Unwind

A golden brown cow unwinds on a hillside on a warm late spring day

My grandmother told me cows lying down can be a prediction of a good weather, or rain and thunderstorms, depending on whether they lie at the top or bottom of a hill. Pity I can't remember which she said was which.

 It seemed as everyone was chilling out and unwinding

 or under shade.

Take time to unwind as the wandering Welsh poet WH Davies most famous poem says - 

'Leisure'

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at U here

 

 

Kine

The kine are gathered by the bridge. Do you think they look like cows? You'd be right. The word kine has fallen out of use but it is the plural of cow and one of the rare words in English that has no letters in common with its singular form. The only other ones I can think of are -  I/we and me/us.

The bridge is over Kirkby Pool, another name to confuse because it isn't actually a pool but a river.  I thought I had a photo of  it with he traffic sign indicating vehicles keep to a 5mph limited over the bridge and only cross one at a time but could only find this side view.  The building to the left is Moss House Farm, maybe the kine are from there. 

Lets take a closer look at this one with the cute kink in its coat between its eyes. 

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at K here

Over Hedge and Gate

Taking a break from munching on the sweet grass this cow wondered who was coming down the lane so took a look over the hedge.

Not too far away on a warm April day a farm gate was the perfect place to lean and contemplate the distant hills.

It may not be a case of anyone looking over this gate but perhaps something with a zig zag pattern slithering underneath. When the wooden gate leading onto this woodland path gently rotted away and became more difficult to open and shut it was replaced by this new one. What amused me was the installer opted to use the old notice that was attached to the old gate

Obviously he considered it had not outlived its useful life.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at O here   

Standing in Fields

Trees growing in rocks and thin soil but still sturdy as they grow towards the sun.

The sheep fill their days with nibbling the grass, the sun having warmed away the frost 

 

and the yearlings are just curious as I walk through their field. 

This is my sky.  For others see SkyWatch Friday

ABC Wednesday - Old

Its working days over this old tractor is gently disintegrating. If a member of the David Brown Owners Club spied this he might take it on as a renovation project. The company was an innovative builder of tractors between 1939 and 1988 and in its heyday this tractor may have looked like this-

I found this picture on an antique tractors site and its owner says it was the favourite tractor in the Netherlands "Dit is een simpele trekker en makkelijk te bedienen voor weinig geld en zo sterk als een beer!" (Simple and easy to operate for little money and strong as a bear). But elsewhere down on the farm the little heifer

is finding an old bath is ideal for cooling feet,  

An entry for ABC Wednesday - a journey from A to Z. 

ABC Wednesday - D

D is for Daisies, Devils, Downs and Damsons

Oh, I Don't think I have anything for D, was the first thought that came into my mind. So I dashed out into the rain and take a picture of Daises. An exuberant plant, difficult to keep in check, but requires no looking after whatsoever. I always associate these with high summer. Ha, summer, did that happen some time in June this year? Perhaps if I head south and over the channel it is happening there. I hope so for in a few weeks that's where I'm going and there will be lots of Dolmens. (Possibly D is sorted for the next round). Nil desperandum . This gives me my next D which is,

slightly further south and east a bit, on the top of the Le Grand Ballon is a monument to the Diables Bleus (blue devils), mountain troops active in World War 1.
The Devil has a lot of things named after him all over the world, he is a busy person. There are numerous Devil's Bridges although I have only come across one Devil's Ladder (in Ireland). My local one is the Devil's Chair, a rocky outcrop. What is the one called near where you live?
Here is the Devil's Kneading Trough (foreground)

which is part of the North Downs in Kent.

Postline

Where Dun coloured cows roam

Tolsford Hill

and it is known as the Garden of England. (I was there in August last year and there was some the wonderfully tasty fruit being sold from the front gates of houses).

There used to be Damson orchards all over England but like the apple orchards they have greatly declined in number. These were just growing by the field margins in Kent.
We have orchards nearby in the Lyth Valley but the Westmorland Damson is smaller and sharper than their southern cousins. Damson Day is celebrated there in April when the pretty white blossom appears. Anything you can make with damsons is on sale - jam, wine, tarts, cakes... and perhaps some of the Mason's Arms, Strawberry Bank Damson beer. Which is a very nice Drink.

Dash over to Mrs Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday for a diversity of Ds