2010 Beauty in the Natural World

As in most years, 2010 had a great many wonderful things to offer in `the wild`. From birds and insects, to colours and shapes. Here are a few of them as I captured them digitally. We are surrounded by amazing things and it is so easy to pass them by. That is why the camera is a great tool for capturing these things and turning them into memories.

Long Tailed Tit in the garden

Jackdaw in Pembrokeshire..

Swan on the Brett, mirrored in the river.

Green Woodpecker feeding its young.

Drinker Moth caterpillar

Blister Beetle

Thrift growing in abundance on the cliff path near Little Haven.

Ransoms or Wild Garlic

Lords-and-Ladies or Cuckoo Pint.

Dandelion head

Dark Mullein

Orchid

Thistle 

Peacock Butterfly

Ruddy Darter

Common Blue

Swallowtail - Britain's largest butterfly

Small Skipper

Burnett

Four Spotted Chaser

Followed by shades of autumn and winter

A great year observing all the beauty around us. These are just a sample of things seen but are great to look back on in the deep winter months.

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Winter comes with a vengeance!

Winter struck at the beginning of December with a very sharp freeze, then some snow. After that a respite until 19 December when we had a really good snowfall. Having not had a good snowfall for some time, I took to the lanes (with boots) to get some photos - it was spectacular.

Which way to go first - if you can read it!

Yes, the frost was severe! From our guttering.

Church railings

Everything had a layer of snow on it.

No one has been this way today.

Even the most familiar places take on a new perspective in the snow and a few images near home illustrate the fact, for me at least! Next day the cloud had cleared and the images had the benefit of a blue sky.

Normally a large grassy play area for the kids. They were there later playing snowballs.

From the far side of the MIll Pond and looking toward the footbridge.

Similar to the above but including the mill House. Just catching the morning sun.

Looking in the other direction, from the footbridge.

And the Mill wheel itself.

Two images from lanes near the church. 

St Andrew's Church, Layham

And last, but not least, the view from our bungalow.

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It must be Autumn in 2010

Autumn is a beautiful time of year despite the imminent threat of Winter round the corner. Some years we have masses of colour, but in others, the leaves are off the trees before we can appreciate them. Here are a few images taken in 2010, and mostly in close proximity to where we live, starting with some leaves.

Leaves still on the trees, and below are some that are on the ground.

Steps

This is the time of year that we see the most fungi, although they can be spotted at varying times in the year.

The reasonably common Fly Agaric (Aminita muscaria)

Another common one, the Shaggy Parasol (Macrolepiota procera)

Perhaps we don't see these quite as much, the Crested Coral (Clavulina coralloides)

The Brett with reflections of the autumnal colours.

Mist - beautiful, but a hazard if you are on the road!

More reflections on the Brett

Drips of moisture on the Rose hips

The local church of St Andrews with autumn colours.

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Tetbury - a very quick visit

The Cotswolds are certainly an area we must explore in the future. We stopped overnight, at the Snooty Fox, and then travelled on next day. Too short - must come again!

Tetbury is an historic market town in the heart of the Cotswolds, featuring a 17th century market hall and some lovely Jacobean and Elizabethan buildings. The first written record of Tetbury occurs in 681 AD, when Ethelred of Mercia gave 15 acres of land near 'Tette's monastery' to the abbey of Malmesbury. Who Tette was, we do not know for certain, but we do know that a woman of that name was abbess of a monastic settlement at Wimborne around this time. It is possible that the current church of St Mary the Virgin was built on the site of an earlier Saxon monastic settlement.So, plenty of history for me to get my teeth into.. But for now just a few images.

In much the same way that Big Ben is an icon of London, or Arlington Row is an icon of Bibury, the Market Hall is the icon of Tetbury. Located in the centre of town at the confluence of several streets, the 2 storey Market Hall is an attractively restored pillared building which dates to 1655. Over the years it has seen service as a marketplace, fire station, and gaol. The cupola on top was added to mark Queen Victoria's Jubilee, but apart from that the Market Hall is much as it would have been over 350 years ago, and it is still the site of regular events.

The picturesque old cottages of Chipping Steps

The spire of St Mary the Virgin is the 4th highest in England. The earliest suggestion of a church on this site dates to a charter of Ethelred, King of Mercia, in 681 AD. Ethelred granted 15 acres of land near a place identified as 'Tette's monastery' to the abbey of Malmesbury. Of that first monastic church there is now no trace, but tradition suggests that it occupied the same site as the current church, on a level mound at the southern edge of the town.

The Saxon church was replaced around 1160, and a tower and spire added in the 14th century. The spire reaches 186 feet, making it the fourth highest in England. The medieval church was, in turn, damaged by storm in the late 17th century. The church fell into a state of severe disrepair that was only reversed when an act of Parliament allowed the church to be demolished, saving only the tower and spire, which were spared. 

The tower did eventually begin to list to one side, and in 1891 it was torn down and rebuilt using the same stones. The current building was built over the years 1777 - 1781 under the direction of Francis Hiorne of Warwick, who designed a lofty and spacious building incorporating a very tall nave with much shorter ambulatories to the north and south. 

So, quite a story to this magnificent building.

One of the gargoyles adorning the church. Plenty more to see here then!

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