Roses

 

It's nearly June and our Roses have started blooming, maybe a bit earlier than last year but just as wonderful as ever. 

I'd noticed this one Olivia around on the 15th May

On the 19th more flowers were showing

Blue for you was coming out as well 

 

Today Olivia looks like this

Blue for you has been joined buy more flowers

Lady Emma Hamilton has also started putting in appearance 

But the Canary bird was flowering before any of them 

Take Care

St Mary the Virgin Ewelme

 

This week the Church Explorer revisits St Mary the Virgin Ewelme. Though I visited the church many years ago I felt I never did the place justice so this week I will show you around the outside and the churchyard and next week I will take you inside. 

Dark Skys

 

Taken the beginning of may  when I noticed the cloudy sky out the back of the house

Out of the bedroom window the clouds looked ominous 

 

Looking over the oak tree

 

South from the bathroom window

Then towards the setting sun. I cannot remember if it rained but the clouds certainly threatened it

Happy Skywatch

The Saxon Long House

 

Last week was the Oxfordshire Art week which I found out about at the last moment from my next door neighbour, one he mentioned was a Saxon Long house. Well I went along to see it with my son 

This is the Saxon Long House which was built adopting techniques the Saxons would have used

Nearby is a story board about it

First thing I noticed on the way in was this helmet, nearby was  a guy beating out the panels that would be used on something like this. It's a lot simpler that it looks. The helmet here is covered in Brass, under it is steel. It is heavy which I found out after picking it up. Mostly because of the chain mail around it

Nearby was another one of steel

and yet another beautiful one on a table

Along with various swords . The sword in the foreground was lighter than I expected

A Saxon well he is from the Living History Society . He explained all about the arms, he also played a Anglo-Saxon Lyre

Nearby were various spears and a shield he also told us about

On a table at the back were bowls and drinking horns. I found it a very interesting visit even if I did come home smelling of smoke from the house, the had a huge fire going cooking Saxon food.

St Mary Waterperry

 

 This week the Church Explorer  visits St Mary Waterperry a beautiful old church with an unusual bell tower. It set in the grounds of Waterperry house.

Coronation Fly Past

 

 No doubt a lot of you will have sat and watched the Coronation last Saturday. The RAF did a flypast at the end and you will have see the helicopters flying over in the low cloud. Once the Red Arrows flew past that was the end of the RAF flypast 

 

At least I thought it was, 20 min's later I heard a low flying Helicopter and looking out the kitchen window I watched the lead Helicopter flypast  low enough to see the pilot. By the time I ran to get my iphone and bumping into my wife only to miss the Apache's just getting two as the flew away

 

I did get the next two and the last Apache flying over

 

I got the last helicopter flying past but missed one that had done a circuit. The helicopter's are based at a couple of military bases nearby 

 

As it is Skywatch I will leave you with this shot I captured with a wild life camera

Happy Skywatch

The Coronation

 

A few of you will have gone to the Coronation  of King Charles III and no doubt even more of you would have watched it in TV like I did but celebrations were well under way before hand as I noticed when I took my dog to the vet on Friday.

On the way to the vet I passed this display case that kept up by an ex school teacher

The teddy bears were already celebrating

along with the King and Queen

A party was well under way in the second display case

Even in the garden the animals were celebrating 

Take Care

St Bartholomew Holton

 

 

This week the Church Explorer visits St Bartholomew Holton a church I visited many years ago only to find it locked, mind you it was evening. This was supposed the first church I visited after my time in Hospital  but the day before I did visit another church which I will feature in the future

More Church Skys

 

It has been lax of me not to take any sky shot's lately so I thought as I get quite a few nice skys when I visit churches The why not feature some of them from 2023 

St Giles Bletchington was the first church in 2023 though it was taken on a cold morning in December 2022 

 St Mary the Virgin Kirtlington was next taken a an hour or so after the last church, the sky blue in the frosty morning 

 

St Nicholas Fyfield has a glorious blue sky

But don't ask me how this happened, a mistake while holding the camera

The sky had turned a little grey a short  time later when I stopped off at the chapel up the road

St Michael Begbroke did not disappoint with a blue sky

I visited St Mary the Virgin at Ewelme a few days ago so have not written a blog up on it yet but it shows that the skys are not always blue.

Happy Skywatch

Swans

  

On Friday I promised I would show you what was on the duck house in the photo, you can see it at the end of this little story

 

I took my 400mm lens with me to get a few photos of the swans I had herd were nesting on the lake. First thing I spotted was a coot

 

The swans were feeding so no luck there

 

Next day I did not bring by camera but used my iphone to get these shots, one swan was trying to get comfy on the nest

 

The partner seems concerned 

 

 walking on a Canada goose swam on up the lake

 

I did go back later with my camera and got some photos, one of this swan

 

another of this on in the reeds

 

What was on the duck house, well a goose had taken up residence to nest

The next week  I took the dog for a walk and had seen the swan on the nest as I walked past it was feeding in the reeds the nest untended, I crept closer and spotted two eggs in the nest. Later she was back on the nest again. The mail swan took offence and three Canada geese and was chasing them up the lake where the ran out of space and flew off, I should have brought my camera. I'll find out more when I go back next time.

Take Care