the week that was...
i'm currently stopped in the 'pit stop diner' in arrochar, on the helensburgh road, just off the A83. i caught the most sleep i've had in a while (i will attepmt to write about bicon sometime *smile*) parked up by the shores of loch lomond last night, and today i am orientating myself (on all levels) and formulating a gentle/flexible 'plan' for the next few days *smile* but where was i...?
i'd just recounted my adventures as far as leicester when i wrote last...
thursday i wound my way into derbyshire, and followed map and memory up to stanton moor and the nine ladies stone circle. on the path to the moor i made acquaintance with the most beautiful elderflower tree, still in flower, so pale, and silvery of leaf (and tasty of flower!). i enjoyed stopping at the stones and finding patterns without looking for them, and falling into (unrecalled) dream (waking/sleeping, i'm still not sure) by the 'king stone'. i 'woke' to walkers and made my way down the path and eventually to leathermgoddess and family.
i was diverted via matlock, but still arrived home before leathermgoddess, and was greeted by leatherdykeuk and the dogs, and joined her and leathereagle in helping H write a job application... also making the acquintance of lina and holly *smiles*
i spent a lovely evening - much of it around the fire - with kat and rachel and lu and holly *smile* followed by a very relaxed morning chatting with leatherdykeuk while i slowly woke - including talking about and admring swords *grin* - before i headed east towards lincoln.
my route took me via sherwood forest, and i stopped there for teh afternoon - visiting the 800 year old 'major oak' amongst other trees. tho the others struck me as much as/more - in part because of the lack of expectation, and in part cos of their livlier energies, and/or their colours and shapes in old age and/or death.
and sustainably forested wooden toy swords! *grin*
i arrived at hartsholme country park only minutes before jdday *smile* and went on to enjoy the weekend with him and his.
friday evening and saturday morning we chilled out, before making our way over to see lani in sheffield and chill out some more *smile* sunday morning was a struggle for me, cumulative tiredness (and post-analgesia-ness) taking a firm hold of me and dragging me down a bit. but we made it over to paula's birthday barbeque in shefflied, where i rather fortuitously met and caught up with illusiveash, and enjoyed getting a better sense of some of the people jdday talks about. and we made an evening shwoing of 'pirates of teh carribean: dead man's chest' *grin* whihc imo is/was every bit as good as, and also nowhere near as good as, the first film *smile* and i loved davy jones and crew *grin* the weekend also included sustainably forested wooden sword fights in which i killed jdday at least 3 times, and was merely mortally wounded once (from which i somehow made a full and rapid recovery), and other sword fun *smile*
and then it was monday, and my day went 'according to plan' up to a point *wry smile*
i arrived in perfect time at bempton cliffs... only to injure myself over lunch!? *grimace* swalling something sharp. i couldn't convince the centre's first aiders to take a torch to my throat (fair enuf) and they persuaded me (the birds would still be there uin the evening) to visit the local hospital's minor injuries unit *sigh* the MIU receptionist incredibly unhelpfully sneerd/laughed at my lack of title and fixed abode, but ian the nurse was very sweet and reassured me that whatever it was (i suspect a splinter of metal - eat tinned soup at your peril!) had moved on and wouldn't do the rest of my digestive tract any harm, and that i should stop feeling like it was still so acutely there in the next 4 days (and told me what to do if it didn't). and we discussed the current potential plight of the puffins locally/nationally - he'd heard that sand eel numbers were down with consequent impact on the puffin populations which consume them.
and back to the puffins... and the guillemots & razorbills, the kittiwakes, the gannets, the fulmars, and the gulls. so many (silent and screaming) seabirds nesting on the cliffs, and fishing in and flying over the surrounding warters. and so many young birds in different stages of development, especially noticable with the gannets - from young floppy and sprawled on the rock under their parent(s) chicks, to still a bit fluffy vut very definitely asserting young bird status chicks.. and many 2nd, 3rd and 4th winter birds, with beautifully mottled plumage.
