Wild fowl

Posted on July 14, 2019July 14, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Afternoon, Birds, Duck, Environment, Goose, Lake, Life, Pigeon, Staffordshire wildlife Trust, Sunshine, Swan, Tern, Water, Westport lakeLeave a comment

We just went for a walk round the small lake at Westport and decided to feed the birds. Mostly pigeon and Canada geese with a mix of a few others and some swans and ducks. I fed the pigeons by putting the food on the top of a fence. Once they were confident I tried holding the food out in my hand and they pecked the food while standing on the fence, finally they all took turns standing on my hand and pecking the food out of it. I only did it because I knew I could wash my hands afterwards.

The management of the lakes are now with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and the whole place looks more managed but wild if you see what I mean. Colourful poppies and other wildflowers surround the visitors centre. Drifts of nettles feed butterflies. I saw an electric blue damsel fly skittering about them. I also saw a peacock butterfly and a cabbage white.

We were sitting up on the balcony at the visitor centre when we saw a large carp in the lake. It’s pale colour meant it was visible from above. Looking at its size compared with some terns sitting on a piece of wood in the lake it must have been about 18 inches long.

An enjoyable afternoon.

Owl

Posted on July 11, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Barn, Barn owl, Blank verse, Environment, Flight, Life, Owl, Poem, Poetry, Rhyme, Short poem, WildlifeLeave a comment

Your wheel eyes stare

Soft feathers steady your body,

Feet reach forward

Toes and talons stretched

You swoop

Then up

Pushing down strong wingbeats

A small mammal caught,

Food for yourself or your fledglings.

Soft you whisper across the darkening landscape,

Home to the old barn.

Out of the rain.

Posted on July 11, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Environment, Fiction, Flood, Life, Rain, Sci fi, Short story, Storm, Story, Water, Weather2 Comments

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The storm blew in from the North like a runaway train. The wind threw water against the houses. Cars were lifted up by the flood and were caught on the top of the neat hedges that lined the sides of the street. Out of the maelstrom came a figure of a small man dressed in a black raincoat. Water streamed from him, it flowed out of his sleeves and trouser legs. Tears streamed in rivers from his eyes, nose, mouth and even from his ears.

He was called Beck and he was from the North. He was a water god and he had decided to show mankind his might because of the way the World was being treated. He was angry and the storm was growing into a tornado. He had seen the way forests were being cut back, cars clogging roads, ships travelling half way across the world to deliver the cheapest sweatshop goods.

Beck lifted his arms, words bubbled up from his mouth.

Learn or die! He screamed in a high voice. Learn, or, die !

This years baskets

Posted on July 11, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Back yard, Blogging, Colour, Flowers, Garden, Gardening, Hanging baskets, Life, Photos4 Comments

I took a few photos of them this morning. The sun wasn’t shining so I think they don’t look as bright as they could. There’s lobelia, fushia, begonia, surfinia, pelargonium, nemesia and other plants in them. There are other plants in the yard and I’ve taken a photo of the cala lily as well.

I broke the oven?

Posted on July 10, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Baking, Blogging, Bread, Cooking, Double oven, Fun, Humour, Learning, Life, Mistake, Reflections, Timer2 Comments

When I got in from choir last night my hubby was standing in the kitchen looking perplexed. He had some bread dough in a tin because he’d decided to make a loaf. He had attempted to light the oven but it would not light. It’s a double oven with a small oven/grill at the top and a main oven. He was convinced we would have to contact the shop we got it from or get hold of a repair service. I said let me have a look…

What I saw was an egg timer symbol and another one of a casserole dish. I tried pressing the ignition. Nothing happened. I looked again at the clock display. It was several hours out? Something was clearly wrong. I asked him if he had pushed any buttons? Yes to set the timer. I looked again and realised there must be a delayed start on the main oven as it showed a casserole dish shape with a little clock face on it. I dialled that down to zero, and the egg timer down to zero. Then I tried the ignition again… It lit! I checked why the top oven was blowing out hot air… He had the grill on with the door closed and he had thought the heat had been from the main oven, so he didn’t understand why the bread hadn’t started to cook. Finally he put the dough back in the oven. The resulting loaf (which is nice and tasty) is in the photo…

THUD! Patter, patter, patter……

Posted on July 10, 2019July 10, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Birds, Environment, Fun, Garden, Humour, Kitchen extension, Life, Magpie, Pigeon, Poem, PoetryLeave a comment

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On my kitchen roof

Bouncing around,

Pesky magpies and pigeons.

I like them,

Don’t get me wrong,

But just as I’m about to

Pour a coffee

THUD patter patter,

Or get the bread out of the oven…

THUD patter patter

Delicately lining up some icing

THUD! Patter…. Patter!

Do you have to?

You make me jump…

THUD!

Blue smile

Posted on July 9, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Artrage oils, Blogging, Blue, Digital doodle, Life, Poem, Poetry, Sad, Smile, Thinking2 Comments

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I see your blue smile

Sad and sorry

Waiting to leave,

Waiting for a second

Before you go.

Before the smile fades

And you start to cry

Seeing nothing but tears.

At least you had a smile

Once….

Words

Posted on July 8, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Books, Fun, Humour, Learning, Life, Playing, School, WordsLeave a comment

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Do you find yourself thinking of a word that just pops into your mind? I thought of a few today. Gestalt, Normality and Defunct all jumped into my head today.

Another day it could be crumble, grunge or fanciful, which is probably what this is.

I think I need sleep when I can dream of words chasing each other through the sky and over hills. Trundling into the sunset where they burst into brilliant petals.

Words are fun, they need using or abusing, but they definitely can make life interesting, exuberant and startling!

Moon and Jupiter

Posted on July 7, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Branches, Crescent, Jupiter, Life, Moon, Photo, Sun, Trees, View, WinterLeave a comment

Well you could barely see them really, but a few months ago , in winter, one dawn I saw the crescent moon and the planet Jupiter. The planet was up on a diagonal from the curve of the moon. Like a parachute blowing out of control in a strong wind, canopy downward and the planet swinging up and away into the morning sky. The branches made it hard to see, hard to locate, and as the wind was blowing the view was obstructed by the swaying trees. Most of the time the planet would be visible and the moon not and then vice versa.

So why am I telling you this? Because I spotted the photo and I wanted to practice describing it. I’ve mostly spoken about the Moon and Jupiter, not about the surroundings. The horizon. Is hidden by the line of shop roofs and tree branches. The sky has lightened but the sun is not up. The position of the sun (down and to the left) is indicated by the illumination on the moon (trust me it was a crescent curved downwards to the left). So that’s it. Not a story, a description.

Mystery Music

Posted on July 7, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Accompanying music, Boatband, Clay Chorus, Free event, Fun, Life, Penkhull, Penkhull mystery play, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, What's on in StaffordshireLeave a comment

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Where would the mystery play be without the music. This year as always provided by the brilliant Boatband and Clay Chorus choir.

I don’t want to give away the music or plot too much. But the singing covers dramatic action in the play. I know Clay have been learning the songs for a couple of months now and there are some poignant pieces to illustrate the conditions in the first half of the nineteenth century. We don’t realise just how much things have improved for both adults and children.

I think the audience are in for a treat this year if we all keep our cool and get it right.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life