Playing with black and white

Sunday 3rd December to Saturday 9th September 2017

Before you get too worried if you’re not a fan of black and white, there are colour photos in here too, but this week I have been watching a course on black and white photography on Lynda.com so have been practicing.

The first photo is in colour, though, and is of a piece of bark which caught my eye when Teddy and I walked on Canford Heath on Sunday afternoon.

Up on South Walk Teddy was posing for me.

He even sat down – something that’s very rare.

As usual, though, it was only as a prelude to lying down, as you can see (he didn’t even want to play with the little cockerpoo).

A few minutes later we met our friend John and his dog Eddie, and while we talked I took photos of the view.

When I turned around, though, this was the sight that greeted me.

Later as we walked across the heath the sun was setting behind the trees.

And so onto some black and white photos (I’ve not shared all of them – there are a few more on Flickr). These trees are along the path as we head towards the old pit.

And here’s Teddy on the heath.

On Friday we were on Upton Heath, and I was taken by the long shadows from the trees and old concrete structure along what was once the railway line.

And now it’s back to colour for the silver birch grove on a cold morning.

Autumn colours were in evidence along the Roman Road, though.

And one last photo – another rainbow. This time taken as we headed for the heath.

Not a bad start to December.

Two walks in the sunshine on Upton Heath

Sunday 19th to Saturday 25th November 2017

Oh dear! I’m so sorry. I’m over a month behind. I’m afraid that inspiration to take photos and motivation to write this blog seems to be somewhat lacking at the moment. I will do my best to play catch up, however.

So back to the end of November. On Wednesday 22nd November I took Teddy over to Upton Heath. We did our ‘Saturday walk’ as we hadn’t done it on Sunday (I can’t quite recall why, but it had been Chris’ birthday), and we walked up the Roman Road. By the old railway bridge we came across an abandoned car.

There was some low sunshine, and I took this shot of Teddy at Pinesprings.

Once out on the heath the sky was beautiful.

But by the time we had walked down the hill the sun was starting to go down.

The next time I took the camera out was on Saturday and we did the same walk all over again. The sun looked lovely on the trees up at the Beacon Road entrance to the heath.

I’m hoping you can see what I mean in this next photo, but coming down the heath I was surprised by vertical lines in the clouds.

I also took a photo of Teddy in the afternoon sunshine.

Once we got to the silver birch grove on the lower heath Teddy made a new friend: Arthur, a Wire-haired German Pointer. They had great fun playing. Here Teddy had Arthur on the ground.

And I love this action shot of them playing.

And that’s all for that particular week.

Sunshine means playtime

Friday 17th November 2017

Friday morning meant Teddy and I walked over to Upton Heath, and this morning it was lovely and sunny. And it looked very autumnal in the silver birch grove.

Just after I’d taken that first photo we met our friend Tig, the staffie, with his Mum, Amanda. Here’s Tig posing for me.

And Tig, after a treat, in his ‘bear’ pose.

He and Teddy had a great time playing.

We walked on and then met Ollie, who is around a year old. Again, he and Teddy had a great time playing, despite the size difference. They were particularly interested in an old stick.

First one would get it and run off with it and the other would chase, and then the other one would get it and run off. Here they are playing tug with it.

And lastly for today, a wonder autumnal scene along the Roman Road.

Blame Lightroom

Sunday 22nd October to Saturday 28th October 2017

First of all I have to apologise to everyone again for the long gap between posting. This has been caused by Adobe’s Lightroom Upgrade. Basically, the new version refuses to run on my not-very-old laptop, so I’ve had to move everything over to Chris’ old PC (which is slightly older than my laptop!) and, of course, that has been fraught with difficulty. Finally I am just about up to date with my photos, though, so I can return to this blog – if I can remember what was happening 3 weeks ago.

The first set of photos I have is from our afternoon walk on Canford Heath on Wednesday 25th October. I do the afternoon walk on a Wednesday as I go to see my Dad in the morning. We parked at Steeple Close, in order to avoid the school traffic, and close by my eye was caught by this Sweet Chestnut which was losing its leaves and backlit by the sun.

