4th October photo - winter flowers

Yesterday (just like Karen!) I called at a garden centre and picked up some winter flowers to go in my now empty hanging basket.

I think this top photo will be my POTD

Today I have filled it with a new grow bag and some lovely winter flowering pansies. I hope that over the winter we will be treated to a wonderful show of colour (and some POTD opportunities!)
I also bought some lovely yellow primroses for the small beds at the front of the house - which should cheer the postman up!

So sorry not very exciting photos today - but I am hoping that in a few months the flowers will be in full bloom. I hope they bloom before the end of the year and the end of this 365 day project or else I could have saved myself £20!

3rd October photo - Autumn at Attingham

Today I visited my local NT property Attingham Park with a view to taking lots of Autumn photos - I did not do as well as I had hoped as the trees were still quite green -I think I came a week or 2 early. But I have still managed to get a few nice shots.

I had really hoped to find some fiery red leaves - but there were none - I am going to have to keep looking elsewhere for these. But this collection of orangey leaves on the ground have a nice reddish tinge - so this is my POTD.

A nice small shower when I was out left this collection of rain drops on this pretty leaf.

Despite lots of green trees still - there were a few changing colour.

I have been looking for Acorns for ages and despite lots of Oak trees about these 3 acorns were the only ones I could find.

2nd October photo - Shrewsbury Castle

A late posting tonight as I wanted to take another night shot. Today's photo is Shrewsbury Castle lit up at night. I drove past it earlier on in the week and thought that it would make an ideal shot for today - but perhaps a Friday evening was not a good time to go into town for it as there were lots of young people out 'enjoying themselves'! I looked a bit out of place - this old woman in frumpy clothes carrying a tripod, with 2 cameras slung around my neck!!

The oldest parts of the Castle were built between 1066 and 1074, during the reign of William the Conqueror. There were additions over several centuries. Later, in the late 18th century, Thomas Telford remodelled the interior as a private house. The Castle was acquired by the Corporation of Shrewsbury in 1924 through the generosity of Shropshire Horticultural Society. The Castle houses the spectacular collections of the Shropshire Regimental Museum Trust including pictures, uniforms, medals, weapons and other equipment from the 18th Century to the present day.There was an attempt by the IRA to blow it up a few years ago.

There are 2 photos of it as I used 2 different cameras. The top one was taken with my Panasonic bridge camera and I like the bright colours and how it has captured the moon so well.

This second one was taken with my Nikon DSLR and is more true to the real colours of the Castle. If only there had not been a huge tree growing right up in front of the castle - the pics would have been perfect!

1st October photo - my mum

I had to go and see my mum today to re-tune her Freeview box and I thought that she has not featured very much in my 365 project - so here she is my photo of the day.

The photo is taken on her balcony in her apartment. She lives in her lovely 2 bedroomed flat - it is for the elderly and they have a resident warden, but everyone lives independently. She just likes the reassurance of knowing that there is someone there. They is a thriving social community and through this has discovered card making and often comes and borrows some of my craft supplies. She moved in last year - leaving our family home that she had lived in ever since she had got married. It took a little bit of adjusting to - but now she does not miss it and the responsibility for its up keep at all. She has a lovely big balcony overlooking a small nature reserve - which she has filled with lots of pots & tubs of flowers, bulbs & small plants. She is close to town, the cinema and supermarkets - so has the best of both worlds. She is very active and is out most days at exercise classes, art classes, choir, painting, tai chi etc. - I hope I will be as active as she is when I get to 77

30th September 2009 - out & about in South Shropshire

Today I have been out enjoying the last of the September sunshine - its been a gorgeous day. I have been out walking & geocaching in the South of the County - a part I don't get to visit often enough.

My first visit was to a stone circle on top of Stapley Hill. It used to be made up of of 30 stones but now there are only 15 left and most of them are small. It is thought to be at least 3,000 years old and is believed to have been made for rituals etc like Stonehenge. The trouble is I look so fat & ghastly in this photo next to the only big stone left that I don't really want to use it - I seem to have put weight on since I started my diet!

So I may use one of these other 2 photos that I took at the stone circle.

Or I do have another choice - this very bizarre sight - a shoe tree!

I was driving along this very remote lane - when it just came into view - so of course I had to stop the car and take a snap of it.

It was a lovely day to be out and the views up on the hills were gorgeous - I really must get a book on landscape photography - mine never ever show how lovely it is.

29th September photo - baking THE cake

I have baked my Christmas cake today.

It is much easier to mix all the dried ingredients by hand - so this photo of me hard at work will be my POTD

Adding the spices to the flour.

Adding the dried fruit to the flour mix.

All the dried ingredients set to one side.

Waiting for the butter to soften.

I love my Mason & Cash egg mixing bowl.

The orange & lemon peel & juice.

At last the butter is soft enough to beat into a soft mixture.

Adding the dried fruit mix to the butter & sugar mix.

Adding the treacle & Brandy at the end.

All ready to go in the oven.

It takes quite a few hours in the oven - so I will post the finished cake tomorrow.

28th September photo - getting ready for THE cake

Today I have getting all the ingredients together for my Christmas cake. I usually make it in October, add the Marzipan in November and ice it in December. I plan to bake in it in the next day or two. Its quite an expensive cake as the bottle of Brandy alone cost me £7.99 as Sainsbury's did not have any smaller ones.

So today's photo is all the ingredients for the cake sitting ready waiting to be mixed together.