2011 - the mildest year on record

Polyanthus flowering in December?

Early....

.......on a frosty morning in Cheshire

Along the canal.....

in Big Wood

What goes around.....

.....comes around!  Shoes that seem to
have come  from the Seventies!

Liverpool Lime Street.....

.....one of the early stations, opened in 1836

Rose hips....

..... and an old wall

A familiar sight......

....on British high streets since the Swinging Sixties
but soon to be seen no more

Geranium....

.....Johnson's Blue

Rose......

........and thyme

The oldest.......

....continually licensed premises in Chester
and has a few ghosts wafting in and out
of the rooms

ommodation. A potted history of the pub taken from George Borrows' 'Wild Wales' is written on a blackboard in the restaurant.

Dating back to the 11th Century and once a coaching inn. The Pied Bull is the oldest continuously licensed premises in Chester. It has a colourful history and its fair share of ghosts. The cellar is  haunted by the ghost of a cellar man from 1609 and two guest rooms are haunted by a chamber maid from 19th Century.  In 1533 it was known as Bull Mansion, and a coach and four started to run from here to Birkenhead in 1784. Today it's an oak-beamed town centre pub with rooms. We offer great value food and clean, comfortable and competitively priced accommodation. A potted history of the pub taken from George Borrows' 'Wild Wales' is written on a blackboard in the restaurant.

Cow Parsley.....

.....from below

More threads.....

...in delicious colours from good friends

An autumn treat.....

......in the making

Early Morning....

........attempt at oneupmanship by a bullock

The last of the sunset......

Even the richest soil.......

.....if left uncultivated will produce the rankest weeds. 
~Leonardo da Vinci

A small and slightly depressing looking part of our courtyard garden after I was away for a fortnight!

An English Rose.....

....at sunset
Home!

Seattle......

.....from above, with cloud and rain

The Oregon Trail.....

.......went along a large portion of the Snake River, one of the longest rivers in the Pacific Northwest

Oh give me a home......

....where the buffalo roam ......and the skies
are not cloudy all day!

Today....

.....is the summer solstice and the sun is visible for 15 hours 37 minutes
at this latitude

Even shrouded......

...in cloud, the Tetons are a magnificent sight!

Forty Years Ago......

.......on 19th June, 1971 a young couple were married
in Norwich, England. 

Garden Creek Falls....

....at Rotary Park, south of Casper WY

Ayres Natural Bridge.....

......Over the course of millions of years, a bend in LaPrele Creek (originally known as Bridge Creek)

wore away at a wall of solid rock, creating a natural opening.

The creek eventually shifted course through the opening, forming a 30-foot (10 m) high and 50-foot (15 m)

 wide arch, today known as

Ayres Natural Bridge.  Located about a mile (2 km) south of the Oregon Trail, the Natural Bridge was often

visited by emigrants traveling west. It is considered one of Wyoming's first tourist attractions.

 In 1843, a pioneer described it as "a natural bridge of solid rock, over a rapid torrent,

 the arch being regular as tho' shaped by art."

Colour......

.......in Casper

Rodeo....

......in Casper, WY!

The Battle of the Little Bighorn......

....or Custer's Last Stand in Montana Territory

A toxic lake.....



....at the Berkley Pit, Butte, Mt
Sixty years of of open cast mining
for copper has resulted in water that
is 900 feet deep, heavily acidic and laden with
heavy metals and dangerous chemicals including arsenic,
cadmium, zinc and sulphuric acid



Sunday breakfast........

........on an Idaho deck! 

Coffee, music......

........and the farmers' market, all under a brilliant blue sky.  Perfect!

A peaceful moment....

....on the porch

Evening......

.......in Idaho

A western sunset.....

.....reflected towards Moscow Mountain

Detroit....

...founded in 1701 by a Frenchman, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. 
Its name originates from the French word detroit meaning strait, in
reference to its location on the river connecting the Great Lakes Huron  and Erie

Through a glass......

....somewhat gloomily!

Looking across the Detroit River.......

.......to Canada, from the vast General Motors building

The view from.....

.......La Guardia airport, named after a former mayor of New York
and in the the distance the downtown skyline

He brought his friend.....

....to say hello this time!

Sweet peas.....

....for sale in our local greengrocers yesterday