Minnie and Neil...

Friday 25th March 2011

Once upon a time... there were two sisters... now there is Minnie...

When Beryl was still with us she used to favour me...

And Minnie spent time with Neil...

She spends every evening impersonating a limpet... 

with her very most favourite person in the whole world...

As soon as Neil sits down...

Shellseeking...

10 September 2010

A short walk round a headland from the beautiful Sandy beach at Crawfordsburn is a small bay...

which is truly beautiful and...

a treasure trove for shells and broken shells... after the tide goes out...

The shells are amazing... so many different colours and types and shapes...  limpets, mussels, whelks, etc

The rock pools are filled with shells...

The bank of shells continues under the sea...

As the tide receded the shells were still shiny and wet and I couldn't resist sitting down and looking through all the different types...  this was a beach that was a favourite of ours when we were children for spending a sunny day with a picnic...

Neil on the beach...

The colours are stunning... natural golds and beiges and creams with soft grey blues... dull and pearly...

I love shellseeking on this beach...  so spoiled for choice as my feet crunch with every step...

I think the broken ones are every bit as beautiful as the complete shells... I love when I can see the swirly shape inside the shell and the growth lines on the shell a little like the rings on a tree.

Spoiled for choice...

More Birthday Fun...

10 September 2010

Our birthdays are very close together so today we were celebrating Neil's birthday...

After a cooked breakfast... Neil opened his presents (DVD box sets of the complete collection of Jonathon Creek and the complete Wolf's Rain anime) and birthday cards...

In the late morning as the weather improved we decided it was too warm to stay home and went for a walk at Crawfordsburn Beach... the tide was just turning when we arrived...

It was truly beautiful with a warm breeze...

We paused now and again as we walked along the beach to photograph pebbles...

At one point a man walking his dog paused on his way past to ask if we minded him asking what we were photographing... I laughed and said pebbles...  he replied that he liked to look at the pebbles too and often picked up beautiful pebbles that looked like fossils or had lines running through them...

Sometimes the colours just appeal to me...

As the tide receded the seagulls came down looking for anything edible that might be stranded...

The currents leave beautiful marks on the sand... the water looked so blue and inviting as it reflected the colour of the sky.

Wonderful carved kingfisher beside the river near the carpark...

This huge piece of stranded driftwood reminded us of a pterodactyl's head...

With the tide turning it was the perfect time to do some shellseeking.. see the next posting...

After walking Shane in the evening, we went to the Odyssey for a pizza and then saw Tamara Drewe in the cinema.  The movie was absolutely hilarious...  A wonderful day...

Birthday fun...

8 September 2010

Thank you everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes I have received by email, on yahoo groups and on facebook.  They have all been very much appreciated and helped to make my birthday very special.

This year was a departure for me... for the past few years my birthday present has usually been a new Sasha doll but this year... I opted for books... very cool books...  there are books on sock knitting, books on dyeing wool, and books on using google blogger...  I just adore books...

After breakfast and opening all of my presents and birthday cards, Neil and I went out for lunch to a restaurant in the new Victoria Centre in Belfast.  It was really delicious...  then we wandered around the city centre for a couple of hours finishing off with a cup of tea in the coffeeshop in Waterstone's book shop. 

We had sandwiches for tea with a glass of wine and watched The Goblet of Fire and the Half-Blood Prince on DVD... I really love the Harry Potter books and movies...  a perfect birthday!

A day on the lough

Saturday 24 July

Shane and I went down to the Waterworks this morning for a walk.  I hadn't planned on walking there, just a last minute decision, so I hadn't brought bread for the birds.  

  Also I had forgotten Shane's collar, but he didn't misbehave 

- he has never really been one for chasing birds.

Mid-day I took a trip down to Antrim to meet my friend from work Jim Smyth.  

I took the wrong road in Shanes Castle and ended up at the 104th Antrim Show.  

There were hundreds of people there and lots of cattle, sheep and pigs being shown.

I also saw the Castle, before I finally found Jim and his boat.

We went out on his yacht on the lough with his friend and expert sailor Jeff.  

Jeff was down to do some work on his yacht, but ended up coming along too. 

Jeff had brought his dog to the Boat Club and she ended up coming as well.  

She had a red life jacket to match ours!  

She was a pure breed - I think a Border Terrier.  

She had a bit of biscuit when we shared snacks half way through.

The weather was dry and we sailed about 8 miles and were out for about 21/2 to 3 hours.

There was a smaller one man boat out which we followed for a while.

I mostly was on the tiller and managed to keep on course some of the time.

I was tired when I got home, in time for tea and a doggie walk.

Playing on the Beach

12 July 2010

Neil and Gillie playing on the beach at Crawfordsburn.

Kotara and Aang... new arrivals

28 May 2010

Neil and I went to the garden centre at Donegore as we were looking for a replacement cucumber plant for the one which died.  We also wanted some new packets of seed for the lettuce we like to grow for the summer.  I wanted a couple of oxygenating plants for the pond as I thought it would be nice for the Pinpin and Firefly the Koi carp to have some greenery to nibble. 

As we passed the koi carp we couldn't resist stopping to look at them.  Neil fell in love with the beautiful golden fish.  It was the only that looked like that and is truly beautiful.  We decided that it would probably to best to buy two the same size so that they would have company when they met the larger fish in the pond.

On arriving home, Neil opened the bag and we spent the next couple of hours acclimatising the new fish to the pond environment. 

 

After about 3 hours we decided it was time for the release and Kotara and Aang arrived in the pond and were very quickly greeted by Pinpin and Firefly who seemed delighted to have some newcomers to their fishy shoal.

Kotara is the white and orange one and Aang is the golden coloured fish.

Bluebells in May

The bluebells were beautiful this year.  Although it was cold and they were a little bit late coming out the nettles had not quite overtaken them.

Mum and I have walked this route many times over the years enjoying the beauty of the new Spring leaves coming onto the trees and the colour of the bluebells on the sloping woodland floor below.

 

Neil Shane and I went on a few wonderful walks.  There was always the sound of buzzing bumblebees and the odd fluttering butterfly.

The path was edged with the wonderful blue blossoms.

I took a quick snap of Neil looking at a photograph he had just taken.