We went to the Malvern Autumn show, I think this is the 3rd year we have attended, it was nice as always, it has a good atmosphere and loads to see and do - retro is really in, not only in some of the stalls but also evident in some of the visitors.

There was, as always, craft people there ranging from lampwork beads by Lush Lampwork and Fiona Sands, Woodwork, ceramics, jewellery of all types, wool,felt and multitudes of fabrics both made up into clothing and in kit form for you to make into your own creation,  breads, cakes, sweets, honey,  beer, cider, perry, meat of all sorts and cuts, - a bit of a foodies heaven really.

a strong agricultrural heritage drive was evident as you would expect with lots of old steam engines and tractors - some fantastic vintage cars and caravans as well as a 'bygone times' tent with a old fashioned tea room type of thing was also there.











The main theme of course was autum festival and harvest - its the time of apples and pears - and what you make out of them

How many varieties of apples are there - well being as apples dont seed true to parent every apple seed is a 'new' variety really but not all are worth eating or juicing etc so here are a few that are worth saving and using

Pears, well I will refrain from the old hack comment and simply say - love them all and the Perry is rather nice, they also make an interesting spirit from them.








There was of course the country 'sports' tent - whatever your views they are part of our current country life and community, for me the wildlife trusts, the hawking and the owl trust were of interest

A couple of their rescue birds, there really is no excuse for cruelty to animals, even stupidity does not cover it.The work the rescue societies do on our behalf is to be applauded and supported in any way you can, whether it is getting physically involved, financially involved or simply reporting animal abuse when you know of it - it all helps protect our wildlife and our overall environment, too many forget we are part of the environment and we damage it at our cost




A final area of interest is always the flower and vegetable shows/displays, who can grow the biggest veg etc.I really dont see the point of a cabbage that needs a fork lift truck to move it - do they eat it after - or waste the food? Does it taste worth eating - as for the biggest carrot or swede, why? Anyway, I suppose it gives a lot of people enjoyment and fun and something to do on the allotment and thats better than sitting in front of the moron box - fair enough.

One last photo for Verity, being the autumn show - halloween featured in the flower displays - a mask for halloween

Overall a really nice day out and lots of interesting things to think about, new plants for the garden and seeds for the allotment

Well this week is the end of one major time in our lives and the beginning of another. This week we took our youngest daughter to Falmouth to start her University course. She was successful in gaining a place on the Marine and Natural History Photography course there, me jealous ? Okay yep its true, but so happy for her to get to do something she loves and has a passion and talent for.

So after completing her PADI license open water dives last weekend in a cold and murky quarry near Chepstow she now has the pleasure of doing her advanced dives in the sea around Falmouth. Ha, now a licensed mermaid with attitude

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We drove down on the Thursday, all things considered it was the nearest thing to a holiday we were going to get this year so a few days taking in the scenery and to enjoy a full day at the Eden Project was the plan, if you have not been I strongly advise you to visit there if you like conservation, gardens, tropical plants etc . The Biomes are fantastic, but only a part of the story, each year there seems to be more to see and do there. This year in the tropical biome the tree top walkway (stage 1) was open and the high vantage point – they have also introduced butterflies, to see them in such a natural setting is a great pleasure, and provides a challenge to get a good photo!

Tropical Biome

The High view

Butterfly watching

Carolina anole Lizard

Tree Nymph Butterfly

Some of the clean up crew

The Falmouth Uni campus Verity is staying at is at Penryn, a very nice town with amongst many other attractions a fab café, Miss Peapods Café, and a great Scuba shop, SeaWays Dive Centre– yep – more gear needed, turns out they will be the guys doing her dive management through the course so good to know them and a great place to source her gear from. Then a short walk back to the car park. A small stream was visible by the side of the road over a wall and WOW, not one but two Kingfishers flying up and down the stream not 5 yds from where we were standing, how awesome ! They really are living jewels, the colours are so vibrant and the iridescence dazzles in the sunlight. That was a first for all three of us so a great omen for the start of her new adventure.

The decision was made to say goodbye on the Saturday afternoon rather than the Sunday and so Yoke and I decided to go to a beach after dropping Verity off at campus. She had plans to make cupcakes for the other flatmates in her flat. The accommodation is split into 8 rooms to a flat with a shared kitchen.The really nice thing was that Veritys friend from Bridgend college, Charlotte, who is also got into Falmouth is in the same flat by pure luck or admin planning.  We left to go back to where we were staying near Helston, so decided a beach walk at Porthleven would be nice, a really nice seaside town. The weather suited our mood being a bit grey and down but it was okay, I took a few scenery shots on the beach then noticed a guy with a bodyboard, don’t often get the chance to do ‘sports’ shots like this unless you are in the wet as well so I took advantage of the opportunity of the high ground as it were

Dropping in

 

He certainly looked like he was having fun

Then back home to the three cats who wanted a lot of fuss as well as food so I guess they missed us.

1st September

Took a trip out to Merthyr Mawr to see what we could find, it was warm and sunny with a bit of a breeze, it is a large sand dune nature reserve near Ogmore, long time ago it was part of a single dune system that stretched all the way to Kenfig see here for details -

http://www.ccgc.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes/national-nature-reserves/merthyr-mawr.aspx

It was a pleasant afternoon with a few nice photos taken, we found one spot  under the trees with a few shrooms

This one seems to be Death Cap - Amanita phalloides from my investigations - deadly poisonous - no cure, nice.

This one is Brown Roll Rim - Paxillus involutus, also not good for you, you may live but may not want to while it works its way through.

This is a Russula sanguinea  - no common name - not as bad as the others but you probably dont want to eat it, pretty though








a friendly little place with so much scope for 'dont get mad get even'  only joking

Anyway, moving on in the sunshine looking for other photogenic subjects I think this is my favourite of the day, right by the side of the path

Common Lizard - Lacerta vivipara, the bramble flower gives you a idea of the size  - it was curled up on one leaflet of the bramble leaf - sweet

then of course there are the butterflies - good old Common Blue , never fails to deliver when you want a photo, so long as you have patience and a slow approach

Common Blue mating - Polyommatus icarus

Now heres a Jolly Green Giant, was a bit amazed at just how large these guys are 40-55mm

Great Green Bush Cricket - Tettigonia viridissima






he was not happy to sit still and as they can bite I decided not to hold him up for a better photo

the last nice spot was a orb spider dining on a grasshopper, not nice for the grasshopper but a reasonable photo opportunity

No comon name but latin - Araneus quadratus
The quadratus is about the identifying 4 pale spots on the abdomen, the colour and other markings are variable







in all a great walk with some interesting spots - nothing rare - shrooms aside, not really rare but uncommon,  but nice.

I was actually looking for Autumn Ladies Tresses, I photographed them there about 25 years ago on slide film - pre digital - so I would like to get them again.  A very pretty flower but not easy to find - look it up to see why !