Wood pigeons are very common in our village and currently a pair are building a nest in one of our hedges. Still they can take a rest from time to time.
Two wedding photos separated by more than 60 years - I'll let you decide which is which.
We live quite close to Whitby, the North Yorkshire town associated with many things including Captain Cook, Dracula and of course the Abbey.
Whitby Harbour
Not all visitors are allowed in the Visitor Centre and some then decide to get in everybody's way.
The River Esk is Yorkshire's premier salmon and sea trout river, and the only river in Yorkshire to have freshwater pearl mussels. Its 28 mile course flows west to east through the Yorkshire National Park and enters the North Sea at Whitby, the town famous for its connection with Captain Cook and Dracula.
The replica barque Endeavour leaving the Esk into Whitby Harbour.
Road bridge over the Esk in Whitby
We have walked over that bridge many times on the way up to Whitby Abbey,
On the other side of the bridge it's possible to get onto the quayside.
Between 1882 and 1884 a viaduct was constructed across the river to carry a single track railway between Scarborough and Whitby.
Larpool (or Esk Valley) viaduct
The viaduct is mentioned in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, in Mina Murray's Journal, "The little river, the Esk, runs through a deep valley, which broadens out as it comes near the harbour. A great viaduct runs across, with high piers, through which the view seems somehow further away than it really is."
The rail service closed in 1965 and the now Grade II listed viaduct is part of the Scarborough to Whitby Rail Trail, it's also promoted as a cycle track - "Scarborough to Whitby Cinder Track." We never tire of Whitby and its views but not everyone feels the same when refused entry to the Abbey when they have walked up 199 steps.
No wonder he has emptied the barrel that was tied to us neck.
Photo attribution:
Larpool Viaduct: * September 2016 by Acsson - CC BY-SA 4.0
A fence can have many uses; it just depends on your point of view.
Garden fence - June 2014
The tall blue flowers are Delphiniums, those at the left are Geraniums and the light blue on the right are Canterbury Bells. The pink flowers, just in shot, are Foxgloves. All these break up the view of the fence.
View from Whitby pier towards the aptly named Sandsend
The railing on the breakwater/harbour wall at Whitby has been put to a different use.
Railing 'painted' by the birds
Meanwhile one of Britain's colourful birds uses the top rail of a fence for beam exercises.
I showed two local critters last week under the 'Summer' theme. Before I started today I had to check just what a critter was - a living creature I found out, a creature being an animal other than a human.That restricted me as I could not, I thought, consider birds and reptiles.
Giraffe in a Yorkshire wildlife park (c1970)
Foal - Norway (1980s)
He or she will be quite an age by now.
I wouldn't happy to be in the water with a beast like this.
Hippo (Detroit Zoo 2006)
I would however have been quite content to have a ride on these -
Donkeys preparing for a days work (Whitby 2008)
But they said I was too old!
Lambs (Egglescliffe, March 2006)
From the rear end of a donkey and that uncooperative lamb I'm left with a ewe that must be on Facebook.
Ewe and its lamb (June 2014)
But don't you just hate it when they show off they have been tagged.
W - West Highland Terrier, Wheaten Terrier, Whippet, Welsh Terrier There used to be stories about an English man, an Irish man, a Scots man and a Welsh man.The same principal applies to this post about dogs, but in a different sequence. Poppy, a West Highland Terrier, featured in my series about North Yorkshire Village dogs.
"Westies" originated from Scotland and have a distinctive white coat. They were bred to hunt small rodents at places such as farms. However the Westie I met at Whitby in North Yorkshire had a carriage of its own.
Fast asleep - it had had a busy day
I always like meeting Archie, he's the most laid back dog I know.
Archie - Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier originated in Ireland and is possibly one of the oldest Irish dog breeds. They were once known as the 'poor man's dog,' working on farms as herders and hunters of vermin and small game.
When I first Archie he had a patch of ginger hair. He had rolled on a dead hedgehog and had to have some hair cut off before the vet could remove all the spines. For a while, as his hair grew back, you could not miss that ginger patch.
When I was boy towards the end on WWII my father bought a whippet from Monmouthshire (South Wales). I used to take her out for walks. I wrote a (long) story about one such walk called 'The Chase.' It began -
"The whippet sat bolt upright on the
grass, shivering with anticipation of being allowed to run. When the command
came, ‘Away Flick, away,’ she was gone. She cleared the dry stone wall by the
roadside at such a speed that from afar she appeared to be just a flash of
brown against the grey dry stones and against the green field where she landed
– or did she? She seemed to be flying - close to the ground like a
different-coloured swallow on the wing in a desperate hunt for flies."
Phoebe - a brindle/white Whippet
Whippets are sight hounds, popular as racing dogs. They can reach speeds of 35 mph (56 km/hr). The English Whippet or Snap Dog was even known as the 'poor man's racehorse.'
When I first met my Welsh dog I thought she was an Airedale puppy; I was wrong.
Tilly - Welsh Terrier
She is owned by the same couple that used to own Joe, the Airedale Terrier, I included in the Challenge under 'A.
The Welsh Terrier is claimed to be the oldest dog breed in the UK. Bred originally to hunt rodents and badgers they are now largely a show dog.
Famous owners of Welsh Terriers have included President J F Kennedy and the UK Prime Minister Clement Attlee.
I hope you have the time to watch the video with which I end the post. It's quite delightful.
Liquidity means water to me, now that I am teetotal and not a fan of fancy coffee brands. The pills I'm required to take each day include some water tablets that give a whole new meaning to running water. However watery scenes will figure prominently in my 'Liquidity' shots.
Leland fish falls, Michigan
The Leland River runs into Lake Michigan whose size I had not appreciated until I reached its shores.
Waves lapping the Lake Michigan shoreline
In the Norwegian mountains, east of Stavanger, falls are a frequent attraction for anyone with a camera.
Norwegian stream
These do not have a name as there are hundreds like it depending where you go.
In 2002 we went to a wedding in Germany and used the occasion to visit some falls described by Mary Shelley in a travel narrative published in 1844. She wrote, "A portion of the cataract arches over the lowest platform and the spray fell thickly upon us, as standing on it and looking up we saw wave and rock and cloud and the clear heavens through its ever-moving veil. This was a new sight exceeding anything I had ever seen; however, not to be wet through, I was obliged quickly to tear myself away."
Somehow I don't think we got as close had she had been to -
The Rheinfalls
To get me on the water it would have to be somewhat smoother, rather like this day.
Barque Endeavour approaching Whitby
Of course I wouldn't have been able to take any of these shots without -
