Goose Step

Come on family time to get going, walk like me

Thats it now you are moving

We've got a hill to climb, don't drop off the back.

 I will enjoy seeing this little family grow up over the weeks ahead.

ABC Wednesday - Ruminants

Ruminants roaming in a rural environment. There are 150 species of ruminants in the world but I'm showing the domesticated variety as we don't have many camels, bison and giraffes here. It also gives me an excuse to post cute lamb photographs.

These in the  pastures

and these on the low fells. Surrounded by the plant based food they like, ok grass, 

which is eaten and then initially softened within the animals first stomach which is then regurgitated, as semi-digested mass (cud), and chewed again.  No worries on the effect on the teeth of all that chewing for they continue growing throughout their life.  No wonder cows always seem to be dribbling for an adult one produces 100-150 litres of saliva a day.

 I don't think this little chap is up to that amount of saliva at the moment as he keeps a wary eye on me.

Always a good sign when every cow in a field is lying down it means there is continuing warm weather.  This one is modelling her ear tag (there is a tag on each ear). The one showing is the yellow primary ear tag. This shows her unique number, which will be listed on her passport with all her details. When moved this passport will go with her.

  I'll leave you to ruminate on that information.

Roam over to ABC Wednesday where there are lots more words starting with R

Sign of Sheep

Where sheep do safely graze, in the Howgill Fells

And enjoying the spring grass, not too far away in Ravenstonedale. There has been an inn at this crossroads since the 17th Century.  The 7 acre Crossbank nature reserve is at the rear of the Fat Lamb inn, a popular bird watching area.  I don't know which is the greater attraction the birds or a well stocked bar.

An entry to Signs, Signs

ABC Wednesday - Quarry

An portal to another world?  It certainly looked like it as I passed, the steam rising with a gathering storm.

It is a different world down there. Hartley Quarry, which I have been told produces limestone aggregate. The colour looks like that at the 'portal' but the colour of the quarry is not as expected. The brown pigment apparently is due to iron compounds. Like most of the quarries in Cumbria it burrows amongst the hills.  Looking down the valley, it sits above the village of Hartley

which now runs into the larger place of Kirkby Stephen. In earlier times (the quarry opened in the 1920s) a klaxon used to sound when they were blasting but now I think there must be just a

red flag hoisted. In those olden times a rail connection used to run to the quarry. Eventually the line closed but the 6 miles to the quarry remained and became their responsibility. By 1967 the metals running to the quarry deteriorated and were considered not strong enough to hold the weight of a British Rail steam locomotives and they were stopped.

 
This photo was taken in 1966 of one of the last runs to Hartley Quarry, showing a freight carrying Ivat 4MT locomotive. Nowadays of course lorries carry the aggregate on the road from the quarry, wonder if some of those loads will end up as roads.

Quoth I take a trip across to ABC Wednesday to see lots more words starting with Q

Kitefest

Living on the north west coast one thing you can be sure of is there will be a wind. But this year's spring has been most unusual, high temperatures for the time of year and still days. When the first Western Lake District kite festival was planned to be held at Haverigg one thing that would be expected would be a strong wind.

Nope. Despite this the Fusion display team did manage to put on a series of musical displays but for the large

Chinese kites the 10 mile wind was not enough. Everybody had fun flying kites so we had a nice afternoon out and of course

an ice cream. You can also tell from this photo that the event was held on the Millom Rugby Union ground. They are hoping to hold another Kitefest next year,

Ices

My local ice cream van is Roy's Ices with his 28 great flavours but if I travel to the other side of the bay then I could call by the My-T-Fine. These two vans may even face each other across the water. One in the little coastal village of Bardsea and this one in the seaside resort of Morecambe.

An entry to Signs, Signs

ABC Wednesday - Poètes Ferrailleur

On holiday near Lizio in Morbihan area of France we kept passing a tower on a hill in the distance, it looked from another world.  When on a showery day we fetched up at he Musée de Poètes Ferrailleur we discovered what it was.

It was part of the whimsy of Robert Coudray, the Poètes Ferrailleur in the title. A ferrailleur is a scrap iron merchant but Coudray has turned the scrap iron into whirling motion (this one wind powered), and to works of imagination, he is the iron poet.

 Perhaps this sail plane is about to take off

the boat-car set sail

The entrance looks as though it is about to be towed into the air. Inside there are automata, a mechanical theatre of fey creatures, rolling balls and lots of kinetic energy. I didn't take any photos inside, how could they capture the motion, so here is a short taste.  

Pop over to ABC Wednesday to see other words starting with P