Have you ever noticed how you get very tired doing nothing?? This morning I was all ready for a day in the garden. Rain stopped play and I stayed in all day doing nothing in particular. Every time I tried to settle to doing something, I became restless and drifted away from what ever it was. I've spent all day here, doing not very much, and now I'm exhausted. Oh well..............back to work tomorrow.......and tomorrows another day.

taken over the last week.

I've been trying to look for something nice in every day, and if I can't think of any thing then I go out and try to find something that looks good. One morning every thing was covered in frost. Another morning the light in my bedroom took my eye as I woke up. Then of course there is the sky and sea, always good for photos. I've not really done a lot of night time photography, my camera isn't good enough, but on that night it was raining so hard all the lights were reflected in the wet road. The last one is my little nest of rocks, pebbles that caught my eye on the beach and before that; a garden decoration which so far, I've not put in the garden. It was bought in a discount store, cost me very little but caught my eye. I like it indoors so much its not made it outside yet.

There was I, boots on, spinach seeds in one hand, onion sets in the other and as I opened the door................so the heavens opened and down came the rain. Oh well its early in the year, I'll just have to postpone for a while.

Etta James; I'd rather go blind.

I’d rather go blind; Etta James

One of the best……………….

Art Sunday; Art from Trash

This week I've been looking at recycled art, art made from 'stuff' that's been used and thrown away. It's surprising how many artists are now recycling rubbish and turning it into art.These are just a few.


http://forkartist.mosaicglobe.com/gallery/11720/image/155760

Ian trask turns old spoons into art.



Tim Nobel & Sue Webster
These artists  are best known for their art made from trash collected from the London streets, which shows an image when light is projected in front of it.


Tom Deininger
Deininger is widely known as a famous artist who upcycles junk into fine art installations.

Song Saturday; Carol King

Song Saturday; Carol King

I heard her playing on the radio today at work. That brought back memories, before getting rid of all my vinyl last year it was one of my favourite albums.

The Glass harp, music or a novelty?..............or both?

http://www.roberttiso.com/

I’m not sure if I should post this as ‘music’ or as a novelty act, but either way, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen or heard before. I found it fascinating and strangely hypnotic.
 The glass harp was first created in 1741 by an Irishman, Richard Pockrich: he is known as the first virtuoso of this instrument and started a completely new musical tradition.
Robert Tiso was born in London in 1968 and spent most of his life in Italy where he still lives. His musical education started at the age of 15 studying classical guitar and ever since has evolved in many directions. He studied music theory, composition and sound engineering with Paolo Marzocchi and has participated in some of his projects.

His interest for glass music began in 2000 when he was musical director of a theatre production for which he created and played his first glass harp.

Trumps fight against the wind turbines.

To cut a long story short…………..there are plans to build 11  huge wind turbines (supposedly 64 stories high) a mile and a half off the coast of the Menie Estate. If, they get built – and it looks like they will – Donald Tramp will have excellent views  of them from his golf course, from his clubhouse, from his hotel and from the luxury housing he plans ( planned)  to build around the site. As he says himself, the turbines are going to be 64 storeys high. You have to understand  Mr tramp is completely selfless in his quest to have this project stopped. His objections are purely on behalf of the Scottish landscape whose flawless beauty he is committed to preserving. I’ll bet you never knew the man was a conservationist, apparently he is. So upset, was he, by the potential damage wrecked upon our precious landscape that he is quoted as saying
 “Speaking both selfishly and as somebody who loves Scotland, the birthplace of my mother, I hope that the mistake of building these massive and visually destructive power plants is avoided. Don’t be misled. Your coastline will be forever ruined. Your wildlife will be devastated. And your valuable tax revenues wasted.”
How nice that he cares.
Unfortunately for him, and of course for the future of our coastline and wildlife, his friends in high places who supported his non damaging and non invasive onslaught into our environment, are no longer his friends when it comes to the wind farm.
Developing renewable energy is one of THE most important policies of Alex Salmond’s leadership. Previously, Salmond has been a Tramp supporter in the golf course saga. However, no golf course, however grand, is likely to have any where near the support of a renewable energy project. To Mr Tramps utter bewilderment, Alex Salmond is offering zilch support in his protests over the wind farm. Maybe poor Mr Tramp doesn’t read the papers, maybe he didn’t realize there’s not a lot the Scottish government takes more seriously than renewable energy, and the jobs it will offer.
Now Mr Tramp is apparently threatening to abandon the whole golf course project if ( when) the wind turbines get the go ahead. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Read the whole thing, it’s a good read.
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/golf/tom_english_trump_will_either_win_you_over_or_run_you_over_1_2064363

Pictures taken last September

Just been doing a bit of a tidy up on the computer and came across these. I'd forgotten about them. This is just what I needed, it makes a pleasant change from the brown earth, grey sky and silhouette trees.

