frayed at the edge

Crabby

On the beach on Sunday morning, there was a bit of cloud about, and a bit of a breeze, but after heavy rain on Saturday evening, the air was fresh and clear

 

there was a much clearer view of Lindisfarne, way in the distance - usually it is very hazy

 

there are lots of rock formations on this beach, providing nooks and crannies for stones and shells to collect in

 

and for new shells to cling to the remains of old shells

 

I had soon picked up a handful of small shells

 

but I set this large one adrift in a rock pool

 

whoever had walked along the beach before me has somewhat bigger feet than me!

 

a rather large crab claw

 

another large claw, and two smaller ones

 

suddenly there were the remains of crabs everywhere I looked

 

this empty shell still had its claws

 

twins!

 

I had just arranged an arty pile of crab shells when a puff of wind blew some of them away

 

ok, enough crabs, let's play with driftwood, shells and stones instead!

 

I wonder if someone put these stones in this shell, or if they were just left behind by the tide?

 

then Malcolm found these two tiny pale crab shells

 

turning round to walk back along the beach, we could just make out the lighthouse in the distance

 

and to finish, one last little crab ....... or is it an owl!

 

back tomorrow with some sewing!

 

 

 

At the end rainbow ........

Woohoo, Wales won on Friday night, and just as the final whistle blew, this rainbow appeared ........  perhaps instead of a pot of gold at the end of it, the Cup is waiting for them!

 

when we were over in Berwick on Saturday morning, Malcolm noticed these poppies growing on a derelict building site

 

a riot of colour

 

I've never seen poppies this colour

 

yet another view of the three bridges - you can just see the new bridge through the left hand arch, and the railway bridge through the right hand one

 

it's hard work keeping your feathers neat and tidy - the swans spend a lot of time preening, spreading oil along their feathers

 

but what has got these swans in a flap?

 

one of the little fishing boats coming back into the dock

 

we also had a visit from the seal

 

who was tucking into a fish

 

yesterday we went a short way down the coast to Cocklawburn beach for a walk - I'll share the photos with you tomorrow.  After our walk, of course we went for some sconnage, calling in here

 

Malcolm ordered a cheese scone

 

and I ordered a fruit scone, then of course we had half each!

 

that was going to be the end of the post, but when we got home this morning, as I was unpacking the bags, Malcolm went out into the back garden.  He came back in and said to come out and bring the camera.  Look at the tree, he said

 

some of the branches were bare.  Why? 

 

if you don't like caterpillars, don't look at the next two photos - the tree was covered in lots of these little beasties

 

which sadly are no more, but have been dispatched to caterpillar heaven!

An early walk

As we knew the forecast was for rain later in the day, we headed to the beach not long after breakfast.  I immediately got side tracked by this dainty plant, growing in the sand

 

the clouds were mostly high and wispy

 

I was taking a photo of the clouds, then realised that I had also captured two dogs playing in the water

 

but what was this ........ had Nessie popped down to Berwick for a holiday?  No, it was just a tyre left on the beach after the winter storms

 

there was nothing inside this crab shell - but its little eyes were still sticking out!

 

a swan feather, with my foot in my snazzy summer shoes

 

great minds thinking alike - I was about to take this photo when Malcolm said ...... that's a good shot with the wood and stones

 

every time we are on the beach, I see something else of interest in the remains of the wooden groynes which were uncovered when the sand shifted in the winter storms

 

in the few months that they have been uncovered, some of them have become covered in weeds

 

with the old bolts and metal plates getting rustier

 

I can see a monster's face in this one!

 

the weed on this bit has grown round the knot in the wood

 

I always find something to pick up on the beach, with a view to making something with it.  But after looking at this piece, I decided to leave it on the sand

 

but I kept these little bits and bobs

 

back at the flat, we were sitting reading the papers after lunch, when we saw there was a bit of a commotion just outside the dock, involving one of the fishing boats, and a yacht which had been moored in the dock overnight.  Eventually the fishing boat towed the yacht into the dock

 

using a length of rope which didn't really look up to the job!

