A Weekend near Dartmoor

We spent the last few days at a lovely guest house at Horrabridge on the edge of Dartmoor.

From the moor it is possible to see for miles.

The native Dartmoor ponies were enjoying the sunshine.

A family group.

This cute little foal was very young.

As well as ponies there were also sheep and cattle on the moor.

The reason for our visit to the area was to attend the district convention at Plymouth.

It was a wonderful and upbuilding programme with over 6000 in attendance on Sunday.

Although the weather was quite chilly we did have a bit of sunshine on Saturday.

This is Ben, our grandson, trying to keep cool!

It was a wonderful opportunity to meet up with old friends.

In fact we met a brother, Barry Turner, who we had not seen for at least 45 years. Although he was just a young lad at the time and living in Kent, he actually recognised David after all these years!

Finally we are pleased to announce that Suzie's Siamese cat Bella gave birth to 6 kittens on 20th July. Mother and babies are all doing well!

Bella now has her own photo-diary of her babies progress

http://www.bellaskittens.blogspot.com/

The babies are now a week old and still doing well!

The Famous Five Discover Treasure on Exmoor.

It was May bank holiday and the Famous Five; Elliot, Ben, Dan, Carrie and Jessie the dog set out on an adventure to discover the wonders of Exmoor .....

Down below them is a fast flowing river, the broad shallows spanned by a series of massive flat boulders (the largest is 10ft long and weighs two tons) lying across equally massive stone piers. The edifice looks as if it should be guarded by a troll to match its scale - it is 180ft, including the surface stones on the west side.

This strange structure is known as Tarr Steps and has been the victim of legends attributing it to giants and the devil - you immediately imagine they are of an age with Stonehenge and Avebury, but the likelihood is that they are a medieval construction to allow drovers to get across the river without their sheep getting soggy, like the clapper bridges of Dartmoor.

Like most young people the Famous Five are fascinated by water ...

And they soon discover a rope swing enabling them to swing far out over the river...

It's great fun but it isn't long before the inevitable happens!

There is a path alongside the river with many natural wonders to discover...

Fungi, lichens and moss covers the fallen tree trunks while a multitude of wild spring flowers bloom alongside the torrent.

The sides of the valley get steeper and the woods close in. The path is easy to follow, allowing us all to relax among the shadows and birdsong, admiring the dramatic beauty of the landscape.

There are so many amazing things to discover - like this beautifully coloured iridescent beetle that looked just like a jewel!

There are red deer, badgers and foxes in the woods but nothing could prepare them for the next discovery ...

... that money actually grows on trees!

They found an ancient tree trunk studded with hundreds of old coins - treasure at last!

Scrumping is probably not allowed but, nevertheless our intrepid five found a few bent windfalls!

Anxious to get home, in order to hammer their ancient coins flat, they hurried back on the path alongside the river until ...

... they came upon an old farmhouse serving refreshments.

While the grown-ups enjoyed their afternoon tea they watched a little bird helping himself to the left overs on the next table ...

... and decided that their bank holiday adventure on Exmoor was far more exciting than a day at an expensive theme park - and hadn't cost them a penny. In fact they had each ended up a penny better off - even though it was a rather old and battered bent one!

Spring on Dartmoor

With the sun shining and the sweet smelling gorse in bloom Dartmoor, normally bleak and inhospitable, shrouded with mist and mystery was magically transformed to this beautiful golden landscape.

A kestrel hovered silently overhead and the wild moorland ponies grazed contentedly, obviously enjoying the warmth of the sun on their backs.

The buds on the gnarled and stunted trees were beginning to burst with fresh green leaves.

This canary yellow sheep was a bit of a surprise!

We haven't yet puzzled out why it had obviously been dyed yellow.

The weather was beautiful and Jessie enjoyed playing in the crystal clear streams.

This is part of Meldon Resevoir...

... a haven for nesting ducks and geese.

Dartmoor - a perfect place for a walk in Springtime!

Definitely recommended by Jessie!

A Very Scary Day!

This is the view from our kitchen window today. It looks quite pretty but the reality was very different. The road outside our house was covered with a treacherous sheet of ice. It has quite a steep slope and was more like a bobsleigh run. Any drivers who were brave enough to venture out didn't know what they were letting themselves in for. When they came over the brow of the hill they slid down, completely out of control. We phoned the police suggesting that they closed the road as it was just a matter of time befor there would have been a very serious accident. Because of the dangerous conditions the meeting at the KH was cancelled - the first time I think that has ever happened.

A few pictures of the problems due to the ice. The worst one was when a large refuse lorry lost control and slid all the way down sideways. I was so petrified of what would happen that I forgot to take a photo!

I took this photo from the window last week before the snowstorms.

A Surprise!

I couldn't quite believe it when I discovered that one of my photos, that I had entered in the National Trust photo competition, had been used as the cover picture on the Sunday Times Spectrum magazine!

It also appears in the online version -

www.timesonline.co.uk/nationaltrustpix

What is even more embarrassing is that there is an article in the local paper -

http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/news/Sylvia-s-photo-time-spent/article-1612609-detail/article.html

It just shows that all you need is to be in the right place at the right time and make sure you have your camera with you!

A Weekend at Earls Court (Discover Dogs Show)

Last weekend Suzie launched her new website www.glo-balls.com at the Discover Dogs Exhibition at Earls Court in London.

We had a nice stand at the show where she could display all the night visibility products for dogs which she is selling. This photo was taken before the show opened as we were inundated with customers during the entire opening hours.

There were all sorts of flashing and glowing balls and toys and also collars and leads that glow in the dark.

They were all very popular and many products actually sold out by the end of the show.

It was a very interesting and satisfying weekend, but also very tiring so I am really glad we have returned to Fuerteventura for a bit of a rest!

Have a peep at her website

www.glo-balls.com

Devon in the Autumn

I was really pleased to discover that this picture of David & Jessie was a winner in the British Heart Foundation's photograph competition!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bhforguk/3986849474/in/set-72157622527336108/

We were walking on the beach last week when I got this shot of an approaching storm - we did get very wet soon afterwards!

This was a better day. We do get some lovely sunsets at this time of year!