Garden 2012 no 1

Garden 2012 no 1

Only January 22 and I’ve just spend most of the day in the garden. I can’t think of another year when I started so early. My biggest fear is that we will have severe march weather and lose every thing that is budding so early.
There’s not that much I could do, even though it was dry sunny and not too cold, it’s too early in the year to do very much. I set up the 3 potato barrels and the strawberry planter in a new position where I hope they will get more sun.

I’m not replacing my strawberries this your so it was just a case of moving the tub and then next time I’m out there I can tidy them up and make sure they look OK for this year. The potato barrels are full of compost that is fed, watered and waiting to accept the seed potatoes. The seed potatoes themselves are chitting away on a shelf. I’ll get those planted as early as I can.
I've filled fed and watered two big green tubs and three grey tubs ready to plant more veg next month. I've not quite decided what i'll be growing in these tubs but when I do decide.......they are ready.

All the good allotment books seem to think you can start to force the rhubarb in January by covering the crowns with pots. I’m not sure this will work, some of the crowns barely show above the earth, and the stones on top of the pots are my idea, an attempt to keep them in my garden next time the high winds come. It will be nice if it does work, if not I’ll just lat nature do its own thing next year.

It’s a bit too early to do very much with the herbs. They should all come up again this year and they do need a little weeding, tidying and feeding, but for now I’ve just collected them all together and positioned them in the garden in the position I think is best for them.

I obviously did the right thing  in November last year when I planted my runner beans and garlic. They are both shooting now and if I get to harvest them early enough I may even get two crops this year.

I planted bulbs in between the lavender and heather late last year and they are all shooting as well, I should get a good show of colour later in the year.

And lastly, I salvaged three little decorative bird feeders that were being thrown away, they are looking good around my pond and last time I looked out of the window, there was a little robin sitting on one of them.

My Grannys Garden by Kaylah age 8

The title says it all really. And she wasn't even at my house,
she painted it from memory.

I think any one of you would recognise my garden from this painting.
It now hangs on my kitchen wall and I love it. 

Art Sunday Jennifer Thomson Scottish Artist.

Art Sunday; Jennifer Thomson

all information from website below.

http://www.jenniferthomson.com/

 Jennifer began her painting career ten years ago when she gave up teaching art to paint full time. She has a keen following and her sell-out exhibitions typically open to a queue of eager buyers.

 Her success lies in her ability to observe the subtle, humorous moments in everyday life. She skilfully captures the personality of the places she paints as well as the characters she finds there.

Jennifer's work is influenced by the work of The Naïve Artists with their simple compositions and their use of bright colours.

I hope you enjoy looking at her originals, prints, cards, placemats and other gifts on her website. These are just a few of the paintings you can see there.

Art Sunday; Louise Allardyce

Louise Allardyce Scottish Artist

http://www.louiseallardyce.com/about

ALL INFORMATION FROM ABOVE WEB SITE.

Louise Allardyce was born in Glasgow and brought up in Aberdeen, Scotland. She studied Tapestry at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 1992. Her final year work was a combination of drawing and sculptural installation inspired by the sea.

Since leaving art college Louise has continued to explore new ideas and processes, practicing her love of drawing and painting on location.

While living in Oxford, she drew inspiration from allotment produce and animals, using this as the basis of woven tapestries.

She exhibited in a variety of galleries and trade events, including the Country Living Spring Fair (Business Design Centre, Islington) and was showcased in Country Living magazine.

Returning to Aberdeenshire in 2002 to bring up her young family, Louise has continued to take private commissions and is currently building a body of new work inspired by local landforms; documenting ancient land features that remain untouched among the intensive agriculture.

