My daughter Jill and brother William have taken a four bedroom, first and second floor flat in Arnside with extensive, uplifting views over the Kent Estuary, and across to the Lakeland and Shap hills, which are now covered in snow. I have been helping with both moves. William is in residence. Jill and Katie will follow after Christmas. Within the last few days Jill's furniture etc. has been moved from storage into the flat.
I have a similarly enviable view from my living room window across the M6 corridor to Hutton Roof with Ingleborough and Whernside jutting above the horizon twenty miles away. I never tire of observing the birds, helicopters, aeroplanes, vapour trails and endlessly changing clouds, enhanced by two of the Three Peaks. Unfortunately a neighbour's house sports an obtrusive chimney pot which jars. I vow that when I win the Lottery I will make them an offer they can't refuse then have the house demolished.
Today with intensely white snow the distant horizon is even more dramatic, but it cannot be captured with my inferior camera, so I have driven a few hundred yards up the road from my house and taken a better shot in the last of the afternoon sun, without the necessity to walk any distance.
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| This is 4 x zoom, hand held - Whernside appears off pic to the left |
In case I don't post again before forthcoming festivities I wish everybody compliments of the season.
Bless your heart - your knee, too!
ReplyDeleteThose are beautiful views. I've never seen chimney pots before, so I found them interesting, but I can see where one might not want to look at them day in and day out.
Are those chestnut whips in the foreground of the second photo? They put me in mind of the Chinese chestnut volunteers that sprout up where the squirrels have forgotten burying them. Each spring, I go around the yard cutting them down below the ground, but every spring I find more and more new ones. Busy little rascals, are my squirrels.
Happy holidays to you and your family, Conrad. I hope Katie likes her new surroundings, but I bet she's going to miss Grandad.
The Crow - Thanks for your comment. It is strange that you are not familiar with chimney pots. The context of your use of "volunteers" puzzles me. This goes to show that Brits and Americans may think they speak the same language, but this is not always the case.
ReplyDeleteI consulted good friends of mine who are keen gardeners, and they tell me the items in the foreground of my picture are Ash saplings identifiable by their black buds.
Jill, William, and Katie's flat is about three minutes drive by car or ten minutes walk from my house, so I reckon there will be plenty of contact with Katie. I went to the clinic today with mum and baby and weight is progressing properly. As Katie is becoming more interested in her surroundings, so the longer outbursts of crying are reducing, and it is fascinating to see the day by day development.
Best wishes to you from all of us here in Arnside.
All this talk of replacement knees makes me think of Geoffrey Winthrop Young who went on climbing after losing a leg in WW1. Climbing of a sort, you understand. A faithful Swiss guide used to follow him and place the peg of his peg-leg on the holds. I couldn't understand why he didn't go the whole hog, hire himself four Swiss guides (they were four a penny in those days) and rise up in a palanquin.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to you and your expanding family, bidding fair to become a genuine force in Arnside.
L da P -Perhaps if I win the lottery I could hire people to take me on another long walk in a palanquin - quite an attractive idea.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Arnside (1996 - 2000) I had almost exactly the same view. Could we have unknowingly been near neighbours?
ReplyDeleteI had a knee op (many years ago). My recovery took awhile, but afterwards the knee was as good as new - I hope your's goes as smoothly.
Beatingthebounds - That is interesting. If you would like to email me at conrob@me.com I will reply with details of my address, which I prefer not to put into the public domaine on the blog. As I think I said before, you would always be welcome to drop in for a brew and a natter if you are passing.
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