Ripples in the sky
Blue and white
Stripes like the side of a fish
A mackerel gliding
Swimming over us
In cold beauty
Or a doves wings
Flapping in slow motion
Stop and go animation
Leaving white shadows
across the sky…
Mackerel sky
Tag: Photo
Coffee pot
A coffee pot decorated with a dragon. My parents got this tea and coffee set for their wedding in the 1950’s. It was rarely used and was mostly stored in a glass fronted cabinet in the parlour or ‘best room’. Considering we were a large family the room wasn’t used except for Christmas and sometimes birthdays. That is why the coffee and tea set survived I think! I guess the set wasn’t that old because some of the decorations are done with what looks like an air brush, the colours look sprayed on, not painted on parts of the body of the pot.
Coat on chair
Woollen tweed coat, maybe Harris tweed? The wool woven on a Scottish Island into multicoloured flecks that look brown at a distance. Tweed was often dyed with natural dies, for example onion skins to make yellow or heather and lichens. Then steeped in a mordant to ‘fix’ the dye. A mordant is a chemical that prevents the dye running if the cloth gets wet. Urine was often used. It used to be collected from residents for the process.
Tweeds are very insulating, they can absorb a lot of rain water but still keep you warm. The sheeps wool is very useful for making materials like felt too for caps and hats.
Window
I see all ways
Up, down, side to side
A window on the world
No where to hide.
Flying through space
Into the distance
Blackbird swoops
Sings and spirals
In joy and love.
Like my heart
In the summer
Like a butterfly
Fluttering.
A pumpkin
Just a black and white photo of a pumpkin on a polkadot tablecloth. It’s come up on my gallery because I decided to clear some of the older photos on my phone and to optimise them because the files are too big… Now I’ve got over a thousand pictures in my June 2022 file, and they are all mixed up! Ideally I need to go through ll my files and delete all the old unwanted ones, but I’m too attached to them. Plus I’m seeing images I haven’t seen for over two years!
Turn around?
When you hang up a hanging basket make sure it’s facing the right way! This was a bit heavy and we just hung it up without looking which was the right way. It needs turning 180° but it will have to wait. It’s been watered and it’s a lot heavier now. Mind you there are begonias about to flower on this side, I might leave it a few days and see how it develops. Gardening is great, you can never tell exactly how things will turn out.
I like snakes
When I was little we had a talk at school about snakes and reptiles. At the end the person giving the talk gave us a chance to hold a snake. A lot of the girls were scared, they thought they would be slimy and cold. I don’t think I was scared so I put my hand up and got called forward. I ended up with a snake wrapping itself round my arm. The scales were dry and shiny and beautifully patterned. It was so interesting that a few years later I was at a nature display and held a six or eight foot long python across my shoulders. I also went to an open day a few years ago and held this snake (well it wrapped itself round me). I’ve also found that I quite like tarantulas. I would not have either as a pet, but I do think taking a look at things like this isn’t as scary as it looks, as long as they are not venomous!
Winkhill Mill
I haven’t been back to Winkhill Mill in Stoke for a few years. When I did it was a thriving pottery making artistic tiles or other ceramics. I went to an exhibition about Minton tiles there. I do wonder if it’s still working after the pandemic. I was pleased with this photo that I took as the sun was starting to set.
I did it!
I thought it would look good! Symmetrical fun! It would be great to actually have plants that were this shape. Perhaps a bit of genetic engineering? Why not have fun with your photos? Keep an eye out for things that might make a pattern and use something like the layout app I have on my phone to get creative…..
Overflow
Overflow to a lake or pond. I was stuck by how it was constructed with something that looked like a cartwheel to stop people or things falling in? A bit flimsy. Perhaps it needs a grating or lid on top. Still the moss on the spokes was very natural. The water must be quite clean x
Mallaband-Brown 