Louise’s painting is highly intuitive. Her work is borne out of many hours in-situ where speed of execution is dictated by the subject matter, capturing the movement, light and freshness of the outdoors.

Song Saturday; Peter Gabriel, Solsbury Hill.

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
 I could see the city light
 Wind was blowing, time stood still
 Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
 Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
"Son," he said "Grab your things,
I've come to take you home."
To keepin' silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Tho' my life was in a rut
"Till I thought of what I'd say
Which connection I should cut
 I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
 "Hey" he said "Grab your things
 I've come to take you home."

When illusion spin her net
 I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
 My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" I said "You can keep my things,
 they've come to take me home."

Scottish Independence

http://home.scotland.gov.uk/home

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Energy-sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Scotland


http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/HCOU-4UCGGJ

http://devolutionmatters.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/the-2012-olympics-and-the-barnett-formula-an-end-to-the-row/

http://www.nfus.org.uk/farming-facts/what-we-produce

WARNING;
THIS IS A PRETTY LONG READ,
AND FOR SOME PROBABLY A BIT BORING,
 BUT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY I THINK SCOTLAND
SHOULD GAIN INDEPENDENCE
READ ON

Scottish Independence is THE hot topic of conversation again and the question most people ask is ‘could Scotland survive on her own? My answer to that………oh yes.
The assumption seems to be that Scotland would be more vulnerable and less economically viable as an independent Nation. It’s a common belief that England subsidises Scotland financially and without those subsidies Scotland’s economy would collapse, taxes would rise and living standards would fall. My standard response to that is ‘’Independence is not primarily a matter of economy it’s about national Identity and the right of a Nation to self determination’’.  And I do believe that, but I also believe Scotland would flourish politically and economically as an Independent Nation. There’s not one single reason why an Independent Scotland should fail.
To put it into some sort of perspective compare Scotland with Norway
Scotland has a population of 5.2 million, Norway has a population of about  4.9 million.
Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower. Norway, is a net exporter of energy.
Scotland has some of the best energy resources in Europe, and is a net exporter of electricity. At present it has a generating capacity of 10.1GW primarily from coal, oil and gas with some nuclear generation. This is supplemented with an ever increasing amount of renewable energy.
Gas and oil
The great majority of the UK's oil production and around half of its gas production comes from fields based in the continental shelf around Scotland, and mines in Scotland are responsible for around a quarter of the UK's coal production.
Fossil fuels are a finite resource which is why Scotland's ability to produce renewable energy is so important but; while the UK still has fossil fuels most of it is produced off the coast of  Scotland. Considering Scotland has a population of only 5 million compared to the total UK population of almost 70 million, Scotland has a huge advantage when it comes to energy production and energy potential.
Renewables
Scotland has been identified as having vast potential for the development of renewable energy.  There is potential wave, tidal and wind power in abundance. Scotland's wind and seas hold some of the most concentrated potential not only across the UK and Europe, but in the world, with an estimated 25% of Europe's offshore wind and wave potential and 10% Europe’s tidal capacity.
Scotland accounts for around nine per cent of the UK's total energy consumption, but is rich in energy resources. Around 20 per cent of the electricity generated in Scotland NOW is exported to the rest of the UK, as the renewable energy becomes more available, Scotland’s energy excess will increase leaving more and more energy available for export. With nearly 7 gigawatts of renewable energy now either, installed and producing, or in the pipeline, Scotland is expected to meet its target for renewables to generate 100 per cent of gross annual electricity demand by 2020, just 8 short years away. I would say that any nation with the potential to be self sufficient in renewable energy by 2020 AND  have the capacity to export energy,  is not a nation that need worry about its economy.
Wave and tidal energy
Scotland possesses a huge wave and tidal energy resource; the potential exists to generate far more electricity than would ever be needed from wave and tidal energy sources in the waters around the Scottish coast. Wave energy is intermittent but relatively predictable, whereas tidal current energy is intermittent but largely predictable. Some of the best resources in the world for wave energy are located off the north-west coast and northern tip of Scotland - the world's first commercial wave energy device continues to produce  power on the shoreline at Islay.
