carpeted by Martha-Ann

We visited Burton Agnes Hall for the snowdrop walk.
We go every year and always enjoy it.
It was a cold day but fine and the threatened snow hadn't arrived so we had a good view of the snowdrops. We strolled through the woodland and around the walled garden ending up in the tearoom for a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

filigree by Martha-Ann

delicate lace design
a gossamer of crocheted mesh
complex latticed veins
orange beauty turned to
winter's fragile filigree

...I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight by Martha-Ann

The snowy rape field was full of hungry wood pigeons which rose up in a giant flock of rushing wings to circle above the field before dropping down again.
This is just a snapshot of the few, there were hundreds of them like a dark cloud meandering across the beautiful blue sky.

heralds of spring by Martha-Ann

these have appeared in the rockery today.


In the middle of winter the first shoot appears
Lancing the ground like tiny green spears.
Daily they're growing pushing up through the mud
And safe in the middle a delicate bud.
The stalk elongates, the bud bows, so polite
To hang almost shyly 'til the time is just right
For the flower to open, so white and pristine,
The edges are picoted a delicate green.
Blown by the north wind they curtsy and dance.
The herald of springtime, the snowdrops all prance

delicate by Martha-Ann

Mother nature weaves her web as evening shadows fall
The blue-grey sky adjusts her tone as change comes over all.
Delicate shades with orange hue cover o'er the sky
As sunsets paints her palette there to dazzle every eye.

Happy New Year 2010 from Martha-Ann

Happy 2010
A bit late I know but better late than never...

The weather has been different to say the least, all this snow reminds me of when I was about fifteen and it snowed worse than we've had this year....and it lasted longer.
Nobody took time off work or school, we just got on with it!

I remember my dad setting off for work with snow up somewhere round his middle, he was so bundled up with clothes my mother said he looked like 'Nanook of the North', he had about three miles to walk!

Us kids walked a couple of miles to school in it too...we got a hot drink when we got there and the radiators steamed all morning with wet clothes...I can still recall the smell..and we put them back on either still wet or damp for playtimes and home time!!
They were squat radiators, about eighteen inches high and the same width. We sat on them like warm seats, no health and safety then.
Fingers, toes and knees turned bright red and tingled as they thawed but we were back out playing in it when they had...Happy days!

winter by Martha-Ann

Glistening, glinting in the sun like diamonds, the crystal snowflakes fall.
The seven sided works of art combine to make the scene
Where children wrapped in warmth contrive to build a snowman on the village green.

Crisp and frosty branches raised, a filgree of light. The watery drips are turned to ice and varied daglets hang.
The brisk fresh air transforms the breath into a puff of steam
Whilst sunlight glints on snowy wastes reflect a rainbow's beam.

Seasons Greetings from Martha-Ann

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year

morning light by Martha-Ann

Last evening when I went to bed the moon was clear and bright
The stars peeped down atwinkling within the velvet night.
At sunrise when I woke and rose, the curtains opening wide,
The window panes were pearl, opaque, I couldn't see outside.

A tracery of leafy shapes the window panes adorn
Jack frost had been and drawn then there then vanished with the dawn.
Each window pane's a beauteous sight
Of ferns and leaves and diffused light.
His ice creations, fragile patterns, delicate, a filament of grace,
Filligrees of snowy white, intricate as lace.

I've been to many galleries the paintings there to see
By famous artists, world renowned for their expertise
But Jack Frost surely must compare with every one of these..

christmas trees by Martha-Ann

re-cycled pleated pyramids of written words
narrative cones adorned with golden stars
effective simplicity from a Jilly Cooper paperback!

where's the food? by Martha-Ann

Three little dickie birds sitting in a row
Waiting for breakfast and squabbling so!

ambrosia by Martha-Ann

juicy
crisp orbs
of purple red
little sacs of sweetness
bluish bloom upon your cheek
mouth wateringly gorgeous treat
bunches hanging temptingly
for me
Mmmmm!

remembrance

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

reflection by Martha-Ann

We walked along beside the shore
the sun cast silvery sparkles across the sea
an open fan of diamond glints
impatient on the wind ruffled surface of the waves
that twitched with every breath of air
painted prisms of perfection


