Time for Berries

Today is a Bank Holiday here, the one before Schools return for Autumn term on Thursday and so I'll be out for a bit today.

Some signs of seasonal change are starting to make themselves obvious although we have a good five or six weeks to go before that comes in full force but recently I had noticed the berries had started to come out ready for the birds to consume.

Here are some others of a different species being a butterish yellow colour rather say the orange of my old Pyracantha that the local birds would feed off around this time of year.

I've always loved to see them emerge.

Taking stock

Fully laden, he looks at the mile post confirming he is enroute and knows roughly how many more miles he has to go on for.

There is air of casual relief on him.

As he looks down he notices things such as eroded pathways, the variety of differing stones to be found set in the dried up mud and any fresh growth that soon stimulates his mind thinking about how that came to be.

Such curiosity drives him onward.

As he makes his way along the path, the end is in sight.

His effort is rewarded by a tranquil relaxing view and much fresh air.

It is that spirit of adventure that keeps us and this blog writer going.

The better weather returns

It's Wednesday and after the wet last week we are back to something like normal for Summer and looking like a drowned rat as on Saturday  where it was fine but then I was soaked on the front of my shorts due to sudden torrential rain.

I have a huge attraction to things like the humble Dandelion not least wherever we played as boys, they always were seen about in the fields and near hedgerows.

As you may be able to tell the grass condition is pretty good too where in previous years it's been dry. 

That tree out at the Nursery is showing it's leaf coverage off for now before it all goes in a few months time and the cycle begins all over again and that's just how life is.

Looking smart

Taking one's salute suitably dressed, this boy looks really smart in a summer short sleeved dress shirt that can be badged as he earns them and with good pockets which I'd have to say are really most useful.

The neckerchief plays a important part in the dress of anyone in scouting and having been folded and fastened around (either under the collar or over) needs the tails securing and this is done with a "Woggle" that they are inserted and fastened into.

These come in different designs according to country, unit (cub, scout, rover etc) and role such as leader, Sixer etc.

Above is a Wolf Cub woggle.

Checking in at the Nursery

 

The only good thing about this weeks weather has been it has helped the Nurseries crops grow well which I noticed while down there a day ago.

Leaf condition when I inspected them was good with no signs of damage.

Over on the other side these were also doing well although the have a fair bit more to go before they are ready to be taken out.

The summer hike

As we slowly make our way out of the summer, I think it is appropriate to reflect upon the summer months that have had a good number of opportunities to explore the world around us while basking in the sunshine

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Here this scout is taking a well deserved break to have a bite to eat and taking in some liquids while resting his back on his backpack which if his is anything like mine you'll need after a few miles upright.

Although yesterday was raining hard, leading to postponement of a project I had in mind, one thing I enjoyed this summer was looking wild flowers and plants and this is one I feel is gorgeous 

Exploring - Conclusion

 

One thing you can't easily miss is livestock grazing very contentedly even if one member here seems to be thinking he's due a performance fee judging by his expression.

A bit father up, is the delights of the stream at Newby Bridge, Westmoreland which appears to be flowing quite rapidly on a overcast day.

The days away even with the restrictions we felt were necessary such as avoiding areas of very high visitor numbers and making sure there was good airflow at the guesthouse we stayed provided an opportunity to just relax and recover from the worries of the last eighteen or so months with the countryside helping to south jangled nerves.

Exploring - laneside recollections

Imagine setting out with Morecombe Bay in the distance with such lovely fields and you may understand why I loved it so much

Even out of woodland trails, you find yourself walking single file along narrow country roads such as this one that leads to Arnside with pretty wild flowers growing along the drystone walls.

The lakes are something else.

Exploring - the Wild members

 

Arresting colour could be had without going far while we were away and the bumble bees were pretty wild over these as I was for other reasons.

Wild flowers were in abundance wherever there was space to grow and there was plenty of that around the area we walked in which was delightful.

In better weather it would of been the ideal backdrop while enroute on an walk for a picnic with your flask, sandwiches and cake.

Scouts fundraising 2021

This last year and a bit has been challenging for us all, young and old and for some of us following in the tradition of Scouting helped a great deal part from being the source a good third of all posts on here, such as last weeks.

Although Scouting was affected hugely by the pandemic which also had an affect on finances such as rising funds to keep branches going which we helped with with the Race around the World with sponsoring, donations and taking part in, Scouting was able to open up 1,280 new groups in areas of social deprivation, bringing into the scouting family children and young people who otherwise would not of had that opportunity.

This helped an awful of of young people not just cope with the pandemic which mattered a lot but also helped them develop new skills and grow as people.

Currently there's a big waiting list, around 70,000 and one thing we know would help is to raise funds to set up more groups, help with costs such as uniform for those who are the least well off and premises to hold events as conditions enable more face to face scouting to resume .

Currently the Scout Association is running an appeal Oliwa's Story raising funds which can be one off donations or for those who can, a monthly recurring donation.

Reading that you can see for yourself what a difference Scouting made to her life.

I have decided to make a monthly payment because I believe that Scouting Matters and those of us who can should help pass on the opportunity to the next generation.

Please consider helping the appeal out in whatever way you can

Exploring - talking a walk around

 

One thing you cannot go far without encountering are traditional drystone walls that criss-cross many a field such as this.

I noticed quite a variety of different tree species while exploring the area probably helped by the relatively high rainfall in this part of England.

A good number of properties in the area are made from stone such as this big rambling house I observed making my way towards Arnside, the details of which you can observe through the trees in the ground.

There were a good number of wild flowers to be found helped again by the climate and a relative lack of pollution.

The odd small circle you may spot in the pictures is from the rainstorms when taken and necessitated a drying out and cleaning after use of the camera.  

Exploring - Silverdale Cove

 Although the weather was not good to the point I did not risk my Dslr in heavy salty showers, I did explore Silverdale Cove, just inside Lancashire on foot which is a part of the Arnside & Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

You can see part of the coastal path which many people do go along giving some excellent views of the coastline.

There is much shingle on the beach here something that did not help my abilities at staying upright as it made for uneven ground.

It was a struggle but I managed it.

Morecombe Bay is known for its silt and mud flaps that have over the years resulted in tragedies where people have become in effect trapped, unable to get to dry land.

Some sense of the scale of the cove can be observed from looking at this picture.

Exploring - nature at the base

This week as promised I'm looking at my time away last week and I'll begin today with two pictures of plants with flowers where I stayed around South Lakeland in what was a stone built two storey building extended and extensively modernized while keeping much of its period charm.

One advantage of its elevated position is the excellent views across Morecombe Bay towards Heysham and Barrow In Furness with its sand dunes although you certainly notice it walking down the hardcore covered steep unadopted road.

There were a number of honey bees there but we never saw a wasp although there was much vegetation that one would of thought of attracted them.

There were a fair number of trees within the grounds and these are two good examples of them