 Wave and tidal energy will make a very important contribution towards meeting  future demands for electricity; that is why  Scotland  helped fund the construction of the European Marine Energy Centre on Orkney. This Centre is a world class facility for the development, testing and accreditation of marine energy generation and delivery systems.
Biomass energy
Apart from fossil fuels, biomass is the only other naturally-occurring, energy-containing carbon resource large enough to be used as a substitute for fossil fuels. Biomass includes plant matter, vegetation and trees, as well as waste biomass such as municipal solid waste (MSW), municipal biosolids (sewage) and animal wastes (manures), forestry and agricultural residues, and certain types of industrial wastes. Unlike fossil fuels, biomass is renewable in the sense that only a short period of time is needed to replace what is used as an energy resource. Biomass is also held to be "carbon neutral", in that the amount of carbon it absorbs while growing is the same as the amount it produces when burned. Scotland has a potentially huge wood fuel resource arising from its forests and associated timber resource. Biomass energy could be extremely valuable in Scotland, given its lack of intermittency, its ability to meet local and small-scale energy needs and its potential to provide and sustain jobs.
Solar energy
Scotland’s long hours of summer daylight and demand for heat and hot water even when it's sunny makes it a prime candidate for the development of solar energy technologies. Solar applications are usually small scale and can supply electricity or heat on a domestic scale which is probably why solar panels on the roofs of houses are becoming a common sight across Scotland.
The energy industry is big business in Scotland, Aberdeen is the oil capital of Europe. This puts the country in the unique position of already having the business expertise, infrastructure and work force ready willing and waiting for the industry to diversify into renewables as the North Sea Oil and gas becomes scarcer.
Water
Scotland has an abundance of fresh pure water. In Scotland, public drinking water and sewerage services are provided by a public sector corporation, Scottish Water, which is accountable to Scottish Ministers and through Ministers to the Scottish Parliament. In England and Wales these services are delivered by private profit led companies.
Scottish Water operates within a regulatory framework established by the Scottish Parliament in which Scottish Ministers, acting on behalf of the people of Scotland, set the objectives for the industry to be delivered at least cost to customers.
The water industry contributes to the Scottish Government's Strategic Objectives, specifically the objective ‘’ A wealthier and Fairer Scotland’’
Unlike other parts of the UK Scotland has more water than it will ever need, in fact there have been suggestions that water could be exported from Scotland to England.
BUT;
important though they are, a country can’t survive on energy and water alone.
The Economy of Scotland
The Scottish labour market has performed better than the UK as a whole during the last year (2011). Over the year employment in Scotland has risen by 14,000 while unemployment has fallen by 14,000. Scotland's employment rate is higher than in the UK (71.2% vs. 70.2%), and unemployment is  lower (8.0% vs. 8.3%).
There is a slow recovery in the Scottish economy which is continuing, but along with the rest of the world, recovery is fragile. This says more about the world recession than it does about Scotland’s ability to survive in the world independently. The very fact that some progress has been made is encouraging.  Output in Scotland grew by 1.1% last year.
The economy of Scotland is closely linked with the rest of the UK and Europe. When assessing the economy of Scotland; the revenue from North Sea oil and gas is never included, but all monies passed from Westminster to Scotland are, which makes it appear as if Scotland’s outgoings are greater than its incomes. However, it’s widely accepted if North Sea revenues were included in the equation, as they would be in an Independent Scotland, Scotland would have a small budget surplus. In 2011-12, North Sea oil and gas is forecast to generate £13.4 billion in tax revenue, a record high in nominal terms. And over the five years from 2011-12 to 2015-16 it is forecast to raise £61 billion in tax revenue, 35 per cent more than during the previous five years. And under the present system of administration ALL  of that revenue goes directly to Westminster and bypasses Scotland.
The Scottish timber industry and Scotland's timber resources
Scotland’s forests are the most productive in the UK. They make a significant contribution to Scotland’s economy through jobs in the wood processing industry, forest management, wood haulage and associated industries.
At the start of the 20th century, Scotland (like the rest of
the UK) depended almost entirely on imported wood.
This led to supply problems during the naval blockades of WW1. At the time the shortage of wood for pit props threatened the UK’s main source of energy, which at the time was coal. In 1919 this led to the founding of the Forestry Commission with the specific aim of ensuring sufficient supplies of home grown timber. Since then, nearly 10,000 km2of new forest have been created in Scotland – and almost half of this was planted between 1965 and 1990. Presuming that average consumption per person in Scotland
