Wednesday 21 August 2013

New Born Calf

On our walk on the Common with Spencer on Sunday, we came across a cow with its calf....



We noticed the mother cow was eating something and I was worried for a few seconds that she had some of that orange plastic netting (the type that is sometimes found around building works) caught in her mouth...



Thanks goodness I was wrong......looking a bit closer, we realised that she was eating the afterbirth and the calf must have only just been born....hope you're not squeamish!


On the way back, the calf looked a bit more confident and I saw that it's markings were just like its mum's.....


We also saw the small 'herd' of horses that are on the Common during the warmer weather...



and the donkey that keeps them company....


Thanks for visiting!

Maggie xx

Sunday 11 August 2013

A Fair Few More Than Thirty Nine Steps.....



We've just returned home from Devon. We stayed at some lovely campsites that we hadn't visited before and had mostly sunny weather.

(I'll get to those steps in a minute....)

Here's Chris enjoying outdoor dining at a site near Bovey Tracey....



We like to alternate days when we're away..... one day visiting somewhere.....a town, historic building, garden, car boot sale.....and spend the next day chilling out......maybe reading, crafting, walking Spencer on the beach.....

Of course, Spencer gets a nice walk every day wherever we are :)

There was good walk nearby at the campsite near Honiton....



We came here last year and it was good to see the horses again.....


These horses are very bonded and are so clever. They stand side by side helping each other by swishing the flies off of each other's heads with their tails...


I found some beautiful vintage glass in a nearby antique shop.....my favourite is the Bohemian spatter glass posy vase......so colourful.....



One of the days we visited Coleton Fishacre House and Garden....just look at this view with the little sailboat.......


It reminded me of a book I'd read when I was a teenager set around a house by the sea.....I have a feeling it may have been by Daphne Du Maurier......

We didn't manage to look around the house as we walked the perimeter of the garden with Spencer. I would love to go back another time and see the house as it's 'imbued with 1920s' elegance'....the country home of the the D'Oyly Carte family.

Here's some pics from the garden.....



What a place to live, eh?


We went down a lot of steps which were worth it for the views but I knew at some point we were going to have to go back up lots of steps....I was right.....

Steps......


Steps.....


and more steps....getting ready for the final push.....


Earlier I had asked the lady at the entrance how long the walk would take....... about 45 minutes, she said, as she looked us up and down with a wry smile. 

She'd never mentioned the million steps!!

On the way back to the campsite, there was a cow jam!


Spencer was a star at Slapton Sands....I was emptying my clog which had become full of tiny pebbles when the wind caught it and blew it straight into the sea.......Spencer came to the rescue, diving in to retrieve it.....Spencer was my hero that day......


Sorry Chris, but I didn't see you diving headlong into the waves....I think I just heard your voice upon the wind saying, 'Oh well, you can get another pair'......(you're my hero every other day though xxx).


We had a bit of rain which I like some of the time because it means I can do some crafting in Harvey J. I'd packed some gorgeous Millefiore glass beads in my craft box.....


and made some colourful bracelets.....


We also met up with my son, Will, and had another lovely (bracing) walk on Dartmoor....

Love this photo but I don't think 'windswept' is a good look for me!



We spent the last night in a field in the middle of nowhere (near Cullompton) and we had it all to ourselves.....


Spencer had such fun!


Thanks for popping by!

Maggie xx