I don't drive much these days and to be honest I was never a fan of hitting the road. These days I take things much more slowly by walking a lot. However there are some roads that I remember well, including one where the trees remind you where you are. This dirt road could only be -
Oakwood Road
Every where you go, it seems to me you meet road works like these,
Approaching Rochester, Michigan
Nearer home it would be a mistake to go off-road.
Off the A67 in North Yorkshire
It's much more pleasant to hit the road in the other direction.
Turn right for home
Hitting this road is fun on a sunny spring day if you don't turn off here.
A driveway that shakes your springs
Better to remain on the open road.
A67 through the woods
Sat-navs would say keep left at this point.
Lay-by for a coffee stop.
Those in cars don't know what they are missing when they hit the road pass these.
Crocus in flower, daffs not far behind.
Whichever way you drive you miss out on them. I can walk by and admire their beauty.
Even with the trash can waiting to be emptied
Next door to us it will be a while before the grass verge will recover from where builders' wagons have failed to hit the road.
There is a watery connection running through my pictures this week for Carmi's 'multiple' theme.
Multiple boats and masts, and... at Fowey, Cornwall
On the Isles of Scilly my multiples have a maritime connection.
Ship Figureheads at the Valhalla, Maritime Museum in Tresco Abbey Gardens
Nature has multiples too. the first of which you may have seen before.
Ducks on the Clinton River alongside Rochester Park's Paint Creek Trail in Michigan
More bird multiples in Scotland.
Swans and their cygnets
Finally it's the turn of a magic basket.
Basket weave
There is even a water connection with this. Dirty clothes dropped into the magic basket magically reappear clean and bright in wardrobes and drawers after being washed, dried and ironed (where necessary).
I've decided to start my 'On the Water' theme with a few birds.
Ducks on the Clinton River at Rochester, Michigan
I think they were waiting to be fed by passers by. Meanwhile at Saltholme Nature Reserve near Middlesbrough in England no one would attempt to feed this water bird.
Coot at RSPB Saltholme
There is another nature reserve adjacent to the River Tees at Stockton.
Herons at Portrack Nature Reserve
The smaller birds round the island are plovers (also called peewits or lapwings) presumably there for a drink or what they could find in the mud.
At Fowey in Cornwall I found this steaming along.
Steamboat in Fowey Estuary
My daughter was in that boat on a short trip round the harbour in 2008.
Finally we have a stand off.
Gem, Cody and Lily
But which one will get that floating ball.
Hope you liked my selection of water shots; more interesting to me than photos of big ships. But don't let that stop you sailing across to Carmi's Thematic-photographic-229
The theme this week is drink up, celebrating any form of consumable liquid, and a theme that can be interpreted in many different ways.
This summer in the UK has not given us many chances to sit out and celebrate in the sun so there has only been the odd day like this.
A Half Empty Glass
Or is it half full?
One of my favourite books begins with the line, "It was a cold grey day in November." - the day that Daphne du Maurier's heroine, Mary Yellan, arrived here.
Cornwall's Jamaica Inn
For one reason or another it's several years since I had an alcoholic drink but not so long ago as when this source of water was in everyday use.
Stocks Hill monument, Ketton
The monument at Ketton, the village where I grew up, was erected including the cold water tap to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. Forty years later I was born in a house a stone's throw from Stocks Hills. The only water available twenty years after that was still from a cold water tap on the outside of the house.
Many years later with two children as well the opportunity came to drink up something stronger abroad.
Who's been in the sun
You should be able to date this pair in the process of drinking up from the size of those shoulder pads.
Eat your heart out, Sue Ellen
Just occasionally I managed to get in on the act too, when home from Norway for Christmas.
Brandy, Sir?
They say you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink - not true in this case at least.
The Paralympics start this week in London. The TV programmes are keen that we should know that the Paralympics are run in parallel with the Olympic Games.
The town of Saltburn on the north-east coast of England has had it own Olympics this year thanks to an anonymous 'yarn bomber' who has placed a knitted Olympic scarf and knitted Olympians on the railings of Saltburn Pier.
Saltburn Pier's parallel bars
There are more parallel bars to be seen on the American flag.
Flag Day 2012 - Downtown Rochester, Michigan
This picture was taken through the windscreen of a moving car and it was only later that I realised the number of parallel wires it contained.
I believe I've posted a picture from the Tees Barrage International White Water Centre earlier this year. The updated site was opened by the Queen as part of her Diamond Jubilee Celebration and was used by canoeists training for the London 2012 Games.
As part of the upgrade four Archimedes screws were installed to return water from the end of the water course back up to the beginning.
Archimedes Screws
Last summer I caught some swallows getting in on a high wire act beneath parallel high power lines. Perhaps they wanted extra energy for their migratory journey.
Parallel power lines
I always enjoy a game of golf especially when it gives me the chance to photograph wildlife.
Deer - Mulberry Hills Golf Course
Amongst the parallel trees, of course.
If you don't think I have done justice to Carmi's parallelism theme then we just might finish in Washington.