and then back/forward to where this story much earlier started - me in the van on a campsite near scarboro, tired and a bit heady from rosehip vodka.
i'd just recounted my adventures as far as leicester when i wrote last...
thursday i wound my way into derbyshire, and followed map and memory up to stanton moor and the nine ladies stone circle. on the path to the moor i made acquaintance with the most beautiful elderflower tree, still in flower, so pale, and silvery of leaf (and tasty of flower!). i enjoyed stopping at the stones and finding patterns without looking for them, and falling into (unrecalled) dream (waking/sleeping, i'm still not sure) by the 'king stone'. i 'woke' to walkers and made my way down the path and eventually to leathermgoddess and family.
i was diverted via matlock, but still arrived home before leathermgoddess, and was greeted by leatherdykeuk and the dogs, and joined her and leathereagle in helping H write a job application... also making the acquintance of lina and holly *smiles*
i spent a lovely evening - much of it around the fire - with kat and rachel and lu and holly *smile* followed by a very relaxed morning chatting with leatherdykeuk while i slowly woke - including talking about and admring swords *grin* - before i headed east towards lincoln.
my route took me via sherwood forest, and i stopped there for teh afternoon - visiting the 800 year old 'major oak' amongst other trees. tho the others struck me as much as/more - in part because of the lack of expectation, and in part cos of their livlier energies, and/or their colours and shapes in old age and/or death.
and sustainably forested wooden toy swords! *grin*
i arrived at hartsholme country park only minutes before jdday *smile* and went on to enjoy the weekend with him and his.
friday evening and saturday morning we chilled out, before making our way over to see lani in sheffield and chill out some more *smile* sunday morning was a struggle for me, cumulative tiredness (and post-analgesia-ness) taking a firm hold of me and dragging me down a bit. but we made it over to paula's birthday barbeque in shefflied, where i rather fortuitously met and caught up with illusiveash, and enjoyed getting a better sense of some of the people jdday talks about. and we made an evening shwoing of 'pirates of teh carribean: dead man's chest' *grin* whihc imo is/was every bit as good as, and also nowhere near as good as, the first film *smile* and i loved davy jones and crew *grin* the weekend also included sustainably forested wooden sword fights in which i killed jdday at least 3 times, and was merely mortally wounded once (from which i somehow made a full and rapid recovery), and other sword fun *smile*
and then it was monday, and my day went 'according to plan' up to a point *wry smile*
i arrived in perfect time at bempton cliffs... only to injure myself over lunch!? *grimace* swalling something sharp. i couldn't convince the centre's first aiders to take a torch to my throat (fair enuf) and they persuaded me (the birds would still be there uin the evening) to visit the local hospital's minor injuries unit *sigh* the MIU receptionist incredibly unhelpfully sneerd/laughed at my lack of title and fixed abode, but ian the nurse was very sweet and reassured me that whatever it was (i suspect a splinter of metal - eat tinned soup at your peril!) had moved on and wouldn't do the rest of my digestive tract any harm, and that i should stop feeling like it was still so acutely there in the next 4 days (and told me what to do if it didn't). and we discussed the current potential plight of the puffins locally/nationally - he'd heard that sand eel numbers were down with consequent impact on the puffin populations which consume them.
and back to the puffins... and the guillemots & razorbills, the kittiwakes, the gannets, the fulmars, and the gulls. so many (silent and screaming) seabirds nesting on the cliffs, and fishing in and flying over the surrounding warters. and so many young birds in different stages of development, especially noticable with the gannets - from young floppy and sprawled on the rock under their parent(s) chicks, to still a bit fluffy vut very definitely asserting young bird status chicks.. and many 2nd, 3rd and 4th winter birds, with beautifully mottled plumage.
and then back/forward to where this story much earlier started - me in the van on a campsite near scarboro, tired and a bit heady from rosehip vodka.