Tags
agrimony, butterflies, clouds, common darter, common knapweed, Diary, dragonflies, Field Beans, gatekeeper, Great Willowherb, hedge bindweed, lane, Lords and Ladies, Marsh Woundwort, Meadowsweet, ponds, ringlet, ruddy darter, scarlet pimpernel, spear thistle, Suffolk, Sweet Chestnut, thunderstorm, wild flowers, yarrow
We arrived back home last Wednesday after spending eight days in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest). It was probably the hottest day of the year so far and we spent it travelling by train up from Triberg, Germany to Ebbsfleet in Kent (England) where we had left our car. We set off from the hotel at 6.30 am European time and got home just after 7.00 pm British time (one hour behind Europe). The car thermometer said it was 32C (89.5F) when we set off from Kent and it peaked at 34C (93F) near the tunnel at the Dartford Crossing (under the Thames). As we drove home up through Essex and Suffolk we watched large black clouds to the west edging ever nearer and we hoped we’d be able to get home before the storm got to us. We did. It was still 32C as we unpacked the car, opened all the windows and doors in the house and wandered round the garden for a while looking at the long grass and the drooping plants. While I put the kettle on and made a cup of tea Richard telephoned the Chinese restaurant in Halesworth and ordered a take-away meal. He was just about to set off when the storm broke. It was the most violent one I’ve seen for many years with continuous thunder and bolts of lightening coming down vertically and travelling horizontally across the sky. The rain was very heavy indeed. Elinor and I sat on the stairs together as she gets quite frightened during thunderstorms and Richard went off to collect our evening meal. The storm gradually abated and the sky cleared but still Richard hadn’t come back and I began to worry about him. I found his phone which he had left behind so I couldn’t get in touch to find out where he was. I was considering getting in the car and going to look for him when I was relieved to see him driving up to the house. He had had a hair-raising journey and when he had got to Halesworth he found that the Chinese restaurant had a power-cut and couldn’t give us a meal. They had tried to phone him on his mobile to let him know, but of course he had left it at home. The town’s Thoroughfare was flooded with a foot of water and people were out trying to sweep the water away from the shop doors. Water was coming up through the drains and the town river was in full spate. Richard didn’t lose his head and knew he had a mission to accomplish so went to the other Chinese restaurant at the top of the town which hadn’t lost it’s power and ordered our meal from them instead.
When the rain stopped I went outside to enjoy the fresh, cooler air and took some photographs of the strange clouds.
The following day I resumed my dutiful-daughter job and took Mum out to do her shopping. We had bought double her usual amount of shopping just before we’d gone away and we had made sure she had enough of her medication to last as well. While we were on our holiday she had been taken to church by my brother on the Sunday and he had cooked lunch for her at his house, so she had plenty to tell me.
When I got home again I got on with the washing and started to tidy the garden. Richard and I called in to see our next-door-neighbours who had been kind enough to water the plants in the greenhouse and to put our rubbish bins out for collection while we were away. We are very fortunate to have such thoughtful and generous neighbours.
The next day I continued with house and garden work.
I walked down the lane with Elinor to post birthday cards to my niece Natalie (my brother’s daughter) who had her 31st birthday on the 23rd of July and cards to Alice my elder daughter who had her 31st birthday on the 24th of July. Natalie is exactly 23 hours older than Alice.
Richard spoke to the man who lives on the opposite side of the lane to the pond and who was responsible for digging it. Apparently, many years ago there was a pond there which was wide enough and deep enough to enable the horses to be led to drink while still attached to their carts. It was filled in when horses were no longer needed on the farm but it has now been re-instated and I am very pleased. The pond is already full of interesting plants and insects which have found their way there on their own.
These were all the things I saw at the side of the lane on a short 20 minute walk to post cards.
Here now is my musical choice – the Petite Symphonie in B flat for nine wind instruments by Charles Gounod, composed in 1888. It lasts about 20 minutes and is of four movements. I love the lyricism of French 19th century music and I like this recording of the piece very much. It is a piece of music I used to play and it brings back such good memories to me when I hear it.
