Watery Wednesday: Freezing River

Winter came early this year, with lasting cold weather. It’s hard on the birds:
Much of the river is already getting covered by ice.

 

 

Visit Watery Wednesday for more watery pictures.

Earth, Wind, Water and Fire

Sun and Sky, Water and Earth. All of the four elements together.

---

I’m entering this photo for Weekend Reflections at Newton Area Photo.

Mirror Of Legend

‘Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight?'
‘A man may do both,' said Aragorn. 'For not we but those who come after will make the legends of our time. The green earth, say you? That is a mighty matter of legend, though you tread it under the light of day!’ 
~ J.R.R. Tolkien ~

For more Weekend Reflections visit Newton Area Photo

Water View

  

Looking at the view above it is perhaps not quite easy to determine the perspective, so let’s step back a little bit:

We’re on top of a hill, and that stone wall surrounds the dam above an artificial waterfall:

      

Pictures from 1½ week ago (9 October).

Light And Shadow

 

These pictures were taken under a motorway bridge crossing the river. Really, one of the most boring sights in town! – until you start exploring it through the eye of the camera…

Waterfall

      

    

From the same cemetery/park as in yesterday’s post.
These five photos are all straight-from-the-camera shots with my little Nikon Coolpix.

(With a nod to Adrian of Adrian’s Images… )

Water Lilies

Now the water lilies are in bloom – compare Water Lily Leaves from ~ 3 weeks ago…

Something To Cool Me Down…

It’ HOT here so I’m throwing in a COOL picture from last year… It’s an artificial waterfall they’ve made down a steep hill in a park, running down to a lake beneath.

Water Lily Leaves

The water lilies not in bloom yet but their leaves made a colourful picture anyway.

“It took me time to understand my water lilies.” ~ Claude Monet ~

Weather Heating Up

Water sprinklers on the football (soccer) field earlier this week. 
Weather forecasts predict a hot weekend.

“To a gardener there is nothing more exasperating
than a hose that just isn't long enough.”
-  Cecil Roberts

“Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water;
she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.”
-   St. Francis of Assisi

Mosaic Monday: Drops of Water

For more Monday Mosaics, visit Mary’s Little Red House.

To the Water

I heard Your voice
Whisper to the wild water
Step by Step
Slowly I turn

From the song ‘Whisper to the Wild Water’ by Máire (Moya) Brennan

 

Yaweh make me Your stream
Place me inside Your dream
Touch my mouth, softly call
Take me out to the water

From the song ‘To the Water’ by Máire (Moya) Brennan

(Both songs from the album ‘Whisper to the wild Water’)

Spring Time at the Old Mill

Back in February, I posted pictures of this old mill and waterfall all covered in snow and ice.

The mill is looked after by a local history society, and the little island behind it, embraced by two arms of a river, is a nature reserve area with a many different kinds of trees and flowers – some common, some rare.  

We went for a walk there again this first Sunday in May, and that’s where my photos this week will be from. Spring is rather late this year, after a hard winter. The trees were only just at that first hint of green, but some of the early spring flowers at their finest.

“Much water goeth by the mill, that the miller knoweth not of” ~ Proverb

“The mill cannot grind with the water that is past” ~ Proverb

Wood Anemones – Anemone nemorosa - Vitsippa

See close-up photos of wood anemones in yesterday’s post at The Island of the Voices.

Washing Rag Carpets

More pictures from Laundry Day in our town centre.

“In England nobody understands what rag-carpets are; but in every part of America they are more or less used. The wealthy use them for their kitchens, and sometimes dining rooms; the farmers, for their chambers; and often every room in the house will be covered with them ... Every conceivable kind of woollen cloth was cut into little shreds about half an inch wide, and an inch long. These were all joined together lengthwise, and then wound in balls. The children's employment was to help in sewing the shreds together, and thus to make hundreds and thousands of yards of woollen band. This was afterwards woven into a coarse kind of carpet, and produced a mottle of all colours, not at all unpleasing to the eye. Occasionally such carpets would be dyed all of one colour; sometimes they were woven into a regular pattern, stripe or plaid; but this...was to be a mottled one; and their young friends...were invited for a few days to help in this homely but curious work; during which, however, some amusing book was read, and thus the time passed pleasantly.”
Mary Botham Howitt, Our Cousins in Ohio, 1849

Without any research to prove it, I’d say the traditional Swedish rag-carpets are usually striped; as can also be seen in these pictures.

“Rugs made of cloth would generally stand up to being washed in a tub if they were small enough. Bigger ones could be rinsed through in a creek or stream. In Finland there is a tradition of washing rag rugs in summer in the nearest lake or river. Some Finnish women used to freshen their rugs at the end of winter by spreading them out on snow, sprinkling more on top, then hanging them to dry in sunshine and/or breeze.”

 

Quotes from: http://www.oldandinteresting.com/history-rag-rugs.aspx

Reflection

When the Snow Melts...

... you get Little Lakes in places where you do not wish to have them...
I don't know the name for the kind of vehicle to the right (with pumps and hoses to get rid of unwanted water) but right now they are more in demand than the snow ploughs.

Calendar 2010: September

I'm starting 2010 off by showing 12 photos from 2009 that I chose for a monthly wall calendar.

Calendar 2010: June

I'm starting 2010 off by showing 12 photos from 2009 that I chose for a monthly wall calendar.

Tuesday Blue - Water Under the Bridge

Thin Ice

One of the first frosty December mornings, my eye was caught by the intricate pattern of the thin ice on a puddle of rainwater from the previous days of heavy rain.