Contemplation by Martha-Ann

He stood alone gazing outwards from the shore
contemplating some silent thought
his face was wreathed in sunlight
it glinted on his auburn hair raising a coppery glow
to cross his wistful countenance

passion flower by Martha-Ann

stylish beauty luminous in Novembers drear weaving the story of our lord

five petals and five sepals the ten apostles who loved you
the two missing are Peter who denied you and Judas who betrayed you

filaments of the corona represent the thorns of your rough crown
three pistil stigmas the nails you bravely bore
five stamens the wounds upon your broken body
the leaf lobes shape the lance that pierced your side

spotted leaves betray the silver Judas received
flowers closing after just one day...the time you spent upon the cross
they fold their petals over the ovary to represent you in your tomb

Sweet passionflower the symbol of our faith

winter visitors by Martha-Ann

Fieldfares, cousins of our native thrush,
Come homing in on a silent rush
Of wings, to settle in the hawthorne hedge
And gorge on berries plump and red.

The gauntlet of the gulls outrun
Exhausted birds are almost done.
Mid noisy, straggling, chuckling flocks
They swoop and wheel across the docks.

The Russian winter borne no more,
The long, long journey to our shore
Forgotten as with breath a-bating
They find the feast is laid and waiting.

Flights of hundreds can be seen
An age old part of our winter scene.

storm by Martha-Ann

Dark and brooding storm clouds gather
Scudding o'er the storm lashed sky
Screeching winds buffet the landscape
Leaves and twigs go whistling by
Raindrops once that pattered slowly
Ever faster deluge down
Inkblot patterns merge together
Soaking in the parched hard ground


Perturbation by Martha-Ann

Rooks strut the straight brown furrows
probing with soil bedecked beaks
searching for grub or beetle
then rise like one majestic creature
flying into the keening wind
to head for the shelter of their pine tree roosts

leaden clouds scud impatiently across the darkening sky
as rain drops begin to pitter on the bare earth

trees lean from an ever increasing wind
as the last of the autumn leaves
are stripped from their precarious hold of the bare branches

glistered raindrops burnish beech twigs
ephemeral beauty destroyed by the fierce wind

surf by Martha-Ann

White horses gallop ever shoreward
Prancing, dancing moving forward
To break and spume against the shingle
Stones, foam and bubbles all a-mingle
Shushing, sighing, bubbling home
Shining water, swirling foam
Crashing in no more to roam.

a brooding sky

The weather has changed over the last few days, it's cold and windy with showers every now and again. Proper dowly as we say in Yorkshire. This dark sky looked dramatic before the rain and a small single seater aircraft seems dwarfed by the enormity of it all.



Dowly by Martha-Ann

Dark
Brooding
Clouds
Majesty before the storm...

the softness of autumn

blurry
Originally uploaded by Martha-Ann48

This picture is a bit blurry or soft but I think it makes a nice statement. The horse chestnut leaves are just beginning to turn and the mere in the background adds an ethereal air.


Warp & weft by Martha-Ann

Rich earthy coloured hues
Crisp brown outline, golden centres, tips of green
The softness of the blues
Create a peaceful scene.
Autumn is upon us with her ever changing mood
Frolicing winds whisk capricious leaves
To dance like fairies in the salubrious wood
As autumn splendour weaves.

royal velvet by Martha-Ann

'royal velvet'
Originally uploaded by Martha-Ann48

blossom tossed on the keening wind
rich and vibrant shades
an open maw with tentacles protruding like some rare cephalopod
pollen bedecked stamens
golden stigma
fuschia...

autumn by Martha-Ann

Stainsdale Lake
Originally uploaded by Martha-Ann48

Each autumn when the summer dies
And mists becloud the darkening skies
Mother nature with helping hand
Sends bounteous gifts throughout the land.

Each orchard tree is laden down
With apples red or pears of brown.
Purple plums so ripely hang
For winter pies and dark, sweet jam.

And wayside trees with gifts abound
As autumn bounty can be found.
Green spikey chestnuts split their cases
Glistening conkers show their faces.

Beech masts open tri-lobed shells
And sprinkle nuts upon the fells
Whilst hazelnuts so soft and green
Begin to harden in golden sheen.

The hedgerows too bedecked boughs dip
With orange haw and ruby hip.
Sloe berries dress the blackthorn tree,
In natures garner all is free.

Brambles hide on prickled stems
Woodmice feed on these plump black gems
And squirrels hide acorns near their dreys
A treat for pleasant springtime days.

The colours too are natures gift
Send spirits high and hopes can lift.
Russets, yellows, orange too
Deck leaves with many coloured hue.