Thanks for visiting!
Lisa G. said:
Your wildflowers are so pretty, and I love to see dragonflies! Are the field beans actually growing wild? I’ve never seen that here.
Your husband is an intrepid fellow, Clare! He actually went to another restaurant in all that flooding and confusion – wow. Very impressive. I’m glad the storm didn’t do worse.
If you want to see something strange, go to my blog – your hedge bindweed photo is taking over the area where I have a link to your blog!! How weird is that? And why that particular photo, I don’t know! Is that an invasive plant in your area? 😀
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clarepooley33 said:
Oh Lisa! I have just seen the monster flower on your blog! How very strange, but then it is bindweed and it probably wants to take over. 😉 I wouldn’t say bindweed is invasive as it is a native plant but it does take over if given the chance and most people do their best to get rid of it if it appears in their gardens. The reason why it’s that particular photo is that WordPress ask for bloggers to suggest which photo they’d like to use as a sort of header for the post and I chose that one.
I think the call of the empty stomach was stronger than Richard’s fear of getting stuck in a flood or struck by lightening so he just went ahead and found the food!
Field Beans – they are a crop round here and whole fields are planted up with them. Sometimes they are left until they are almost black and shrivelled before they are harvested. They are used as a high protein supplement in animal feed and are also known as Fava beans. Like all peas and beans, the roots store nitrogen in nodules and if left in the soil they replenish it.
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Lisa G. said:
I’ve heard of fava beans, mentioned by my Italian relatives. And I have to stop blaming the bindweed, I guess – there’s something strange going on all of a sudden, and your photo just wants to be too big on my blog, so I had to remove your link there, and put just a text link in another part. I don’t get it. But I know you’re not doing in on purpose, Clare! 😀 (I haven’t listened to the Gounod yet – hope I don’t forget)
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clarepooley33 said:
I noticed the giant sea-holly that replaced the bindweed. I am really sorry and I have no idea why this should be happening. I’m not doing anything different from what I’ve always done but obviously something isn’t quite right.
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Lisa G. said:
Oh, I don’t blame you in any way, Clare! Totally weird, though.
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clarepooley33 said:
Isn’t it!
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markspitzerdesigns said:
The flowers and insects seem so calm in contrast to the storm – it highlights the contrasts in you vacation story
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Mark. The weather certainly calmed down quickly after the storm.
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margaret21 said:
Beautiful high summer photos – and a story that doesn’t at all match the pictures! I bet it was quite scary at the time.
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clarepooley33 said:
It *was* quite scary and I remembered all the ‘struck by lightening’ stories we have heard this year and got worried about my husband when he took an hour on an errand that usually only takes 25 minutes.
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margaret21 said:
Aaagh. I can imagine. Glad all is well!
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susanpoozan said:
Enjoyed all the pleasant sights of your walk down the lane.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Susan. Elinor and I both enjoyed the walk too.
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Gallivanta said:
Looks like it’s good to be home again; storm not withstanding.
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clarepooley33 said:
It is good to be home! Thank-you Ann 🙂
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bitaboutbritain said:
It’s good to go away, but good to get back too. Those were certainly odd clouds – I know even less about clouds (though of course I’ve tried looking at them from both sides now) than I do about wildlife. But I love your impressive photos – my close-ups are useless. Fascinating to hear about your old, long-gone, church; any remains of it? A lurking yew even? Good post.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you! I was surprised to see the bit of wall which may or may not be part of the church. I always thought the whole building was razed to the ground in Tudor times. There is a cross in the garden of the farm which I assume ‘marks the spot’. I will have to see if I can talk to the owners of the farm and find out a bit more.
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Jill Weatherholt said:
I’m happy you made it home before the storm hit, Clare. Like Elinor, those violent storms frighten me. Your photos are absolutely beautiful, as was your music selection. Thanks so much for brightening my day. ❤
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much Jill. I don’t like storms especially as the low pressure makes me feel ill. I get headaches and nausea and sometimes I become so lethargic I have to lie down. Very strange. I’m glad you liked the photos and music.