 

safely back in the dock to sort out the problem

 

the rescue operation was supervised by the chap on the right - he usually is in charge of the pilot boat, so I guess he was on hand to help out

 

yesterday evening I was taking photos of some swans leaving the dock, when the ones at the front about turned ....... you can just see two men rowing up the river, which had disturbed them

 

all the swans then made for the far corner

 

then this afternoon, not only did a lot of swans come gliding in, but they were accompanied by a lot of geese

 

I wonder if they realise they are different?

 

and of course to finish, we have the Friday cake.  We went to Café Crema, where Malcolm had a strawberry and white chocolate muffin

 

while I had a Mars Bar crispy cake - delicious (I gave Malcolm the bit on the left that had white chocolate on it!)

 

at the moment we are watching the tennis at Wimbledon, then this evening there is football, with my other team, Wales, playing in the quarter finals (we won't mention England's ignominious exit on Monday!!)  Whether you are indoors watching sport, or out and about, enjoy your weekend, love Anne

 

Swans and boats

There are a great many swans about at the moment.  In the dock ..........

 

where there is a lot of weed for them to eat

 

and on our last two visits to the flat, there has been a black swan

 

they aren't native to Britain, so I don't know where this one has come from

 

out in the river, you can just see a line of them at the water's edge

 

and more further down the river

 

and looking the other way, they are right up under the bridges

 

in the dock, there was a shimmering reflection of the pilot boat

 

this boat, which is tied up in the far corner of the dock, is tiny

 

one of the fishing boats, returning from a trip

 

we passed this one yesterday, when we walked along to the beach

 

this little one sits under the dock at the lifeboat station

 

I do like a bit of blue sky behind an old chimney

 

Malcolm spotted this piece of ragged rope caught in a gnarly post

 

every time we go to the beach, I find another interesting piece of groyne for a photo

 

this little lump would look good in the garden, but I suspect it is like an iceberg, with far more below the sand

 

walking back from the beach, we saw yet more swans!

 

various lorries park on the dockside overnight, and last night these two car transporters appeared, laden with brand new Mercedes.  Malcolm reckoned there was £500,000 worth of cars ....... do you think they would have missed just one little one?

 

to finish, two sweet treats.  First, a bowl of delicious Scottish strawberries - possibly the best strawberries in the entire world

 

and second, the delectable Tom Hiddleston.  If you haven't seen him in the Night Manager, you have missed a treat (and I don't mean the scene in which you saw his bare bum) ........ it's an excellent story, and some of it was filmed in Majorca, with stunning scenery

photo by Mona Kuhn for W Magazine

Viking gold?

We headed to the beach on Thursday, so that Malcolm could play with use the metal detector that Stuart and Alison gave him for his birthday Do you like the cute spade I bought for him to go with it?!)

 

would we find a treasure trove of Viking gold?  Well, there wasn't any hidden under this plant

 

and these bleached tree trunks didn't mark the spot

 

this teeny tiny (dead) crab hadn't swallowed any

 

and this large crab shell was empty

 

Malcolm soldiered on - yes that's him away in the distance

 

finally, some beeps ...... but it was only a rusty old bolt

 

if this slimy green sea monster knew where the treasure was, it wasn't telling us

 

I got a bit fed up and wandered off to investigate these two feathers.  Given their size, I think they must be swan feathers

 

another plant growing in the sand, but still no treasure - not even a bottle top!

 

a quick photo of the lighthouse - you know that there must always be one 

 

we decided to give up and go up to the cafe for a cuppa ....... and just as we stepped on to the ramp up to the promenade ........ beep, beep, beep.  But no matter how carefully we looked through the sand, we couldn't find anything!  In the end we decided that it was the re-bar in the concrete that the detector was picking up.  Never mind, we had fun and will try again another day!

 

no teapot, milk jug or dainty china cup and saucer  ....... but sitting in the sun made up for that

 

a seagull hoping in vain for some food

 

so no treasure, but at least as we walked along the path above the beach, I found an arty photo!