It was a nice sunny afternoon and I took this photo of Teddy on top of the heath.

It was one of those days when he had to entertain himself as we didn’t really meet any other dogs for him to play with. He managed to tire himself out enough to have to take a short rest in a depression in the sand.

Which set him up nicely to take off at speed because he had heard a horse further down the hill which I couldn’t see. So I had to apologise profusely to the rider.

Friday was another sunny morning and we walked over to Upton Heath. This photo is taken as we crossed the Roman Road onto the heath.

And here’s Teddy, looking very pleased with himself in the pond.

On Saturday we were back on Upton Heath again, but doing our slightly longer walk. As we started out through Longmeadow Lane woods I saw these little sulphur tuft fungi.

As you can see from the photo below, it was a pretty overcast day and I was expecting rain, so I only had my iPhone with me, which is getting to be pretty old now. Anyway, this was the view from the top of the hill, looking across the heath.

And that’s it for this week, I’m afraid.

Of Dogs and Fungi

Sunday 1st October to Saturday 7th October 2017-10-15

Having said this post is from the 1st October I don’t actually have any photos from that day, so the first photos are from Monday 2nd when we went over to Upton Heath for our walk as usual. I took the EOS 6D with the 100mm Macro lens attached, and I’m glad I did as I got some really nice photos. Unfortunately, if you suffer from arachnophobia the first one isn’t quite so nice as its an Orb Spider.

That photos was taken along the old railway line. We walked onto the pond and Teddy was really pleased to find some doggie friends there. It all started with a meet and greet.

We met Max, the Golden Retriever.

And Buzz, the Viszla who was staying with Max temporarily.

Teddy and Buzz had a good time playing.

And then there was Tig, one of our staffy friends.

After a good game we went our separate ways and I walked Teddy round through the old pits.

On the lower heath the Fly Agaric are still in evidence.

Although these had been kicked over.

As usual Teddy went into the little pool by the small boardwalk for a drink.

And then posed for me.

After that we made our way home.

On Tuesday we started the day, as every day, with breakfast, and Teddy was a happy dog when he found out I’d finished the yogurt and he could have the pot. He soon got stuck in.

For our walk we went to Canford Heath and as it was a lovely sunny day I, once again, took the EOS 6D with the 100mm lens on it. Although it is a macro lens it is also excellent for portraits, which is why it’s great for taking photos of dogs, like this one of Teddy.

Fungi are also in evidence on Canford Heath, like this one, although I’m not too sure what it is.

As we walked through the woods I found this huge Cauliflower Fungus.

And these Razor Strop, or Birch Bracket Fungi.

I also spotted this pretty little feather, suspended on some blades of grass.

There were more fungi when we left the woods. Firstly this Russula

And then this Panther Cap

And lastly from Tuesday, a photo of Teddy surveying the heath as we walked back to the car.

Jumping ahead to Friday we were again on Upton Heath. Firstly we went to the pond.

And then, after Teddy had had a drink and a paddle, we headed towards the old pits. En route we met the cows.

You can see that at some point that one has had a nasty injury on its side.

On the lower heath we met several dogs. Firstly there was Oscar, a Border Terrier.

And then we met a lady with 4 small dogs, including this 12 week old Chihuahua puppy.

At this point I put Teddy on the lead. As the lady said, he might have thought it was was a rat! He was really good with it, though, and very gentle, so I don’t think I need have worried. And this, was the pup’s father.

While we were talking our friend Janet came along with her lurcher, Jake.

After a long chat we walked on round and, as usual, Teddy went in the pond by the small boardwalk where he was once again searching for something under the water.

When we got to the Roman Road I was pleased to see that there was another small fungus growing on the tree stump by the stream.

While we were there I took the opportunity to take a photo looking along the Roman Road while the leaves on the trees are still green. They won’t be there much longer.

The Virginia Creeper along the path in Creekmoor has turned though, and has produced beautiful Autumn colours.