The purples, blacks, the glistening reds
Of berries, fruits above our heads.
Nature is fulsome with her fare
And man and beast all take a share.

tomato haikus by Martha-Ann

tumbling tom
Originally uploaded by Martha-Ann48

Summers bounteous gift
Perfect orbs of rich ripe red
Savour the flavour

Spheres of pure delight
Raindrops a glistening
Impatient to taste

A rain washed beauty
Essence of a summers day
Tasty scarlet globes

shades of keats

hips
Originally uploaded by Martha-Ann48

Not so much indian summer as Keats autumn today...seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness isn't in it.
It began raining last night and only stopped this morning leaving behind a dull, grey, cold & misty day.
These beautiful red rosehips cheer up a corner of the garden.


Rosehips by Martha-Ann

Rosy red amid the darkened gloom of autumn day
A veritable feast of colour keeps October drear at bay.
Perfect tiny packages dangling from the thorny petiole
Tempting hungry birds to feast, swallowing them whole.

indian summer

friends!
Originally uploaded by Martha-Ann48

We've been experiencing an indian summer, the warm flush of autumn sunshine brought the insects out to feed on the dainty yellow ivy flowers. They're very prolific flowerers this year and the bees, flies and butterflies were feasting on them. This comma shared the plant with a bee.


Butterfly by Martha-Ann

Imago
myriad coloured wings flitter & flutter
poised & graceful elegance
coiled spring tongue dipping ever deeper
amid the ivy blossom

in the cells!

in the cells!
Originally uploaded by Martha-Ann48

I was tidying my seed trays when I came across seven butterflies in one of the stacked trays....all dead.....each in it's own little cell.
I've never seen anything like it before, they were all face down as if they'd crawled in...so odd!
Three small whites, two large whites, one painted lady and one small skipper.


Cusp by Martha-Ann

Unfortunate tenants imprisoned in their cells
no warders here
but no escape
from this eternal paradise

dead rainbows

petrol
Originally uploaded by Martha-Ann48

I was thinking today about when I was growing up, how it always seemed sunny....but of course that can't be true, it must have rained sometimes.
And then I remembered one day when we were going to the shops with my mam and it WAS raining.
Us kids were jumping in puddles, splashing around doing little dances in them when suddenly there was a rainbow....in a puddle, not in the sky!
Beautiful, a myriad of colour just lying there.
I shouted to my mam that there was a dead rainbow...how she laughed!
'Just petrol' she said.
She made a game of it, telling us to make us wish.
I can't remember what I wished for or if it came true either.
You don't see dead rainbows much these days, better cars I suppose but I found one recently and took a picture of it too.
It was on quite a busy road but I managed it...my son said I'd get run over but I didn't. LOL


Chimera by Martha-Ann

beautiful stain
exquisite colours glowing on the dirty street
a heavenly rainbow here on earth
perfection...

wish we were there...

We
should have been down in Norfolk this week, seal and bird watching
but I've gone and pulled the ligament in the back of my knee and can't walk far so we've had to postpone it and I was really looking forward to it...

The weather has taken a turn for the worst again, after Wednesdays incessant rain and the lovely sunny day we had yesterday it's back to being dull and cold...I've actually put the heating on today as it's so chilly but then maybe it's just because I'm sat around resting this silly leg!
It was proper autumny this morning with a misty and chill start...it hasn't got any better!
The flower beds are shutting themselves down for the winter with just a few hardy specimens braving it with the odd blossom or two.
The rose arch looks lovely, pink blowsy roses buffeted by the wind and lots of them too...don't they know it's October?
I've noticed an increase in birds to the feeders and table, my regulars didn't know what hit them as a great flock of squabbling starnels arrived en masse this morning and proceeded to gobble up everything in sight...they even emptied the peanut feeders!!
Where's next door's cat when I need him?..LOL...only kidding!
That reminded me of one of my poems....


Catnap by Martha-Ann

Sunlight dapples the garden grass.
The sun is bright and warm.
A pussycat is lying there.
He gives a tired yawn.
Ginger fur tinged with white and slanting amber eyes.
He stretches, yawns, turns on his back.. feet pointing to the skies.
And settled then his eyes he shuts as he drifts into sleep.
And sunlight warmed he sighs and purrs into a dream so deep.
He's chasing mice and catching fish and drinking bowls of milk.
The breeze comes whispering through the trees to stir his fur...like silk.
In quiet contemplation now I wish that I could be
A pussycat without a care.
As beautiful as he.