 

yesterday morning, we headed up to Selkirk, to the Waterwheel Cafe

 

it's a while since we indulged in a two-scone lunch!  (that's half each, not two each)

 

the rain had gone off when we came out of the cafe, so we decided to go for a walk along the mill lade, pausing to admire this stunning group of rhododendrons 

 

the path has been upgraded, in conjunction with new flood defences, and Malcolm was very impressed with this wooden construction

 

when the water is low like this, it is hard to imagine that it would come up over the bank - the new wall on the right is to protect the fields from floodwaters

 

although only the tops of the walls are curved, this reminded me of the ruined building with the rounds walls that we saw recently - perhaps it looked something like this?

 

we could here fast-flowing water ahead, but didn't expect quite this much to be flowing into the lade

 

another stretch of the new flood defences - the owners of the row of houses must be delighted to be protected, after the dreadful winter floods

 

 a sturdy new bridge over the lade - again Malcolm had to pause to admire its construction ....... perhaps I should get him a job with a wooden-bridge-building company? 

 

by the time we walked back to the cafe, we reckoned we had covered about two and a half-miles, so we must have burned off some of the sconnage!  To finish, another of my arty photos - a clump of snow-in-summer growing out of a wall

 

back tomorrow with some sewing

I regret that there is a short delay .......

....... in bringing you the sewing post, which will now appear tomorrow.  Instead, we have a Berwick post, as we came over this morning.  It was bright and sunny when we left Hawick, but it has been very misty here, as you can see from these photos

 

is Miss Havisham looking out of the window, in her wedding dress?

trees in the mist

 

the lighthouse is out there somewhere!

 

these cranes make me think of "War of the Worlds"

 

the railway bridge, seen through the arch of the new bridge

 

this makes me think of the "Marie Celeste"

 

but not everywhere was misty as you can see from these photos of old doors and gates

 

the old school is still rotting away, home to dozens of pigeons

 

alas, Malcolm hadn't secretly bought the "money pit" house, for me to turn into a quilting retreat!  But it is good to see that the new owners are hard at work rescuing it from years of neglect

 

walking on, we found a smart, well maintained boat

 

in contrast, an extremely dilapidated one, with weeds growing on it (I have offered in the past to buy it for Malcolm, but it's not quite the same as the beautiful boats we see in the marina in Puerto Pollensa!)

 

the new path on the quayside is finished, so you can now walk all the way up on to the old bridge .......

 

....... without tripping over an old mooring ring

 

back at the flat, there were swans in the mist in the dock

 

you can just make out that there are dozens of them

 

on our way home from our walk, we went past Lowry's coffee shop (ok, we made a detour down a steep flight of stairs to get there!)

 

we popped in for a cuppa ....... and yes, a little bit of sconnage!

 

there will be sewing tomorrow!!

And finally : part 3

After pottering round the Honey Farm, we went out the rear exit and down the road, passing the sign that told us we were in Northumberland .....

 

which of course is in England

 

we walked across the Chain Bridge

 

paying heed to this sign

 

and found ourselves in Scotland on the other side

 

staying on the Scottish side, we went down a path to the riverbank, then walked along the river.  I don't know what sort of buildings these are the remains of

 

I'm always tempted to see what is behind doors like this one

 

having recently watched the Jurassic Park films (yet again), I wouldn't sit here in case something crept out of the undergrowth and bit my head off

 

although I think I was safe from this little fellow

 

and if any vampires had appeared (even if it was broad daylight and they should all have been tucked up in their coffins), I could have waved this wild garlic flower at it

 

further along the river, we passed a field filled with a motley assortment of cattle

 

these two calves haven't yet learned about turning their rear ends to the camera!

