When Carmi sets us 'autumn' as a theme, the trees here in the North of England haven't all changed colour. My tree shot is from 2012.
Avenue of trees - Judges, Kirklevington
In October our annual reminder of autumn is provided by scenes like these.
Sign on a wagon carrying a Crooked Cottage for Yarm Fair.
The annual fair is being held this week in the High Street.
Autumn is a time for berries, so here's a recognition test - especially for my daughter. Feel free to tell me/her what they are.
Red berries (to the right of our apple tree)
Orange berries on the hedge (on the left of our drive)
At this time of year, now that the harvest has been gathered in, the farmers are particularly busy.
Autumn ploughing
They provide some interesting views.
Autumn colours
My previous post 'October Garden' ( http://bit.ly/1NBDY1n ) might also be said to be an autumn post. You will find others by following the links at Carmi's Thematic-Photographic-352.
I was in danger of going overboard when I saw this weeks prompt.
I knew I had some caravans from another North East fair that I had shown before.
Yarm Fair Caravans c 1949
Apart from goldfish I was a bit short on beasties until I remembered my sons at a seaside fair over 40 years ago.
Little Monkeys (No, not my sons)
When it comes to animals there is no need for me to go far from home. I just need to keep an eye on what moves in my garden,
Woodpile Inhabitant ( Frog or Toad?)
For some reason or another our bird feeder gets raided from time to time; if I am quick I can catch the culprit in the act.
Squirrel Attack - May 2008
I wouldn't mind if the beggar didn't bury his walnuts in the lawn.
Young rabbits also take liberties with our plants.
Rabbit eats its fill - July 2008
This year I have different strategy for them.
Got the little blighter
Before I let it go I gave it a good talking to. I dropped it back over the wall you can see behind us - with strict instructions to warn its friends that "In that house they eat rabbits."
Having had an operation on my leg earlier this month I have not been very mobile. Today has been the first day for three weeks that I have been permitted to walk the two miles to the local garage to fetch a morning paper. This is what I met along the way.
Caravans in transit.
I was tempted to hitch a ride.
Now I suggest you do that a take a look at what other Sepians have done for Sepia-Saturday-179.
Three famous fairs came to my mind as soon as I saw this week's 'merry-go-round' (or is it a Noah's Ark?).
Some of you may recognise this place.
Scarborough - 1981
Just in case you've forgotten here's a little reminder about Scarborough Fair.
Scarborough Fair - Simon & Garfunkel
Scarborough Fair originated from a charter granted by King Henry III in 1253. The charter gave Scarborough the privilege of a yearly fair to be held from the Feast of the Assumption until the Feast of St Michael. The 45-day fair started on August 15th and was a huge trading event. In the early 17th century competition from other towns' markets and fairs made Scarborough's fair financially untenable. Scarborough Fair ended in 1788.
Widdecombe Fair is much younger taking place on the second Tuesday in September since c1850 in the Dartmoor village of Widdecombe-in-the-Moor in Devon. It's the subject of a folk song, also called Tam Pierce, known all over the world.
Tam Pierce - Burl Ives
Originally described as a cattle fair Widdecombe Fair soon was known for other livestock especially the local-bred sheep and Dartmoor Ponies. A sports day for schoolchildren and stalls for rural arts and crafts were introduced in the 1920s and 30s. Today visitors will see, in addition to the livestock, displays of farm produce, vintage farm machinery, bale tossing, a dog show and terrier racing. The terrier racing replaced pony classes cancelled in 1989 after an outbreak of equine flu.
Naturally Uncle Tom Cobley makes a traditional appearance riding a grey mare.
For my last fair I'm coming back to Yarm where I lived for over 20 years.The charter for a fair was granted to Yarm by King John in the early 13th century. Originally the fair saw the sale of cattle, horses, sheep and
cheese and at one time the fair was the biggest fair for cheese in North
East England. In the early 1900s over 500 tons of cheese would be
traded from unprotected stacks on the pavement. There would be no chance
of that happening these days.
Fair in c.1949
Modern ride at Yarm fair
In
1901 the High Street was packed with shows, roundabouts, cattle and
sightseers The modern fair consists of white knuckle rides, fortune
tellers, lots of bright lights and loud music. Many businesses now close
down while the fair is in town and the horse trading has been moved
away from the main street.
Yarm High Street
(Photo by Ian Britton - www.freephoto.com - Creative Commons licence)
Yarm Town Hall
(Photo by Ian Britton - www.freephoto.com - Creative Commons licence)
At
one time hundreds of horses would be bought and sold after being put
through their paces. In his book, The Yarm of Yesterday, Malcolm Race
tells the story of a young boy left in charge of a horse while his
grandfather was in one of Yarm’s many pubs. The boy was
only too pleased the lead the animal up and down the High Street for a
prospective buyer. The man had handed over £50 and was leading the horse
away when he discovered that the horse was blind. The boy had long
since disappeared!
Yarm Fair - rides surround the Town Hall
(Photo by thornej - www.flickr.com - Creative Commons Licence)
For more fun of the fair I suggest you visit Sepia-saturday-131 where I'm sure you will find some more to make you dizzy.
