Ceres walks through the crops, her hands brushing the ripening ears as she moves silent and unobserved in her rustling domain. Barley is a wonderful crop to observe on a breezy day, as the awns sway and shimmer, catching the light and delighting the eye. The camera can…
Lois Wakeman Posts
This year, the oak leaves were out well before the ash. According to the saw: “Oak before ash, in for a splash – ash before oak, in for a soak”. So, what actually happened? We had 10 days of clear warm sunny weather, followed by a torrential downpour…
At last, the hawthorn is flowering. For me, a still sunny afternoon, listening to flies buzzing, wood pigeons cooing, and smelling the heavy perfume of the may tree (which mixes intoxicating cloves with something slightly off) is the absolute essence of early summer – something to savour and…
I’m always concerned about plastic rubbish on the beach. But that isn’t the only rubbish. A big rash of ugly and largely unnecessary signage is – to my eyes – just as obtrusive and out of place. These horrible railings and signs were put on the end of…
Dartmoor is commonly thought of as a bleak and treeless waste, but is home to a small number of ancient oak woodlands. In these sheltered woods, mossy boulders and lichen-festooned branches combine to lend a primæval atmosphere, largely unchanged since lowland England was almost entirely forested in Neolithic…
Lyme is home to several colonies of beach huts. Glorified sheds by the sea, they have a quirky charm that has inspired me to take quite a few photos over the years. These are on Monmouth Beach, and for a few weeks each spring and autumn, the…
Most people drive up and down the A303 oblivious to the wonderful chalk country either side of the road. But I have to make a conscious effort to concentrate on the road rather than admiring the scenery. A few times, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to…
One of the pleasures of Sunday afternoons in my pottery is listening to Open Book – one of Radio 4’s better literary efforts. Presented by the wonderfully husky Mariella Frostrup (please will she come and read me some bedtime stories?), it often features reviews of books or authors…
Today was the day when I decided to “Carpe Diem” – after weeks of crouching over the computer at work, we went to Wheddon Cross on Exmoor to see the Snowdrop Valley on a glorious sunny day. And I was so glad we did. It was quite early…
Number 3 in an occasional series: 1 was staplers, and 2 was caravans. I was amused to see in the latest fURNITURE@work catalogue™ that office chairs obviously have very high opinions of themselves – well, some at least. In the lead, we have some very noble cities: Torino, Rome, Milano, Quebec, Athlone,…