is the same as in the rest of the UK, the total consumption in Scotland is about 7.5 million m3 wood. This compares with Scotland’s annual wood harvest of 5.5 million m3, this leaves Scotland 73% per cent self sufficient in wood as a raw material..
In practice, Scotland imports more than the balance of 2 million m3, but also exports large amounts of wood, especially to the rest of the UK
In 1980, just over 1.5 million m3 of wood was harvested from
Scotland’s forests; by 2000 this had reached 5.5 million m3 per
year. Since then production, the associated industries and exports continue to increase. Scotland's managed forests are entirely sustainable and as the newer forests mature, the wood harvest will continue to grow, approaching 10 million m3 per year by 2020 which is estimated to exceed Scotland’s demand for wood.
Fishing Industry
Scotland's main sea fishing opportunities are regulated as part of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy and every year there are ongoing arguments about quotas and time at sea.  The aim of the regulations is to preserve fish stocks and ensure sustainability, regulations are needed to protect fish stocks and fishermen recognize this, but that doesn’t make the quotas any easier. Despite quotas and regulations, Scotland remains one of the largest sea fishing nations in Europe and the Scottish Government is an integral part of the UK team negotiating fishing opportunities with other countries. The Scottish fleet is responsible for landing 66 per cent of the total UK volume of fish. You only need remember the difference in the population size between Scotland and the rest of the UK to realize Scotland catches far more fish than (within the UK as a whole) it consumes.
Agriculture in Scotland
Some 75% of Scotland’s land mass is under agricultural production, making the industry the single biggest determinant of the landscape we see around us. Scotland’s farmers, crofters and growers produce output worth around £3.0 billion a year, and are responsible for much of Scotland’s £400 million food exports, rising to £2.4 billion if whisky exports are included. Around 65,000 people are directly employed in agriculture in Scotland. Best estimates suggest that for every worker employed in agriculture another three workers are employed elsewhere. These jobs are largely in agricultural supply, and in food and drink processing.
Beef;
Scotland has almost 30% of the UK herd of breeding Beef cattle and 4% of the EU herd. The UK beef herd is the second largest in Europe, after France.
Dairy
Scotland has approximately 9% of the UK dairy herd. The UK has the third largest dairy herd in the EU after France and Germany, and the largest average herd size.
Sheep
Scotland has more than 20% of the UK breeding flock. The UK has the largest sheep flock in the EU – over a quarter of the total EU flock.
Pigs
Scotland has almost 10% of the UK pig herd. There are over 1000 holdings with pigs in Scotland and a third of these holdings are in the North East of Scotland.
Cereals
Over 454,000 hectares of cereals are grown in Scotland. Scotland’s main cereal crops are barley and wheat. More than 12% of the UK cereal area was grown in Scotland. The UK is the third largest cereal producer in the EU after France and Germany.
Other crops grown in Scotland include potatoes, oil seed rape and fruit. Scottish producers produce over 2400 tonnes of raspberries and over 4600 tonnes of strawberries per annum.
Soft fruit production tends to be concentrated in fertile areas of Tayside and Angus which has some of the best quality land in the whole of Europe. Other fruits, such as rhubarb are also grown in certain areas as are field vegetables such as carrots, peas, beans and turnips are also grown, sometimes for animal feed and sometimes for human consumption.
If you look at the percentage of UK agricultural production that comes from Scotland and then you look population percentages of Scotland compared to the rest of the UK its hard to understand how any one could say Scotland would not prosper as an independent nation.
Financial services
Scotland is already internationally recognised as the most important UK financial centre outside London and the South East. Edinburgh offers international services including global custody, asset servicing, banking, investment management, corporate finance, general / life assurance and pensions. The very word ‘Bank’ is a dirty word these days, but (unfortunately some may say), in a developed country financial services are an essential part of life. Edinburgh is already an established financial centre which is poised to serve an Independent Scotland and make the transition from devolved country to Independent country as smooth as possible.
The latest data available from the Business Register and Employment Survey show the financial industry in Scotland employs over 94,000 people with more than half of these working in banking.
Tourism
Tourism is one of Scotland's largest business sectors. It provides direct employment for 200,000 people and generates visitor spending of more than £4.5 billion a year. In the height of the summer Scotland is full to bursting with Americans tourists looking for their ancestral homes and wanting to buy their clan tartans, and Japanese tourists photographing castles, hills, bagpipes and men wearing kilts.
Even during recent years tourism in Scotland has continued to grow. Tourism has become an important part of Scottish life every where, from major cities to rural areas, many of which depend on the industry for jobs and infrastructure.

