about the blog

The blog title

The blog title is a bit of a play on the title of Robert Herrick's poem, 'gather ye rosebuds while ye may',  and struck me as appropriate in a number of ways. Firstly, I had my sixtieth birthday this year, so it is to remind myself, and maybe a few others, that life is short and that we owe it to ourselves to make the most of our time and opportunities while we are still able. It is also fitting in that I have been fascinated by nature all my life and am particularly drawn to wildflowers, which will no doubt feature strongly, but my interest in my surroundings and what is out there is wide-ranging. It encompasses just about everything, including the stuff included below.

Aim of the blog  

I'm not sure that a blog should have an aim really, when all is said and done we all present our stuff hoping it may interest, inform or strike a chord with others. I consider myself very fortunate to be the kind of person that notices a lot; when I go out, even just into the garden or to walk to the shops, I look for something to see and most times there is something there, even if it is just a raindrop on a leaf or a snail with an interesting pattern on its shell. I notice that a lot of the people I see walking in the same places as me, who are doubtless enjoying their walk and the general loveliness around them, are totally oblivious to what maybe right in front of them. I would like everyone to notice and appreciate the beauty in the details of our everyday natural world and to just generally see more, so perhaps if I show some of it here someone may notice something interesting next time they are out?

Locations 

I have lived in Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales, (Great Britain), for the last year and have loved getting to know parts of my local area as well as taking trips a little further afield into Snowdonia and Anglesey, both areas I grew to love through many wonderful holidays spent there when I was younger. Prior to moving here I spent ten years in Southern Spain, on the less-populated and slightly cooler end of the Costa del Sol, not too far from Gibraltar. I loved the whole experience of living there and learnt a lot about the nature of this still relatively wild part of the world.   

Photographs

I have always been at my happiest outside, 'exploring', and only very rarely leave the house without a camera. I take photographs of just about everything on a day out, not just the wildlife but the landscape, the buildings, even the information boards, (occasionally even the people I am out with!), anything that will serve to jog my memory and help me understand how a place evolved or fits together. Once they are downloaded onto my computer I organise them, keeping one file as a journal of my walk or outing, so looking through them I get to relive the experience. It's true that time cannot be halted or retraced in a physical sense, but thanks to modern technology we can store some wonderful memories.


 History and buildings

I love historic buildings, particularly old churches and castles, and always stop to look at any that I pass by. Taking a step towards widening my horizons in that direction this year I have joined the National Trust. Their properties are often set in landscaped grounds or are surrounded by countryside, so I am looking forward to some absorbing days out, hopefully indulging several interests all in one place.
   
Arts and crafts

Another life-long passion has been for making things, I learnt to knit when I was seven, started to cut up things to make them into something more fashionable when I was about fourteen.. you get the picture. I've had a go at lots of different things and in recent years have quite taken to making quilts. So there may very well be some arty-crafty stuff in the blog too.

 "Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May" 

A Cavalier Poet's Language of Life

By Robert Herrick

(1591 - 1674)

.

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying:

And this same flower that smiles today

To-morrow will be dying.

.

The glorious lamp of Heaven, the sun,

The higher he's a-getting,

The sooner will his race be run.

And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,

When youth and blood are warmer;

But being spent, the worse, and worst

Times still succeed the former.