Devon,

Posted on December 5, 2023 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged country, Countryside, county, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2143, Devon, England, Holiday, Memory3 Comments

Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it?

Dark cliffs that people sometimes dive off, sandy coves and dark rock pools. Big city Plymouth with it’s summery vibe, small shops in narrow streets in historic villages. Long drives overland to get to a beach half a mile away on the coast. There are lots of rivers and streams that need to be negotiated. The North coast and South coast are seperate by rolling green countryside and steep and craggy moorland. I want to go back. The old oak trees and cider are calling!

Wales

Posted on November 17, 2023 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged bara brith, country, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2122, Life, Mountains, Seaside, Snowdonia, tearooms, Wales, Welsh4 Comments

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I think I would move closer to the sea. Up a hill, away from flightpaths, with a lovely view. A small town nearby.

Wales is close enough so that I can still visit family and friends. I would ideally like a slightly bigger house so that people can stay.

Why a Wales retreat? I know the country to some extent. I have Welsh ancestors, I have family there. I am used to the weather and I think its slightly less polluted than England.

Recently I’ve thought about moving. It’s not in the forefront of my mind, but if I ever have the money I would like to spend my declining years visiting Welsh tearooms and eating bara brith cake, painting Welsh scenery and joining choirs!

Size matters

Posted on October 1, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged America, Australia, Britain, country, Distance, John O'groats, Lands End, large, Life, Size, small, Thinking6 Comments

I was just wondering how big the UK is relative to the USA. Turns out according to Google it’s 40 times smaller than the USA! (also 32 times smaller than Australia).

We can drive across the country in a day. I could drive for maybe two or three days North to South John O’groats to Lands end, although it has been done much faster. The direct distance is 603 miles, but the road distance is 837 miles. So driving over the limit at 83.7 mph you could drive it in ten hours. But if you drove at just 40mph you could do it in less than 24 hours!

Goodness knows how long it would take to drive across America and I guess it also depends where on the coasts you drive from. America is wider in the north than in the south?

Flitting

Posted on December 20, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Brain, country, Dream, Hidden, Movement, Photo, Picture, Poem, Poetry, Reality, Sight, TravelLeave a comment

My mind flits

From one thought to another

Over the same land

At different stages of coherence.

Dreams of silky seas

That were not mine

Or high mountain peaks

All is enfolded within.

Pictures taken by others

Hidden folds and valleys

Corrugations of brain.

Dream travel can be overwhelming

Or limited to a single room

Hidden meaning or memory.

Then the cotton thread snaps

And you wake,

To grey darkness

Stuck back in reality

Only a thin film away

But so far

From dream country.

Tree

Posted on February 23, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Ash, Climate change, country, Damage, Dying, Fungi, Life, Nature, Oak, Photo, TreesLeave a comment

Trees are huge, yet delicate. Branches, stems, twigs. So much to see, so hard to draw. Mature trees are suffering damage all the time now. Gales blow down limbs, rain undermines their roots. Fungi and bacteria, so small, can lay a tree low. Sudden Oak Death, Ash die back, so many trees are disappearing from the country. Once it was Dutch Elm disease, now it could be any number of infections and lesions.

We are seeing the effect of the anthropocine, the effect of humans on the natural world. We need to change for the good of nature.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: country