Tag Archives: Gardening

17th December picture(s) of the day…

17 Wednesday Dec 2025

Posted by in Calder Valley, Flora and Fauna, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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There’s another day of mixed fortunes here at Bigland Towers, mostly due to the weather, which has done its best to keep us guessing of its intentions. Just when you think there’s going to be a sunny spell some dastardly clouds sneak up the Ryburn valley and bring with them a good soaking! It’s frustrating, but at least I have decent waterproofs – thanks to a birthday present from Dawn who treated me to a new Mountain Warehouse jacket to go with my ancient Mont trousers (bought in Oz in 1998).

Not that I’ve spent much time outdoors today, apart from a supermarket run and a late walk. Apart from keeping Dee fed and watered whilst she slaves away in the office upstairs a goodly proportion of my day’s been spent sorting out more old railwayana to go on eBay. I’ve added a selection of railway badges (old and new) to go with the hundreds of slides I have on offer. You can find the full list by following this link. Who knows? You might find a late Xmas prezzie for yourself or a loved one! Here’s one of the most recent additions, shown with a ruler for scale.

Tomorrow there’s a distinct change of tempo as I head down to London for a couple of days. Expect a mixture of blogs and pictures as I swan around the capital. Of course, if you read/watch the right-wing media you’d think I should be packing a stab-vest and letting Dawn know where my will is as London (in their hysterical imaginations) is dome kind of dystopian hellhole. It’s a load of bollocks of course, as I’ll show…

Whilst I’ve been complaining about the weather there’s one thing the mild days have provided as a bonus. I still have Chrysanthemums flowering in the garden! I have several plants in the front and back, all of which have flowered at different times, right through from October. This particular plant is opposite the kitchen window and only just coming into bloom…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Cheers!

18th August picture of the day…

18 Monday Aug 2025

Posted by in Photography, Picture of the day, Southport, Travel

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Well, we finally made it to the Southport flower show yesterday. The antibiotics I’d been prescribed had reduced the swelling of my hand enough that I could use my camera again without problems, which was a relief. Plus, the weather was back to wall to wall sunshine. Dawn drove us over to Southport on roads that were busy, but idiot free – even the M62 was behaving itself.

We didn’t attempt to park near Victoria Park, the venue for the flower show. Instead we left the car up on the Marine Drive and enjoyed a walk along the seafront – which had the dual benefit of gaining us exercise and saving us over 6 quid in parking fees! I’d not been to the flower show since I was a teenager, some half a century ago – so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Gone are the old staples, horse-jumping, the White Helmets motorcycle display team and the Red Arrows. In their place were falconry and canine display teams, alpacas and a few ponies – which made for a lot less noisier day! Despite it being the last day of the show, the place seemed packed. Lots of people were towing collapsible trollies they’d brought in order to cart away plants that were being sold off at the end of the day, which made navigating your way through the crowds a bit of a trip hazard, but also added to the atmosphere with people towing all sorts of exotic blooms or bushes along behind them.

One of the marquees we particularly enjoyed was the themed flower displays as many of them were very creative. Today’s picture is of one favourite. See if you can guess what it is…

Having walked miles around the show in the blazing sum we headed off to join my sister and her partner (along with her daughter’s family) in the tranquil setting of his garden for a few drinks and a catch-up, rounding off what had been a lovely day.

Now it’s a new week. The weather back here in West Yorkshire’s been dull and cloudy, such a contrast to Sunday. As the two of us have been working from home it’s not been an issue. However, tomorrow morning I’ll be in Birmingham on a press visit to one of the High Speed 2 railway construction sites. After that I’ll be spending the rest of the day exploring lines around the black country before heading home, so expect a rolling blog documenting the day. Until then, goodnight…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

9th July picture of the day…

09 Wednesday Jul 2025

Posted by in Architecture, London, Musings, Photography, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Back at home after a busy couple of days in London, I’ve dropped down a couple of gears. Much of today has been spent with my feet up as I begin the process of editing the hundreds of pictures that I’ve taken. The weather’s been rather cooler than in the capital, which is welcome, although temperatures are due to ramp up over the next few days. Just in time for the hosepipe ban which Yorkshire water are imposing from Friday. It’s hardly surprising. We’ve only had 15cm of rainfall between February and June, leaving reservoirs at 56 per cent capacity as opposed to the normal level of 82 per cent. Ah well, carrying watering cans full of greywater up and down the terraces at the back of the cottage will keep me fit! I’ve no idea how long the ban will last, but with this dry spell set to continue I can’t imagine the ban being lifted anytime soon.