And all of this is just the tip of the iceberg, Scotland is so much more than this. Already Scotland offers a more comprehensive health care system than England, no one pays for prescription drugs and residential care for the elderly is free. Our Education system is completely different to that of the rest of UK and unlike other students, our students do not have to pay tuition fees. To generalise; the political ideology of Scotland tends to be more socialist than that of England. Scotland tends to favour a more collectivist, less private type of society than England. When schools across the UK were given the option of opting out of local authority control there was a glut of English schools clamouring to opt out, but to date only one Scottish school has opted out. Scotland WANTS its local authorities to be responsible for providing good education and it DOESN’T want schools to opt out and become part of the private sector. In Scotland, public drinking water and sewerage services are provided by a public sector corporation, Scottish Water, which is accountable to the Scottish Parliament. In England and Wales these services have been privatised. Water companies in England and Wales are private profit led companies but when water privatisation was suggested in Scotland, there was such popular rebellion against the idea that is simply never happened. The mass protest across Scotland against the unfairness of the poll tax led the way for the rest of Britain until finally this Maggie led atrocity was abolished. In discussion about Scottish independence some one recently said to me ‘’ It’s just that people also need jobs, education for kids and access to affordable medical care’’, my response to that is………….yeah I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t be a problem.




 

The morning light.

I would like to know if people like this image. Many people will look at this and see untidy backyards on a working class  housing estate. Its scruffy, untidy,  quite run down, there are broken fences, washing lines, bins and bits of old furniture. What I am describing doesn't sound very nice. BUT.............I really like this image. This is the view from my back bedroom window. I remember when those 5 tall tree stumps were huge conifer trees, the trees grew so tall my neighbour had to cut them down with a chain saw. On a spring morning you can see baby rabbits running around the grass. Once, a long time ago, a pet white rabbit must have escaped and interbred with the wild rabbits and now every so often, one or two of the baby rabbits will be white, or a mixture of white and ordinary bunny brown. sometimes you see an adult white rabbit but mostly its the white baby rabbits who catch your eye.  Just out of view to the left of the picture is a doo hoose..........or pigeon shed, my neighbour built it, and when he lets them out they fly off in a great cloud and sit on the roofs of nearby houses. I love the sound of them coo cooing and once I witnessed their mating ritual on the ridge of my shed roof. I never knew the mating ritual of pigeons was so intricate, they looked as if they were dancing and the male spread his tail feathers into a great fan and then pirouetted around the female.

( you need to click this one to see what I mean)

All of those things are reasons why I like this image, but most of all I love the complicated patterns of light. This was taken just after 11.00 on Sunday morning, it was cold, there was frost on the roofs facing into the back yards, the sun hadn't reached that part of the roof and it was still covered in frost. I noticed the light hitting the tree stumps and the fence at the end of them. I especially like the pattern on the brown fence at the back of the picture, the sun has painted a black silhouette of the surrounding roof shapes and chimney . I also like the sharp triangle and narrow strip of yellow light slashed right across the garden shed. The gable end of the house just beyond the shed is very very bright, that one wall is in full sunlight contrasting it to the other walls that are north facing and in the shade. You will notice some yellow light in some of the windows. This is reflected light, those windows face away from the light source but the sun is strong enough to bounce back and shine in the glass windows. Most of all I love the colour of the light...............golden yellow morning light. And for these reasons, I think this picture is beautiful, and if people only see a collection of dirty backyards...........tis their loss.

Friday 13th as I saw it.

Last week I said I wanted to find something every day to be happy about. So..... this is what i found on Friday 13th. I like to think that on an ordinary day, in an ordinary town, there are moments that make it all worthwhile. friday was one of those cold sunny days, the first thing that caught my eye on the way to work was this tree (above). I especially like how the morning sun hits the side of the tree.

When I reached my work I noticed how the ornamental grass outside my office caught the sun and threw long shadows over the cobbles.

by the time I leave work the day is almost done, but on friday dusk was pretty amazing. Its such a shame that so few people notice.