 

and of course we have to have a couple of arty photos

 

I couldn't decide which photo to use as my last one ......... this one, of the car crossing the bridge which hardly looks strong enough for pedestrians

 

......... or this one of the steps to help you climb over the wall.  Why this one - because if you had jumped down on the other side without looking, you would have landed in a very large patch of stinging nettles!!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing

The weekend : part 2

I had thought that one post would do for what we did on Sunday - but having just looked through all my photos, we shall have to have a part 3 tomorrow!  We went to the Chain Bridge Honey Farm, which is just outside Berwick.  First stop was for a cuppa, in the converted double decker bus - there were too many people about to take a photo of it, but it is similar to this one

 

of course we headed upstairs - when we were little and travelled on buses like these, we always had to sit upstairs ......

 

........ hopefully in the much-coveted front seat!

 

as we had eaten so much cake on Friday, we shared a piece of delicious lemon drizzle cake, which came with a little pot of lemon curd

 

I wonder if the eggs for the curd came from this hen

 

since we last visited the Honey Farm, they have acquired a lot more old, mostly rusty, vehicles.  The Referendum campaign has reached fever pitch, with every news bulletin full of claim and counter-claim.  I had a quick fantasy of making all the politicians lie down in a row, them squashing them flat with this machine!!

 

although the back wheels on this one could dispose of a few of the more annoying ones for me

 

I haven't yet persuaded Malcolm to buy me a caravan like this one

 

if only I had somewhere to keep old vehicles like these, I would ask Father Christmas every year for one!

 

if I had known that they were installing a length of rail track, I could have offered them the benefit of my experience working for British Rail

 

a very old John Deere - it's probably a quarter of the size of a modern one

 

but we mustn't forget about the bees, working away to give us honey

 

to finish, a little taster of tomorrow's post

The king of the castle

 After lunch on Saturday, we went for a good long walk on the beach.  As always, I started by taking photos of the lighthouse - here are just two of them

 

the next two photos show the difference that the light makes.  The first was taken looking towards the sun, then the second is round the other side of the groyne, with the sun behind me

 

a lovely rusted old fitting

 

I might have to sneak on to the beach in the middle of the night and steal this, to put in the garden!

 

this reminded us of the Easter Island heads

 

I do like a good rusty bolt or two

 

Malcolm recently showed me a bit in a magazine, where someone had taken seaside photos and added little stones, shells and bits of seaglass, so I think I will get prints of the next three photos and have a play

 

we sat in the sun outside the cafe on the promenade to have a cuppa (no cake after Friday's gargantuan helpings!).  There was a little old lady sitting on the wall, with three dogs.  The one on the left was a feisty little thing, challenging every passing dog to a fight, even ones big enough to swallow him whole!  You may think the other one is gazing adoringly at his mistress ......... no, she was eating chips, and he wanted one.  As for the third dog ......

 

....... it was having nothing to do with the others

 

as we walked back along the path above the beach, a skein of geese flew past - if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see them more clearly

 

back home, there was a swan in the dock

 

and a lot more swans out in the river

 

this little boat has been put up the dock sometime in the last week, as it wasn't there when Malcolm was over last weekend

 

we always end up picking up bits and bobs on the beach.  This piece of seaglass will make a good sail for a little boat picture, perhaps with a stone hull

 

as will this piece of pottery

 

the small tyres have all been cleared from the beach since the winter floods, but this rather large one has been left behind.  Malcolm immediately went to stand on it, which reminded me of childhood, when someone would stand on something and sing "I'm the king of the castle, and you're the dirty wee rascal" ....... I doubt the pc brigade would let you sing that any more - much too judgemental, referring to someone as both dirty and a rascal!!

Red shells

At the far end of Spittal beach, a stream comes out of the cliff.  It is very red, probably because of iron in the rocks

 

I first noticed that these two shells had been dyed red by the water

 

then I saw these ones

 

and these ones

 

and even a golf ball stuck in a cleft of rock had turned red!

 

while I was taking the photos, Malcolm suddenly called out "watch your back".  Usually he shouts this when I haven't noticed a big wave coming up behind me, but this time it was a little Jack Russell.  I'm glad that I had finished taking photos of the shells on this little outcrop of rocks, because the dog ....... well, he did what boy dogs do!