My World Walbury Hill

Walbury Hill

On Saturday we met Gareth and Nina and the children at Walbury Hill, about an hour’s drive from each of our homes. It was a lovely bright sunny day but very windy at almost 1000’. We were able to look down on soaring red kites and up at gliders.

Walbury Hill is a favourite spot for gliders and paragliders. 

Lots of sheep in the distance on the rolling hills

Elliot chases after Eve and Louis towards Inkpen Beacon

A sombre sight

We walked to Combe Gibbet on Combe Down, sometimes called Gallows Down. The double gibbet, 25’ high, was assembled on top of a Neolithic burial mound in 1676 and was used only once. 

Gibbets are usually erected for one body

A married man from Combe and a widow from Inkpen were lovers who killed the man’s wife and son. The pair were tried at Winchester Assizes and hanged and their bodies were hung on either side of the gibbet as an awful warning to all other wrongdoers.

Casting more benign shadows today

The gibbet is not original but tradition decrees that once a gibbet has been erected it must remain.  The present construction is the sixth and has been in place since 1979.

We could see for miles . . .

Click here to see more worlds within this world.  

My World Tuesday

It was a fine, frosty morning yesterday but as the day grew up so the sun shone warmly. Our walk was a delight - the bluest of blue skies, the sweetest of bird songs and fresh, clean air to breathe. 

The waxing gibbous moon shone palely, surprised at its eminence in the sunshine.

There are a number of new ponds in the forest. 

They were dug out recently, in the last couple of weeks, so the surrounding ground still bears the scars carved in it by the heavy diggers and has yet to recover. The mallards are quick to discover new waterways. We see these drakes every year. They usually accompany a single duck but she was nowhere to be seen.

Book ends, anyone?

Preening is important. A chap's got to look his best!

Aircraft flew high above, little sound audible in the clear atmosphere.

This one is a British Airways aircraft. How do I know? The BA fleet is the only one whose planes have blue undersides.

 Vapour trails dispersed quickly, an indication of a fine day in prospect.

There had been some logging. The smell of pine resin was quite intoxicating.

Strange fruit in a Scots Pine. Can you see it?

Have a closer look . . . No?

There, now! It looks like an apple or maybe an orange. Odd! 

I wasn't with Barry on the day this fruit 'ripened'. 

 It is usually to be seen in a Labrador's mouth. 

Yes, it's a Kong - the orange thing, not Gus!

The one in the tree? Barry threw it rather enthusiastically and it caught in the branches. So it hangs, being tested by the elements. I wonder how long it will remain there. The Labradors are clever and persistent but tree climbing is not one of their skills - not to twenty feet, anyway.

This is the retrieval ground to which they are accustomed . . . 

 . . . or this, though this is not strictly 'ground'!

Thanks go to the My World Tuesday team who organise and host this weekly meme. Please click here to see other worlds.

My World Tuesday

Snow falls, giving everything a starkly stunning aspect. The air is as sharp and crisp as the snow crunching underfoot.

Outside the front door our corkscrew hazel (avellana corylus contorta) wears a thick coat of snow but the catkins hang down, ready to display their glory in a few short months’ time.

In the forest the dogs trot soundlessly, seeming to enjoy the sensation of the soft coldness beneath their paws. The scents are pungent to their sensitive noses.   

The sun breaks through the white-grey clouds to garland the tree tops with a lemon-gold crown. It contrasts strangely with the pure white snow.

Suddenly, we realise that the sun has claimed some trees as its own and covered them in gold.

A little further on it is as though we have chanced upon a magical kingdom, glowing within its icy boundaries. A warm hand has touched this region, a reminder of times past and yet to come.

The sky is huge  . . .

 . . . the trees loom and we are made sensible of our insignificance.

A dog’s –eye view . . .

. . . and Jenna wonders how long it will be before the snow and ice melt and she can swim again. A shrewd Labrador, she knows better than to attempt to walk on the pond’s unusual surface . . .

. . . but she and Gus dive enthusiastically into the undergrowth to retrieve their Kong while Frodo inspects an interesting sniff.

They emerge with a dredging of snow on their backs, looking like reverse Dalmatians before they vigorously shake themselves free.

Thanks go to the My World team who host this weekly meme. Click here to see more views of the world around the globe.

My World Tuesday on a Wednesday - November fog

Fog transformed our view of the world on Tuesday, lending mystery and enchantment.

All day damp tendrils clung to grasses and leaves, giving a soft focus to all. Scents of passing animals lingered in the still air, exciting the noses of our faithful friends. Sounds carried clearly through the mist – the sharp bark of a far-off dog, rustlings and creakings in the undergrowth. 

Thin shaves of ice rimmed the ponds, the water reflecting a pale sun valiantly trying to burn through.

Trees loomed like silent friendly giants, sheltering birds in their strong arms.

A patch of bright green showed off its sparkling diamonds, the taller grasses around protecting the treasure.

The sun made one last brave attempt to challenge the haze, casting its shafts between the branches of the dark trees, to no avail. It was too late. The day - a November day of quiet and solitude - had been slow to awaken and would soon return to slumber. 

Thank you to the team hosting this weekly meme.To see more people's worlds, please click here.