I've just got back from my walk - the first for a week now, and I'm feeling good again. I decided to walk up to my furthest neighbour to take up a Christmas card and a small pot of jam. The views were fabulous - seeing the Brecon Beacons in the distance never fails to lift my spirits. I find that I have taken 41 photos today! I'm just loading them now and will see which ones to keep and which to put up on here too.
I had a fruitful morning at the Car Boot Sale, which was busy despite the dire cold. I got a brand new never-been-out-of-the-box Pasta maker for £3 (I think they cost about £30 in the shops); then a beautiful hand-painted cake stand and three matching plates (pre-1892) for £2 (excuse blurry picture above); a piece of red material for 50p which is going to be turned into a decoration and an old ladies' sewing tin for 50p, with old wooden cotton reels in it and bits of wool for darning. It seemed to be the morning for stuffed foxes and I was kicking myself for leaving the camera in the car. First of all the BIGGEST fox I've ever seen - stuffed or otherwise - in a case. It must have been nearly five feet long from nose to tip of tail and stood nearly as tall as a collie. Then there was a dealer wandering round with a stuffed fox (out of its case) under his arm.
Now the walk:
The view I never tire of - looking across to Black Mountain from Top o' Bank.
A small triangle of rough land fenced off could once have housed a cottage.
Another view across the valley.
The lane goes on and ends at the farm of another neighbour. Once it turned left and joined up with a road further over, but someone (local farmer's dad) managed to take a piece of heavy machinery along there and there was a land-slip or something, too bad to repair, and the lane was just abandoned. I mean to try and get along it one day, secateurs in hand (though it most likely needs a bulldozer!)
The view across our valley.
The frost was lingering on the slopes which didn't catch the sun.
Going back towards home and past a neighbour's farm (they have a stuffed fox in a case in their parlour, strange to tell!)
The mound just in view mid-picture is Dryslwyn Castle.
Back down the hill towards home.
This published a day late because the internet connection went walkabouts yesterday again . . .
5 comments:
Beautiful pictures! Its fun to see your country side. Unfortunatly here in the states we have not managed to make our countryside that scenic. I think it gets too chopped up, and everything becomes private without access for others.
Those beautiful vistas just take my breath away. What a wonderful walk!
What is the deal with stuffed foxes anyway. Are they very pretty?
I really like the little dish. I use a pasta machine for polyclay! Never pasta!
Nancy
Nancy - stuffed foxes. Pretty - not usually, and how some taxidermists ever kept working I'll never know - some of them never looked at an animal alive . . . Trophies really . . .
I love the dish too - there are three plates like that and then that one, which is the same size but on a little base, to take the cake.
DWYL - this is the "tame" part of Wales. You should see the wild bits! We are fortunate that farms, as parcels of land from between 40 and 200 acres locally, make the land more accessible as there are footpaths (mostly V. overgrown though) and trackways where you can walk, but I am sticking mainly to the lanes right now as it's so muddy underfoot otherwise.
Both - I always think of the States as a place of wild open spaces to explore - I think I may have seen too many John Wayne movies . . .
Jennie are you sure you are able to get the 000 flour you need for making pasta in Wales ;) From what I've read on recipes you need special flour and large surfaces to make the stuff.
The photos are beautiful by the way.
Thelma
Thelma - I have a bag of (Doves I think) Pasta flour, haven't checked the grade (better blow the dust off first!!!) Will let you know how it turns out - busy "curtaining" and cleaning today - haven't got my cooking head on yet this week.
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