go in lieu of a 4x4. We're definitely going to invest in some this year. Anna Bonnage, who used to help me with Trigger pre-accident, managed to get around in a Ford Ka in the worst of the snow. VERY impressive indeed and also very reasonable. I'm not ready for snow at all but we'might get some stuff in at Lidl's in Okehampton tomorrow. A tenner goes a long way there!

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  12. Ah great photos of the boys!

    Yes we were brought up never to eat in the street (and ladies should never smoke in the street!). I don't like to see people eating in the street (and I HATE seeing women smoking in the street or while driving cars). Eating on a park bench or on a sea wall is fine. What a funny old fashioned bird I must be LOL

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    1. Even though I hated her attitude at the time, I find it extremely difficult to eat in the street even now. I only do if it's a medical emergency (diabetes-wise) and even then, I'll try and turn away from people rather than have them see me eating. Silly really but these things from childhood run very deep.

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  13. Love the Dartmoor photos, especially the ones which contrast the green grass against the brown scrub. Beautiful autumn colours in the leaves. Like the one ear up, one ear down pensive look from Jack.

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    1. I think the ear up involved wind......the meteorological kind obviously....

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  14. It is starting to look cold up there now. That last photo of Snippet did make me smile! How's your back?

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    1. Still on the painkillers. If it's not improved by Tuesday, I have to go and let the doctor have a poke about, but it's definitely surgery related so I don't really see what they can do. There's itching involved too, but too deep inside to be able to get to! I always think itching is a good sign in that a scab itches when it's ready to come off!

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  15. A beautiful collection of photos, Em. It's easy to imagine a walk across the moor from them. I do love your drawings and I hope you find a printer soon for them.
    The sight and smell of chestnuts takes me back to Oxford Street, too. I used to work upstairs in one of the big music stores there in the late 1980s and I always remember coming out to see the chestnut sellers on street corners on a winter evening. But when we gathered chestnuts here a few years ago and roasted them they weren't a success!

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    1. Our first lot weren't a success either Wendy! Burnt on the outside and like concrete on the inside; inedible.

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  16. Lovely pics Em! I can positively say that the gorse is always in flower here too! I love the old saying that you can kiss the girls any time that gorse is flowering…. basically any time :-)

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    1. I wonder why I've never heard it? I'm going to write it down so I can't forget it.

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  17. Love the river shots Em, especially the first one.

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    1. Thanks Roy. That river is where I go for relieving stress!

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  18. Beautiful photos! I love the ones of the moor, love the wild open spaces so much. The one of the ponies was great too! Jack seems to be growing up. He's almost smiling in the photo.

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    1. He's being VERY annoying at the moment! Very teenager-ish. Love him though.

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  19. At the end of a long week, I love the 'escape' to your blog to peak into your world. Would you believe that I've never had a roasted chestnut--How crazy is that? And I love 'street food' too. :-)

    Hope you have a good weekend, and find someone to print your lovely cards.

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    1. Thanks Kim and you MUST find a chestnut to roast as soon as you can!

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  20. Your dogs are so gorgeous - the camera really loves them!

    I also really liked the river shot, with it bursting at the seams from all the rain. I know I have access to some impressive scenery here in Australia but it seems like even your casual local strolls take you to such wiiiild places!

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    1. I'm so lucky Christian - to be able to walk out into that wilderness from home without getting in a car is such a privilege. Wildlife spotting isn't easy though, if only because there's nowhere to hide!

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  21. Great set of images there, Em. And what beautiful landscapes.

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    1. Thanks Dean. As I said to Christian - I'm extremely lucky to be here.

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  22. Your photos are beautiful. Love those red leaves.

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  23. Lovely bright red acer leaves! You have really captured the lighting perfectly in your landscape shots - stunning! Great action shot of snippet and jack looks poignant!

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    1. He might look it Lou but he's very much a rampaging teenager at the moment!

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  24. Oh lovely & mysterious Dartmoor, for there as a youth, I rambled, alone. Far from sight from the narrow lanes; in both sunshine and sleet the moors raw beauty comforted me.

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    1. I feel exactly the same way. Lovely to have you following.

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  25. Wonderful shots of my old stamping ground! And I like the Golden Plover post as well.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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    1. It must be strange being SO far away Stewart. Do you ever come back to the UK to visit?

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  26. Absolutely gorgeous photos, I like the third one of the trees and of course the ponies and stones.
    Gathered some chestnuts yesterday and had a few roasted, they were not bad but not very large.

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    1. I don't know where those big ones come from but ours were certainly TINY too Thelma!

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  27. I was interrupted when I first brought up this post several days ago--and I like having time to slowly run through your photos. I'm envious of the red leaves from your acer--our sweet gum tree is of that large maple family, but the leaves have been frosted to a crisp this year before many of them turned that glowing shade of red.

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    1. We've only had one frost so far and that was last week.....very minimal. However, we had snow yesterday!

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  28. Snippet and Jack look like they love having a good run over the Moors, and I once again loved all your photos. Good luck with the printers and I remember a car like yours, we had it for a very, very long time and gradually it was a complete joke to keep it on the road. I won't even tell you what the neighborhood kids used to call it! Sorry to hear your back is still pitching a fit and hope the doc can help.

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