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Jill Weatherholt said:
I used to get terrible sinus headaches with the pressure changed. Years ago, I started to take magnesium supplements and thankfully its really helped. 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
That is good to know – I’ll look into that. Thank-you Jill 🙂
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tamara said:
Dragonflies are so difficult to catch, even for a photo, yours look great!!!!!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you so much Tamara!
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Jane said:
Dear Clare,
Thank you for sharing such a lovely collection of scenes from your area. What excellent dragonfly shots. I’ve never seen the clear pale looking bodies of newly emerged dragonflies. I thought it must be a new species until I read your explanation.
Those clouds look very strange and the storm sounded frightening. I’m glad Richard had priorities right with dinner! 😉
You are a devoted caring daughter and mum. I hope you have time to take good care of yourself, Clare?
You’ve just been to the Black Forest? I hope that went well?
Kind wishes, Jane.:-)
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clarepooley33 said:
I had never seen such a pale dragonfly before either. After a little research I found out about the newly emerged dragonflies but couldn’t work out which type of dragonfly it was.
I can always rely on Richard to find us a meal 😉 and yes, we’ve had a short holiday in Germany which was lovely and I will be posting about it eventually. Germany seems to be suffering a lot with terrorist attacks and other atrocities and I feel so sorry for the people who are kind and generous.
Thank-you for your kind wishes Jane – I do get tired and anxious looking after my mother and daughter but I love them both and wouldn’t have it any other way. Richard helps all he can so I’m not on my own. I hope you are keeping well and not tiring yourself too much with the caring you do. Love and best wishes, Clare xx
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quietsolopursuits said:
I hope that you enjoyed your stay abroad and had some time to relax. Still, there’s no place like home, and you’re lucky to live in an area such as yours. From the wildflowers and insects to the history of things around you, like old church of St Nicholas demolished many hundreds of years ago.
It’s also a good thing that there are two Chinese places in town, and that Richard braved the storm to bring back food despite the weather.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Jerry. We had a very nice holiday and wished we could have stayed away longer. It is good to be back home though despite all the usual boring chores that have to be done. I can always rely on my husband to provide food at any time 😉
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colorpencil2014 said:
Lovely photos and sweet music and your perfect ‘coming home from vacation stories…but I am happy Richard returned safely home! Good to have you back! xo Johanna
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Johanna! We are glad to be back after a lovely holiday. xx Clare
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dobetteralways said:
Whenever you post pictures of the area you live in it makes me want to come visit!
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clarepooley33 said:
If ever you are in England you will be most welcome xx
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dobetteralways said:
Well I am in the Have Freedom Will Travel phase of my life so that might just happen 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
🙂
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KerryCan said:
Don’t you sometimes wonder why we travel at all, when it’s so exhausting and home has so much to offer in terms of comfort and beauty?!
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clarepooley33 said:
I do wonder this every time we go away! We have done a few of these long-distance rail journeys and they are fascinating and fun but sooo tiring!
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tootlepedal said:
I liked you pictures of the curious cloud formations. They were most unusual. I’m glad that you got back from your trip before the clouds burst. It is no fun driving on busy roads in pouring rain.
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clarepooley33 said:
It is no fun at all and I seem to have done it a number of times this summer.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
It’s a shame that you had such a fierce storm after such a long trip but that’s summer for you. At least you didn’t go hungry on top of everything else.
The scarlet pimpernel was a nice find. I’ve never seen one of them and neither have I seen the marsh woundwort.
Amazing how much your meadowsweet flower heads resembles ours even though they are very different plants.
It’s nice to see the chestnut flowers. With all of ours gone from blight it’s probably something I’ll never get to see in person.
Welcome home. I hope you’ll have a little downtime to relax in.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Allen. I’m sorry to hear about the Sweet Chestnut blight. All our trees are really suffering – I hope something can be done soon to halt their total destruction. We wouldn’t survive long without them.
