Ladybird on my Shoe

Hello fellow bloggers and blog readers.

It's been nearly a fortnight since I blogged; I seem to be only blogging at weekends because weekdays are blessedly busy! Anyhow, last weekend was spent in the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire just on the edge of the wonderful Dalby Forest just outside a village called Thornton-le-Dale at Pexton Moor Farm. I was with a few friends enjoying the fresh air and it was our intent to do some spiritual exercises and meditations, but the weekend was just one long much needed relaxing break, we just chilled out. 

The weather was fine although I have to say the Friday night was somewhat chilly, but we saw the International Space Station pass by on the Friday night - bright, stately and magnificent and we saw a few meteorites from the Perseid showers - often known as 'St Lawrence's tears' as they occur on the 10th August, the anniversary of the man's martyrdom ( c. 225–258, a deacon of ancient Rome and the keeper of the Holy Chalice).

Work on our garage conversion goes on apace and the garage door is long gone and a hole awaits a window fitting tomorrow. Internal rooms in what once was the garage are now created, the walls lined and some of the plumbing done. The house is in a mess with 'stuff' awaiting the completion of the conversion when we can get it safely stored back in a specifically built store room.

Here is before:

And here is a... wall with a hole!

Now then, here's a question. I was walking to a friends house for a meditation last week one evening and happened to come across a couple of magnificent chestnut trees on the side of the footpath in the grounds of a nursing home. Both the trees and indeed other chestnut trees I subsequently spied during the walk also had leaves that were like this:

Has anyone any idea what this may be? I know the Chestnuts are one of the earliest trees to turn when autumn arrives, but surely, it's too early for leaves to turn yet?

Finally, the title of the blog? I had just cut the grass this afternoon and was having a reflective moment on a garden chair with a cup of fruit tea before the rain came and a ladybird landed on my foot. Here is a picture of a black ladybird with red spots I took a couple of weeks ago.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Hugs or Handshake?

I was having an interesting conversation with a good friend the other day and we were talking about hugging and kissing between friends when you first greet them or to say goodbye. I need hugging. I enjoy hugging. Hugging is a very important part of my relationship with friends. A peck on the cheek normally to accompany the hug is quite usual. 

Even at work, if I meet someone of the opposite gender whom I know very well indeed and I haven't seen them for a long time, I greet them with a kiss on the cheek. Men - I shake hands - no discrimination. This is accepted practice - no-one cares or wonders; that's what (some) friends do.

I'm not sure what it is about a hug without over analysing, but I guess it's a sense of sealing and recognising a friendship at a step up from being an acquaintance. I hug and kiss my mother and my mother-in-law when we meet as well as assorted aunties and cousins. That's what we do as a family - always have done. 

Now this wasn't part of the conversation at all, but by sheer co-incidence did you read the article about kissing in the workplace in Germany? The  Knigge Society wants workplace kissing to be banned. Of course we must understand that culture is different in every country and it may be that kissing is not the done thing in some sections of the community in Germany. They say it's an import practice from other countries. 

In some countries they don't like shaking hands for instance. However the weird thing is that the Knigge Society (named after a manual of good manners) spoke to the BBC and admitted that they couldn't ban it from the work place but people who don't mind being kissed should "...announce it with a little paper message placed on their desk." Right. They say it's just an excuse for men to get close to women.

What do you do to greet an old friend?

For the first time in three weeks, I've managed to get into the garden and cut the grass this afternoon, the rain has been fairly persistent in the form of heavy summer showers and longer spells of unseasonable wet weather. Some of the grass hasn't grown at all, other sections of grass were quite long. What is truly amazing is the number of berries that are already out; in my garden alone there are red berries on the cotoneaster, hypericum, early and late honeysuckle, pyracantha (two varieties), rose hips, mountain ash berries, yew and holly.

The day today is cloudy but quite hot and humid so the insects are having a feast on the flowers and the amazing number of different varieties of flying things is stunning.

There haven't been many butterflies for us this year since the hot spring, but today a magnificent and large Red Admiral has been fluttering around the garden. I just couldn't get a picture of it before it fluttered to the next bush.

I was sorry to read today of the death of Robert Robinson, former BBC Broadcaster. His CV included Ask the Family, Stop the Week, Brain of Britain and Call My Bluff. He also had a stint presenting BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Although he was 83 when he died, he was working until last year. When I was younger and there was only three channels on the television, for me, he was the man firmly in charge of quiz programmes.

Tonight, I'm hoping for clear skies to watch the Perseids meteor showers. Although the full moon was peeking mysteriously through the scudding clouds last night, the cloud was too thick and I didn't see anything. We can see the meteors right through until the 22nd August although the peak was last night.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Elusive Perseids

If you look VERY closely, (I think most of you can click on the pic to enlarge it) I have captured a tiny, small baby of a meteor at the top of the picture to the left of centre. This was taken from the Hessle High School playing field in East Yorkshire looking eastwards around 11.10 pm on Thursday 12 August 2010 using my Canon EOS 40D on 18mm wide angle lens for around 2 minutes on bulb at f3.2 with 800 iso.

There were dozens, but every time I pointed my camera in one direction, a bright one came in another part of the sky etc etc. Twenty pictures later, a very cold Rarelesserspotted trudged home and here we are putting them on this blog one hour later.

The problem was there is so much light pollution and high cloud cover flitting across the sky, that I was lucky to get anything.

The bottom picture, I just like even though there is no meteor.

Chat soon

Ta-ra