Weekend wanderings – Bewl water, Lamberhurst Kent #photos

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

A few weeks ago we stopped for a picnic on the way home from a weekend at the coast in Camber Sands, East Sussex. See the pictures of a cold day in camber here.

Bewl Water is a beautiful location for water sports, cycling, family picnics and adventure. It has walks around the very large lake, the website boasts the lake could supply 200 million people with water. We only stayed for a few hours, but you could make a day of it, especially if you’re into water sports. Plus, it only cost £2 to get in and park up. Bargain!

Plenty of play areas for the kids to explore.

And a few close ups because I can’t resist them.

And this one could be classed as a little x-rated…

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It’s a great spot for exploring, adventure or family picnics. There’s also a lovely looking restaurant, which I overheard was quite good value though didn’t sample for myself.

Check out the website to see the scale of the lake – Bewl Water.

Has anyone else been to Bewl Water, or somewhere similar?

Enjoy the rest of your long weekend.

#WordlessWednesday – Cold day in Camber, East Sussex #photo

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Single flower or bud – Echinacea #photo

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

This is my first time of joining in Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge. When I saw the single flower challenge I thought of this little gem. It is an Echinacea – Cone Flower, taken at the wonderful Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall, UK.

#WordlessWednesday – More Painshill Park #photos #wildlife

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

#WordlessWedneday – Sleeping lady at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

#AtoZChallenge Y – Yummy bird seed toast

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

I wasn’t looking forward to finding a subject for Y in the A-Z challenge, so I went for something fun. This yummy bird seed toast is fun to do with the kids, a good way to feed the birds as well as using up old bread. Also, I hope Bill Oddie will approve of this better use of bread which has no nutritional value to birds.

Instructions

Toast old bread. Poke a hole through it, not too close to the edge, and thread with string.

Spread it with lard or fat.

Sprinkle on seeds and press down.

Put in the fridge. This helps the fat set and the seeds will stick better.

Hang outside in a secluded spot and watch the birds queue up to enjoy.

In my case, we had other visitors, but we don’t mind.

Neither does Poppy.

Since making this bird seed toast, I noticed a neighbour had made a similar feeder using a pine cone smeared with fat and seeds. This method really would make Bill Oddie happy I’m sure.

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And finally, tomorrow a very special treat for Z…

For links to all my other A-Z blog posts, please click here.

#AtoZChallenge M – Mood Music and the Miracle of Life

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

I’ve had tons of ideas for the M post in the A to Z Blog Challenge. These are a couple of things that have stuck with me.

Mood Music

I had an Q&A session with Book Savvy Reviews this week, here is the link if you missed it (Q&A). One of the questions was did I have any muse music I liked to listen to when writing. I thought I would share a couple of youtube videos of my favourite atmospheric singer/songwriter/musician. He is a totally talented and I love his music – Ben Howard…

Esmerelda – I love this song. It is simply beautiful.

Oats on the water – Hauntingly beautiful and builds to a dramatic conclusion though not over the top. Just perfect and it gives me goosebumps.

Old Pine – This is another beautiful track with lots of nostaliga to it. Lovely bit of acoustic guitar.

Keep your head up – I feel this song has a bit of a life motto ‘Keep your head up, keep your heart strong’. Brilliant song. This link also plays other of Ben Howard’s songs The Wolves, Only Love.

I love every track on his debut album Every Kingdom. It’s worth a listen, maybe you’ll find some mood music to set the tone for your next writing project. Also check out the EP’s Burgh Island and The Old Pine. I cannot recommend them enough.

Miracle of life

When I moved into my first house 7 years ago and finally got a garden, I went all out growing my own vegetables. My garden even won a prize for a local competition ‘Best Vegetable Garden.’ Not bad for a first effort!

This year has not gone so well; the a-z blog, a kitten that climbs the window sills and will no doubt knock over my propagating trays, trying to market Visions of Zarua, and finish the edit on my next book. Something has to give.

I’m sad looking back on these pictures full of life and greenery that I haven’t put much effort into my garden. But it’s only April, plenty of time to set that straight.

If you want a hobby, gardening is wonderful. Growing from seeds and watching the miracle of life as tiny green shoots appear. Then tending and nurturing the plants as they grow and later enjoying the rewards of your labour, either visually or gathering your crop and eating it.

Time to plant some seeds I think.

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Tomorrow N for notebooks.

Check out other a to z posts here

#AtoZChallenge L – Leaf quiz & Lovely Lilies

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

As last weekend provided some lovely sunny weather, I decided to take a few shots around the garden of the spring leaves. I’m a bit of a shrubaholic (if such a thing exists). See if you can guess these leaves… (there’s no guarantee I will remember all their names though!)

There are three shrubs in the picture below – but I only planted two of them.

And remember this?

Now looking more like this

These last ones are special to me. If you’ve read my book Visions of Zarua you might know why. It’s not looking its prettiest at the moment, but give it a few weeks!

Lovely Lilies

Lilies from a visit to Kew Gardens last year. So many beautiful varieties. According to my foraging guide (see F for Foraging post) you can cook and store the seeds of the lily but the rest of the plant is inedible (stringy and horrible I scribbled in my notes, though thankfully he didn’t expect us to try any).