I don’t have any photos from our walk on Saturday, but first thing in the morning the plumber arrived to fix our leaking stopcock. And do you remember that lovely new kitchen we had installed 10 months ago? Well, today part of it had to come apart again!

I’m pleased to say that it’s all fixed and back together again.

A walk on Upton Heath

Saturday 26th August 2017

Saturday was a lovely, hot, sunny day (unusual for an August Bank Holiday weekend) and in the afternoon Teddy and I went for our walk over Upton Heath.

We started off by walking up the Roman Road, in the shade.

Next to the entrance we often take onto the heath I found this buddleia growing wild. I loved the colour, and realised there was a hover fly on it too.

By the time we had got half-way down the hill across the heath Teddy was hot, especially as he had been playing with a dog while we were on the Roman Road, so guess who had to cool down in the very muddy gully.

And guess who was somewhat less than clean when he got out.

After he had cooled down I took Teddy away from the path and into the valley that runs between the main path and the Roman Road. I hadn’t walked him there before. This was the view looking back up the hill.

He enjoyed the change of scenery, especially as this area boasts lots of rabbits (which fortunately were all tucked up in their beds).

And so onto the pond, where I was able to wash Teddy off. As you can see from the photo, he seems to have found something interesting in there again.

My plan didn’t work that well though, as you can see from the final photo, taken on the lower heath of Teddy playing with a stick (something I’ve not seen him do before).

Shower time when we got home!

Where’s the summer gone?

Sunday 30th August to Saturday 5th August 2017

Where indeed! Once again the weather has not been great this week.

Sunday wasn’t too bad, although as you can see from this shot over Upton Heath, there was an awful lot of cloud around.

But it didn’t stop Teddy from posing for me at the top of the hill.

We were back over the heath again on Monday morning, when there was more cloud, although today it was lighter and interspersed with sunshine. Teddy was posing again: this time in the old pits.

Tuesday we went to Badbury Rings and got rained on from time to time. It was another grey day with flat light, so I didn’t get any photos. I did call in at the vet surgery and weigh Teddy on the way home and was pleased to see that he hasn’t put on any weight in the past month. It must be all the exercise!

Wednesday was wet – very wet at times. I went to my Dad’s in the morning and then took Teddy to Broadstone Rec in the afternoon. Here he is next to the war memorial.

The first part of our walk was mainly under the trees which were dropping large blobs of water on us. Teddy soon turned into a spotty dog.

Once we got to the playing fields and Teddy had enjoyed himself chasing the seagulls it started to rain a lot harder. It wasn’t helped by the fact that the wind was driving the rain across the football pitches. Teddy didn’t care – he was too busy playing. And I wasn’t too bothered as I had gone out in full waterproofs. But Teddy was in a pretty sorry state by the end of our walk.

Thursday we went over to Canford Heath where Teddy met lots of dogs to play with. I was too busy chatting to take photos though.

And so onto Friday when the sun came back out for a while and we walked over Upton Heath.

And then there was Saturday. It was quite a nice morning and early afternoon. I left home about 3pm and drove Teddy to Upton Heath in full sun. I could see lots of black clouds around though. I parked the car and as we got out I thought, “What’s that noise?”. It was incessant thunder! So having walked a few yards to the entrance to Upton Heath we turned round and got back in the car and came home again. And it was a good job we did, since as soon as we got home a massive thunderstorm hit. Within 15 minutes everywhere was flooded. Then it stopped as quickly as it had started so Teddy and I ventured out again.

Back to Upton Heath, and we walked up the Roman Road and then out onto the heath. As you can see, there was still rain around.

We only had a few more spits and spots though. Here’s Teddy having a bit of a look around as we came down the hill.

And here is a view coming down the hill.

At the pond Teddy had to stop and have a drink.

And then we walked around the lower heath. But you can tell how much rain we’ve had over the past few days: the Roman Road is flooded again.

Let’s hope the rest of August improves.

And a cold start to 2017

Sunday 1st January – Saturday 7th January 2017

The cold spell has been continuing into the new year, although we had some rather welcome sunshine on Monday 2nd January. To celebrate Max and I went for a walk on Upton Heath as usual on a Monday.