Tomorrow I’ll be continuing in the same vein as today, although I expect to be a bit more active now that I’ve rested. Even so, there’s a lot of photos to edit and caption, along with preparations for my next RAIL magazine article. Right now I’m going to leave you with today’s picture, which was taken in Lewisham yesterday. I’ve mentioned how the area has become a mini ‘New York’ due to the rapid development and expansion of high-rise accommodation. Architecturally, some of it is rather colourful and pleasing. These aren’t the bland concrete monoliths that we threw up in the 1970s, they’re actually rather attractive. However, I can’t vouch for the build quality or what they’re like to live in.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

12th May picture of the day…

12 Monday May 2025

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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It’s the start of another week here in West Yorkshire, where the weather’s gracing us with wall to wall sunshine – as it did over the weekend, although we couldn’t take full advantage and our plans to go walking changed as Dawn wasn’t feeling her best. I was going to say she was under the weather, but considering what the weather was like I thought better of it!

However, we did still manage to get out and I got the opportunity to stock up on summer annuals from a garden centre which we’d not tried before. I finally managed to find trailing Lobelia, which has been noticeable by its absence from our usual outlets. With plants aplenty, Sunday was spent clearing away the debris and dead plants from the terrace at the back of the cottage. Winter hadn’t been kind, causing me to lose many old established garden occupants, so I took the opportunity to rejig what we have and replace many of the smaller pots and troughs with ones more likely to survive the hot, dry conditions we’re seeing this year – with rain in very short supply (and likely to be for the foreseeable future). I’ve still got some work to do, but the terraces and troughs are looking much better. Hopefully, the new planting will provide sustenance for the occupants of our two nesting boxes, where we have both birds and bees!

Today I’ve been busy editing and captioning pictures from Friday’s HS2 and Midlands media trip, you can find which galleries they’ve been added to by following this link. I’ll have the HS2 collection done tomorrow as another day working from home beckons. Hopefully, I’ll get out with the camera again later in the week as the forecast is excellent for several days yet. I’ll leave you with a picture from today, which was taken on this afternoon’s stroll around the valley when I was looking for alternative photo sites.

The Wainhouse Tower dominates the horizon and looks magnificent against a cloudless sky.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

The sun has got his hat on…

23 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by in Gardening, Musings, West Yorkshire

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It’s an absolutely glorious day here in the Calder Valley, where it feels more like spring than February. The thermometer has hit 14 degrees, double the average for this time of year.

I’ve been busy tidying up the garden wearing just a polo shirt as it’s that warm. Gardening’s always been a great escape from the stresses of everyday life and the world’s problems. Whatever else happens you can always rely on the seasons to change and for plants to burst into life after hunkering down for the winter. As well as cutting back some of the bushes and climbers ready for spring I’ve also cleared out and replanted a couple of the hanging baskets with these violas.

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They’re adding an extra splash of colour to complement to dwarf daffodils that are beginning to open in the flower beds.

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Whilst I’ve been busy in the garden, Dawn’s been occupied in the kitchen, preparing dishes for when her parents arrive later so it’s very much a domestic and relaxed day. On the menu is Lasagne and a Cheesecake – although I’m not sure it’s going to have candles in it – or if they’d all fit! Dawn’s mum (Norah) celebrated her 78th birthday earlier this week so the meal is a belated birthday celebration. Cooking can get complex due to dietary requirements nowadays, both Dawn’s parents are gluten free and Dawn can’t eat cheese, so we’ve ended up with two different Lasagne’s. Here’s one ready for the oven.

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Now the cheesecake (with blueberry topping) is ready…

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