Deer and Riverside

When the man (see yesterday) let the horses off the lead in the field, one of them continued to follow me, so I was a little relieved to be able to put a gate between me and him, if only because he was so big! I think he was just being friendly. He neighed a farewell to me!

A little further down the lane, I think as far as vehicles can go, is this old cottage, called Cophurst (I think). It is really quite remote, a good mile or more out of Bingley along the narrow track. It looks to have been renovated rather beautifully.

Over a stile and into a field and there were interesting things to discover - some lovely foxgloves beside an old drystone wall, and then a curious tank or trough that had a tiny stream running into it. I suppose it was intended to provide water for animals.

The walk I was following was called 'Deer and Riverside'. I'd seen plenty of riverside by this point, so I was delighted to see some deer too (fallow deer, I think, as they had dappled coats). Of course, they spotted me even quicker than I saw them and soon bounded off into the woodland. This part of the walk ran right down to the railway line. I'd often seen the area from the train so it was nice to explore it on foot. 

Ravenroyd

Ravenroyd farm is now run as an equestrian centre, and it looked busy and professional as I passed through. The public footpath goes round the side of the house and past some other buildings at the rear.

There was a gentleman leading some horses out to pasture, so they followed me right along the track. The gentle clip-clop of a horse's hooves is such an evocative sound, quite soothing. I noticed some of the horses wore net hoods, to protect against flies I think.

To Tong Park Dam

After I'd visited the Hall Cliffe Community Garden in Baildon, I walked down Ladderbanks Lane, past some very gracious old Edwardian villas and some quite attractive, modern 'executive detached' houses. Then I took an old footpath down to Tong Park Dam. The path is wonderfully overgrown, almost like a tunnel in parts, with huge oak trees underplanted with holly and hawthorn. The surface is lined with worn flagstones and the whole path is quite low down between banks, making it, I guess, a holloway: a sunken lane. There was once a mill at Tong Park and the lake was its mill dam, so perhaps the footpath was a route to work for some of the millworkers.

At the end of the path, the view opens out over the lake, with what must be one of the most attractively-sited cricket grounds in the area, sadly lying idle this summer.

There were some ponies in a field and, though they were quite small, I noted they had feathered feet like shire horses. I've done a little research without really reaching any conclusion but I see that gypsy horses, bred to pull the brightly painted Romany caravans, have a similar look so these horses may have some gypsy heritage.

Much of the area around Tong Park Dam is rich in wildflowers so it was no surprise to see some beehives, with honey bees flying in and out.

Nor was I surprised to see yellow rattle growing, a semi-parasitic annual that feeds off the nutrients in the roots of grasses. It therefore has a weakening effect on grasses and enables species diversity and a stronger growth of wild flowers. This is turning into a nature walk...

The Quiet Eye 2

Another meditative walk along the canal bank... I was walking so quietly and calmly that the sleepy heron didn't stir. I have noticed this year, more than usually, when the different plants appear. There was early blossom: blackthorn and cherry, then bluebells, wild garlic, hawthorn blossom. Now the hawthorn blossom has disappeared and we have the lacy white of elderflowers. They make lovely cordial and wine but the smell is so disgusting (cat pee!) that it puts me off picking it. It's pretty though.

Foxgloves are beginning to flower, and I love watching the fat bees crawling into the trumpets.

On the field edges there is red clover, with its attractively marked leaves:

and buttercups. The brown spiky things are, I think, some kind of plantain.

The bracken has grown high, quite suddenly, its curly tendrils unfurling.

I don't think I've ever really bothered to study grasses before but, even in a short stretch along the canal edge, there were lots of different kinds, all rather attractive when you look closely.

I found a discarded downy feather, perhaps from the swan that was gliding alongside me looking hopefully for some food. There had just been a gentle rain shower, leaving droplets of water on the barbs. The way the barbs interlock like zips has always fascinated me.

Cow parsley is in bloom. Some of its alternative names are prettier: lady lace, Queen Anne's lace, fairy lace.

and ox-eye daisies - a favourite of mine.

The spring-born lambs are growing fast and fattening up. There was just one black sheep in a field full of white - the product, I think of a recessive gene even though its parents may both have been white. The wool was (is?) considered less valuable as it can't be dyed, so 'black sheep' has become a derogatory term - someone who is a disappointment or a disgrace in a family. Personally, I thought this one was really cute.

The quiet eye

'In common things that round us lie

Some random truths he can impart,

The harvest of a quiet eye

That broods and sleeps on his own heart.'

Those lines were written by the poet William Wordsworth in the early 1800s (A Poet's Epitaph). I'd argue that they are as applicable to a photographer or an artist as a poet, perhaps more so. I'm interested in photography as a 'mindful' practice and lately I've been seeking to slow down and notice the 'common things that round us lie', often to be found in the smallest details. Here is the 'harvest of a quiet eye' from a recent walk. 

