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Monday 9 January 2012

A walk around the block

I did something different yesterday. I went for a walk! Yeah and?..... I hear you say, well to my shame the last time I went 'around the block' here was on a horse, and that must have been about 5 years ago at least. In fact I think I've only walked our closest round trip (about an hour) once ever. I get so bogged down with jobs to do around the garden that I don't walk around here for any reason other than to go to another house in the hamlet. I just don't walk for pleasure.

So as my major New Year's Resolution is to try to spend less time gardening (or at least, growing so much and therefore having to deal with the harvest) thus have more time to do other things like going out and walking and birdwatching, and very much inspired by my friend Brittanygirl's blog http://livingin22.blogspot.com/ and her meanderings up the lane with her camera, I sugested to my OH we go for a walk. He nearly fell over with shock but was happy to oblige.

I took about 65 photos hence the walk took well over an hour. Don't worry I'm not showing them all here! Click on any of the photos to see them full size. 

A favourite fly tipping place just up the road;
someone has now put up a notice and dumped
a pile of branches in the way so let's hope this makes a difference
Looking back over my wooded garden, a little haven for wildlife.
My house is hidden by the trees.
'My' stream, 'le ruisseau de la Lande Huard'
several fields upstream, beside the road
Look what was beside it - I'll know for next Xmas!
The mark of one's wealth in these parts is measured
by the size of one's woodpile.....
Just a typical wintery landscape
A cross, just beside the road.
I have no idea of its meaning.
Apologies to anyone religious reading this
but really, this wasn't exactly carved
by a master mason was it? It did make us giggle!

Gorse and mistletoe, both common around these parts
My house, barn and duck and chook sheds from the lane.
We rarely drive up here so don't see this view very often!
Coming back into the hamlet.
There are a lot of these stone walls, part of the land
that once belonged to the two manor houses.
At the entrance to my neighbour's drive -
it looks so colourful I want one! I think it's a Viburnum.
The wreck on the corner; that's my orchard on the left
My orchard and looking up the lane towards my house
on the right. The grass verge has been trashed
by a huge JCB as the new family who have moved into
the hamlet are having a new septic tank installed.

Still here? ;-) I've had to pare the photos down considerably so have missed out a load that I took of trees, but that's for another blog posting. I had a lovely time and really must get out and about more often!

7 comments:

  1. I also went for a walk on Sunday, It ended up as a 3 mile walk around the lake at Huelgoat followed I might ad by a beer in a bar overlooking the lake.
    I have also succumbed to blogger by the way it was getting to dificult with the HTML on my www.living-in-brittany.co.uk site I shall keep it going but without the blogging bit which will now be on http://lifein-france.blogspot.com

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  2. I don't know why but your comment was put in the spam bin! I've 'followed' you and will have a good look tomorrow.

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  3. If it is Viburnum and you can wait, I can take some cuttings for you off my mini plants. Only prob is at the mo the little bl**ders look like they're going to flower............ OO 'Im in Brit'ney

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  4. Aha, my OH said Cotoneaster but I thought the berries weren't right - I think it's Cotoneaster Lacteus and apparently birds don't like the berries .... well I will be nabbing a cutting off the neighbour's bush. Mr Mouse a lot of Viburnums flower in winter ... I already have several mini shrubs from last year's cuttings that I don't know where I'm going to put so let yours get a bit bigger then I'll think about it OK!

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  5. You can always put them my way should I ever get round to sorting mon petit jardin................. ;-)
    Monsieur Souris

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  6. Some of them ARE destined for your garden - I hope I am talking to the Mr Mouse that I think I am.... couple of different Weigelas and a couple of different kinds of dogwoods - of the red and orange bark in winter kind.

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  7. Just love dogwoods that bark................. :-) Et c'est moi, A Nony Mouse............

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