Scarlet Pimpernel flowers are so pretty and quite small – to use one of your analogies, just a little bigger than the round end of a pencil eraser. My mother discovered them in her garden years ago when they first moved there and wouldn’t let my father weed them away. Within weeks they had taken over part of the garden and they had to pull them up. I found Marsh Woundwort in our garden last year but so far it is behaving itself!
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
No, a treeless world wouldn’t be good and I hope I never see it.
Scarlet pimpernel is an introduced plant here but I’d like to see it even if it is a little weedy.
I likes its color and that of the marsh woundwort too.
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clarepooley33 said:
Scarlet Pimpernel is known as ‘Poor-man’s Weatherglass’ as it closes its petals in cloudy weather.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
We have a few that do that too, and many that close in the afternoon. Our wild lettuce has been doing that to me all week.
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clarepooley33 said:
The wonders of the natural world…
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Ranthambore Hotel Booking said:
Your wildflowers are so beautiful, and I want to see dragonflies!..The blooms and creepy crawlies appear to be so quiet rather than the tempest – it highlights the complexities in you excursion story..
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much for taking the time to comment. I love seeing dragonflies!
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Lavinia Ross said:
Glad the storm was not any worse, Clare, especially with the cell phone being left at home. Those clouds are unusual. From what I could find under cumulonimbus types, they may be Mammatocumulus. There is a good picture on the Wiki page that looks similar in shape.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumulonimbus_cloud
Happy birthday to your niece Natalie and eldest daughter Alice. 23 hrs apart!
Your photos are lovely, all of them. Listening to the music right now, an enjoyable selection. So glad you had a wonderful time, and are back home safely.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you so much Lavinia. I am grateful for the link too. I had thought of Mamma clouds but the reference pictures I looked at all had these rounded clouds attached to the bottom of the cumulus clouds. Perhaps they got detached after the storm? 🙂 I am glad you enjoyed the post – have a lovely weekend! Best wishes Clare xx
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kim said:
Wonderful peek into the countryside on the other side of England from where I am. Thank you for sharing them with us. x
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clarepooley33 said:
You’re very welcome x
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Charlotte Hoather said:
I’ll have to listen to your music selection later if I have wifi in my lodgings, coincidentally I’m travelling to Germany buy my cheap flights been delayed, oh well it’s a good time to catch up with my blog friends before the flight 😜🌸
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clarepooley33 said:
It’s annoying waiting for delayed flights. Hope you get to Germany soon and your lodgings are fine when you get there.
Best wishes, Clare 🙂
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Liz said:
Clare, I have so much enjoyed catching up on all your latest news – what dramas! And how nice to be able to have beautiful quiet walks too. Well done all of you for enduring the storm, and what amazing cloud photos – I adored the pictures, thank you. x
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clarepooley33 said:
My pleasure Liz – and thank-you!
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womanseyeview said:
You always write such a nice, chatty post Clare and I marvel at your microphotography… The dragonflies are amazing! Sounds like quite the storm but glad it worked out just fine and with a meal as well.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you. Yes, the storm was very violent but fortunately we didn’t lose power and we still eat well!
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Kate R said:
What lovely and uplifting music after that story of the storm! I can understand how you might have been concerned as it sounded very violent and what strange clouds after too. You really live in such a pretty part of England, Clare and the lane is so pretty and pastoral. I love seeing the little insects and the wildflowers growing there. I was fascinated by the story of the pond and how the original one had been used for the cart horses…that conjures up such a lovely picture. It will be interesting to see how the newly dug one comes along and what wildlife will take up home there. Lovely post Clare – I certainly hope you don’t get any more storms like that!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Kate! I don’t particularly want another one like that either though we were very fortunate not to have flooding or a power-cut as the town did. The pond is doing very well and looks as though it has always been there. Moorhens and ducks swim in it and there are many plants growing round the margin and lots of insects too. It looked so stark in the winter and very deep too; I had thought that there would be accidents with people or cars falling in, but no, it has been fine so far.
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