Near the pond we met the 3 Weimeraners, including Hazel who had one of her usual ‘small’ sticks. Here she is having a good old chew at it.

We walked on round the lower heath and when we got to the Roman Road Max got in the stream as usual. The light on his was lovely.

And lastly for today, here is a shot of the Roman Road where the stream crosses it.

On Tuesday it was a cold and frosty start, so I chose to take Max out to Kingston Lacy. When we got there Max was a bit worried by the warning sign at the entrance.

But he needn’t have worried as the paths weren’t slippery at all. The grounds were looking lovely in the frost and sunlight though.

This photo was taken along the Cedar Avenue.

As was this one of a frosted bench.

These frosty leaves also caught my eye.

It was only towards the end of our walk that we began to see many other people. This couple passed us as we walked through the gardens, though.

We walked on round to the Japanese garden, which looked nice in the frost and sun.

And I rather liked the light and shade around this little ornament.

After that we continued on through the woodland walk and finally back to the car.

Wednesday I went to see my Dad as usual and on Thursday we once again had a heavy frost so I decided to take Max down to Lychett Bay. The tide was out and the shoreline was rather icy.

Max was not happy as he couldn’t get anywhere near the water.

We walked on round to the small beach at Turlin Moor, where the boats looked lovely in the still water.

Round here the seaweed on the beach was frozen.

As was the fishing gear left in the boats.

There was also frost over this discarded bag left on the beach.

Max finally managed to get down to the water round here, but he also got very muddy paws in the process.

After that we headed back to the car but before we left we went to see the new viewing platform that has been built overlooking the bay.

And this is the view it gives.

And one last photo from our walk: a frozen seed head.

You may be wondering where Jez was while Max and I were doing all this walking. Well, she was busy snoozing in the sun at home.

And who can blame her?

A year ago

From the same week a year ago I’ve chosen this photo, taken out at Badbury Rings, which is also part of the National Trust Kinston Lacy estate.

Max and I go to Upton Heath

Monday 7th November 2016

This being Monday I went over to Upton Heath as usual for our walk this morning. I only had Max with me though as Jez stayed at home asleep in the sun. She does like to catch her rays when she can in the winter.

You can see it was a nice day. Here’s Max and I at the pond.

And here’s one of Max on his own.

It was one of those days when Max was going from one pool of water to the next. Here he is in the little pool by the boardwalk.

We walked around the lower heath and then came to the Roman Road. The sun looked lovely through the trees in Longmeadow Lane woods.

This one was taken where the stream crosses the Roman Road.

And lastly for today, Max in the leaves in Longmeadow Lane woods.

It had been a lovely walk and did not feel quite a chilly as I was expecting.

A year ago today

Jez, Max and I were also walking on Upton Heath, although it was not quite such a nice day.

Saturday on Upton Heath

Saturday 29th October 2016

As usual on a Saturday I did my cleaning in the morning and then took the dogs over to Upton Heath in the afternoon. Today Jez decided that we would walk up the Roman Road. But first we had to walk through part of Longmeadow Lane woods, where I found clusters of fungi growing on old tree trunks.

Here are some more. Aren’t they lovely and delicate?

We came out of the woods onto the Roman Road and started to walk up the hill. I took this photo looking back towards the old railway bridge.

On a conifer along the path I found lots of these lovely, colourful fungi. I can’t quite work out what they are though.

We turned off into Pine Springs Nature Reserve and at the side of the path were these two little puff balls.

As usual Jez had to stop and have a rest as we walked through Pine Springs, but I eventually managed to move her on and we came out further up the Roman Road and then turned onto the heath.

At one point Max ran off into the heather and Jez joined him. I don’t know what they’d found, but it certainly held their interest.

We cut across the the Viewpoint, close to which Jez had to have another rest.

And then we walked around the top of the hill and I phoned Chris to come and pick us up.

A year ago today

Max and I went to Upton Country Park where a very high tide had flooded the stream.