The pretty blue egg shell is, I think, a blackbird's egg. I couldn't tell if it had hatched properly and been discarded from the nest or been damaged by a predator.

Spring is beginning to segue into early summer. The hawthorn blossom is fading, the 'candles' on the horse chestnut trees are at their peak (cue lots of sneezing from me!)

In Trench Woods, along Shipley Glen, the lichen covered rocks and old tree trunks are sometimes almost indistinguishable from each other; trees have embraced the terrain through which they grow.

Then there's evidence of man's activity: an old gatepost stands in a field like a prehistoric standing stone in miniature.

Young calves were as curious about me as I was about them. Look at him! Big ears, whiskery nose, eyes perfectly set to see forwards and sideways. Not the most beautiful face, though perhaps his mother loved him...

Hirst Wood Reserve

HWRG, the Hirst Wood Regeneration Group, whose endeavours I mentioned yesterday, have been responsible for the hard work and planning behind the little nature reserve near Hirst Wood lock. I had a walk around it recently and enjoyed the sight of spring bulbs in flower and hints of buds on the trees. From its beginnings as a boggy field in 2015 (see HERE), and despite some vandalism, it has grown and blossomed (literally) into a very pleasant and fruitful area, enjoyed by the local community and schools. Very much a case of 'from little acorns, great oak trees grow'.

No self-respecting nature reserve is without its own bug hotel:

This one had quite a friendly cat too. It was sleek and well cared for, so I'm sure it has a proper warm, cosy home somewhere nearby and just comes down to the reserve for an adventure. It didn't really want its photo taking!

Three little pigs and other stories

Every now and again I realise I've amassed a few photos that, for one reason or another, I quite like but that don't really 'fit in' anywhere. Like the three sleepy pigs that I spotted in Wales....

and the other one with a hat on...

Or the litter shouting out from the side of the footpath...

And this is somewhere I've always wanted to visit, ever since I came to live in Bradford.... Idle is a district in the city and lends its name to many things that end up being mildly amusing. I was invited by some friends to a function in the church, followed by a reception at the Working Men's Club. I did notice that the list of past vicars at the church was entitled 'Vicars of Idle' rather than 'Idle Vicars'!

It puts me in mind of one of my favourite quotes:

'How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterwards.'

Have a good day! 

Heather

After seeing the heather in bloom at St Ives, Bingley the other day, I decided I'd take a walk on Haworth Moor, where there is more of it - or so I remembered. In fact, it seems to me to be declining even there, taken over by bracken and grasses. I don't think it's just my memory. I'm pretty sure there was a lot more of it ten or fifteen years ago. Climate change? Or the way the moors are managed now, perhaps. There is still, however, enough of it to give that lovely purple haze effect and the scent was gorgeous - a kind of soft, honeyed fragrance.

The moors are grazed by a few hardy sheep: the Yorkshire Swaledale breed, I think. For some reason, this little flock formed a (fairly) orderly queue as I approached. Sweet.

The land around Haworth Moor was quarried for stone and there are lots of dry stone walls, of a slightly different character to those higher up in the Dales. Many of them are collapsing, and don't seem to be maintained. Sheep-creeps or cripple holes are square holes in the wall that allow sheep to move from one field to another. In the photo below, the lintel has broken and the hole is no longer useable - but there were open spaces in the wall nearby anyway, so the sheep could move freely around.

Jump!

At Skipton Horse Trials, I found it wasn't too difficult to get good shots of the cross-country event, though much harder to get a 'great' shot. (I think you need someone to fall off into the water, to make a really great shot!) Spectators were free to wander the course, though you had to listen for the whistle that indicated a rider coming and make sure you were well-out of the way. I found it tricky to get the exposure right; a lot of my photos were underexposed. Ideally, you need light on the competitor's face and the horse with its ears pointed forwards. I was taking 'burst shots' where the camera takes a few frames in quick succession. Those with the horse beginning its leap were, on the whole, more successful than those where it was landing. They often look very awkward coming down.

There were several pro photographers, employed at strategic sites to get a shot of each rider. I think it must be fairly boring to just keep taking the same shot over and over. At least we amateurs could move around. Sadly, pros can apparently be a little bit selfish. We'd been waiting by the water jump for ages for the afternoon class to start. A pro came along and plonked himself right in everyone's sightline and refused to move, despite being asked politely to do so!

The white poles had signs to indicate to the riders which jumps were to be used. They proved to be a bit of a photographic nuisance! I cloned out two on the photo below, as they looked as though they were penetrating the horse's abdomen and made it look like one of those prancing horses on a fairground carousel. Other than that, I quite like the angle I got on this one: