Wednesday 30 July 2014

Squashed Sonic, Flowers and Holy Dog

Out with Bella this morning, at last the promised replacement rubbish bin has been installed!
Off to the dentist for a check up - saw this leaflet in the waiting room… 
Later on, I spotted this van on my way to the chemist - not sure if it's a good advert for Lock Doctors skills or just the opposite!
Liked this Sonic the Hedgehog on the front of Castle Scaffolding's Lorry.
The weather has been so dry and hot that even the flowers growing out of walls have shrivelled up. 
Oops! 
Out with Su and Bella later on, saw this pavement art. 
A great stand of verbena bonariensis in the evening sun. 
We went to Charlcombe church garden, which had just had its grass mowed. 
Bella was straight into the Holy Well. 
We were especially vigilant throwing sticks in there for Bella. 
On the way back home, admired these red apples. 
In a neighbour's front garden, a big rubber tree with enormous flowers. 
Opposite in another front garden , the bees really liked these teazles… 
Some flowers had three or four bees at a time on them. 
This day a year ago, we enjoyed a sojourn in Wild Cafe with its supposed endorsement from Jane Austen.

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Mac Morning, Historical Wander and Flowers

Spent a lot of the day at a clients backing up and updating two old Macintosh machines. Saw these distinctive markings on my way there.
Afterwards made my way down the hill into town, over the canal… 
…over the railway line… 
 … past where Queen Charlotte lived …
… past an outlet for the new rent-a-bike scheme - Bath bikes, not Boris bikes…
… past the Holbourne Museum, which had an interactive figure sculpture triggered by people approaching it… 
… past the rather magnificent old post box… 
… along Great Pulteney Street …
… past Admiral earl Howe's former residence …  
… and where Hannah More used to live … 
… past this church, which I've passed many times in a car but never noticed.
Later on, Su and I took Bella for an early evening walk and met our neighbour and her splendid bicycle bell. 
I wish it could be Christmas every day! 
Buddleia flowers still going strong around the neighbourhood. 
Pretty campanula flowers. 
The clematis flowers that will turn into old man's beard in the autumn - young man's moustache? 
Su got me to pose in the most stylish bus shelter on this side of Bath.
Bella waiting for me to return with her ball. 
This day a year ago, bees were much in evidence. 

Monday 28 July 2014

Apples, UWE and Westonbirt

Out with Bella this morning, I spotted these ripening apples.
Went into UWE to discuss upcoming teaching in Hong Kong - the sunshine makes it look much more attractive.
Further along the campus, it is a building site - plans for more include a football stadium.
On the roundabout at the front of the University, some pretty planting. 
I decided to take Bella off for an evening walk at Westonbirt - this was the weather I headed into as I left Bath.
The rain never materialised thankfully. At Westonbirt, you now enter through the new visitor centre - a curved structure much distorted in this panoramic view. 
Liked this cloudy tree. 
Grand maple. 
 Pretty flowers on this tree.
Took a path I've not walked before, and found these tree trunks in the process of being turned into planks.
Further along the path, more tree trunk cutting.
Evidence of previous high winds. 
Evidence of charcoal making (and a lovely aroma to accompany it). 
Umbellifer time. 
Another umbellifer. 
The fields above the woods are full of thistle down. 
The skies started to clear as Bella and I finished our walk. 
This day a year ago, we were also at Westonbirt ahead of forecast rain - and were entranced by Eldoradog at the entrance.