Great Mullien

I first took a pic of this species around 25 years ago. A very distant shot on slide that turned out to be not very good.

Saw 6 or 7 plants growing on a border in Kingston and kept a careful watch then - at last they blossomed. I shall try to get some seed and plant them in my gravel patch. I don't know how long the flowers will last but they are very pretty.

Love-in-a-mist

Found there are four different colour flowers in my mixed seed set. They came up well from last years self seeded plants.

Most of the other stuff except the "Green Manure" seems to have lost itself..

Grass snake  

Going down to Kingston Seymour saw this unfortunate snake on the road. Why do drivers like to kill things with their car wheels?
Grass snakes do no harm to people but, some folk like to kill anything they can with careless driving, hedgehogs for eample. Hedgehogs are now rarely seen in Clevedon, I reckon because people are slaves to garden styles and have  left no cover for them in the garden. The same thing with birds, bushes are "out" patios are "in". Consequence is, no thrushes or blackbirds nesting places and no birdsong in the early morning. . 

Variegated rose

My variegated rose has lasted through another winter. Pushed through the honeysuckle and is blooming again. Not bad for a 99p plant from Lidl's it adds a touch of colour to the greens on the vine and honeysuckle.

Yellow iris Iris pseudocorus

Stopped on the way through Ham Lane to take pix of these flowers.

Not often you see 'Flags' encouraged to grow nowadays. Too many machines engaged in ditching and keeching they get so they ripped out.

Ash trees in Cleeve Toot quarry

Drove Martin out to a garage in Wrington. Stopped at Cleeve Toot on the way.

Amazing how something so soft as an ash tree rootlet can squeeze into a crack and then expand to split the stones.  

Durbin's Myrtle Cottage in Old Street - circa 1880's?

WOW ! !. what a beauty.
Message from Jane where is it? Confusing because it has the edge of one of the Cottle's Cottages that were built sideways on to the road. This stretch was called Union Street in the early census. Originally Joseph Gurney's shop in 1832 with Candy and Vicarage's Union House diagonally opposite. By the time I saw the Emails Jane had sorted where it was. What a shame that Rose Cottage around the corner has never had a picture turn up so far.

The "Ivat" Stanier Black Five at Yatton

Surprising what can be found on the net.
I looked up the loco on Google It seems that when the black fives were designed by Stanier they all had small coal bunkers following the 'Midland' designers of the LMS combine.
Ideal for shifting coal trains and local traffic, but not so useful for long hauls. Then Ivat designed a cut off to the bunker and added a tender making them a good long distance runner.
I think I should have cloned out that intrusive arm, however it doesn't really matter on this pic. 

I made the home page pic on Morguefile ! !

Found out this morning that I made the home page picture on Morguefile.

Pleased as punch about that and lively as a cricket too.

This in spite of the fact that there was something happened with the Smart-Idiot this morning.

Coming back from taking steam pix there was an unusual happening. I was traveling at around 25-30 mph. when I had a double effect on the front nearside wheel. Almost as though one brake had been applied to the wheel.

I told Martin and he checked but there was no probelm with the bearing, the brakes seemed Ok and there was no wheel shake when it was jacked up.  ? ? ?

Continuing to drive it very carefully. Ran Martin out to Kingston Seymour, came back didn't go over 30 mph.

Nothing happened.

Took my left ear hearing aid up to the outpatients dept. left it for the audiologist to put on a new tube to replace the broken one.

Hopefull I can pick it up - done Thursday.

Birnbeck Island and Pier Weston-s-Mare

Went down to Weson and filled in an odd half hour looking across at the island and pier from the higher road.

Shame to see the state the woodwork of the pier is in. Large holes in the decking and general scruffyness. Looks as though one of the buildings has lost its roof.

Would take a LARGE fortune rather than a small one to restore it.

Cotoneaster Sp;

Coming back from getting my pension I noticed the Cotoneaster flowers on the Morrisons' bushes were well out.
I nipped off a sprig and took a few macro shots when I got home. The flowers on my big bush along the wall are not yet opened but the bees are busy probing into the buds now. 
10 dioptre lens on my Tamron 90mm lens gives 3 times lifesize approx.
I recently found my old Cobra flash reflector. Bought 2 for about £3 years ago. Out of curiousity I looked on Ebay, One offered for £9.99 plus postage on top.

Lots of good stuff.

As I was leaving Yatton I noticed a skip by the side of the hall.
It seems a shame that so much good stuff is thrown away. Builders cannot use it because once used it is secondhand  The plywood was quite thick and the made-up piece with timber on was large too.
3x2 inch timber and 1 inch thick ply. If I was driving a pick-up instead of the Smart-idiot it would have traveled back with me. 

Union of South Africa with the Duchy excursion

Went down to the Horsecastle farm crossing at 20 to 9. Crowded. So I went  to Yatton station.  Not so many there although by the time the train was due there were more. I wish the up platform was a long as the down one. The reason I wanted to use the farm crossing was to get her pulling away but all you can see at Yatton station is carriages rather than locomotive.. 

Changing fields

Drove Martin down to his workshop. As we went by the Kenn River bridge on the boundary saw a calfs leg bones on the road side.

Got down to Broadstone and there was a flock of sheep being driven. Usual thing is to see them in a trailer.

Took a few pix for the record.

I told Martin I would look in to Riverside Farm on the way back and mention about the calf bones.

Got to talking when I was there, Andrew said if a stillborn calf dropped it was easy for foxes to detach a leg and carry it off. They had not lost a calf.

I mentioned a pic taken years ago probably in the1920's of the model T Ford with my father talking to Mrs Griffin when her husband managed the farm for Mr House. Promised to do a copy for him. Then found that it was one of the ones lost when the hard drive played up.

Jane had a print but it was very light. I jiggled it with the histogram and the 4870 scanner did a good job for me.

Tweeked it and got details in the wall and darker a little all over.

Atrium Nailsea School.

Took this when I was covering the Nailsea Flower Show for Carol Deacon and the Nailsea People internet paper. I wonder if the paper will continue to flourish now they have cut the staff numbers. 

Many of the numerous societies have no idea of how to promote their publicity - public-wise - 

If it had not been for the mess up with my internet connection it would have been posted then.

Not all that fond of modern architecture but this I did like. Airy and light leaving useful space especially when you think of classroom changes and milling pupils 

Sygnets hatch 

The swans with a nest beside the road in Kingston had 5 little cygnets hatch out.
Cob had changed his pattern of waiting in the field opposite and was standing on the roadside guarding.
I noticed a broken egg shell and Sunday I stopped and after a while he realised I meant no harm and moved back. I didn't risk getting out but to a few pix from my seat in the Smart idiot.
A blow from a swan's wing is hard enough to break a bone in the arm. 
It made up a little for the disappointment of the Union of South Africa being withdrawn and a stinking diesel replacing it on the Duchy Express. Hope they can solve the "hot-box" trouble soon enough for next week-end.

Hawthorn blossom Crataegus monogyna 

A bit stupid this morning. I went down to take steam pix of "The Union of South Africa" Mallard Class A4.
Wondered why there had been no-one show up at Horsecastle crossing and realised it is on the 2nd June NOT the 1st.
Hawthorn blossom is showing well in the hedgerows and I took a couple of pix to post on Morguefile and Flickr.
Also some of what I think could be ragwort but the leaves seem to be wrong from the pictures in the wildflower books.- Posted a composite on Flickr to see what they think in the Flora and ID Please groups.