More pics and same as what I said in that previous post.
So I guess it’s really Part 3 of nature doing her thing despite whatever humans have to deal with.
Spring in the Time of COVID-19 Part 2
Tag: nature
October 2019 Finest
Here I give you some of my photographs from Heaton Park this October that I like best. Something different than autumn leaves. Enjoy!
Nature Being Silly
When I looked at the pictures I took last time at Heaton Park, it seemed to me they were telling a story.
Branch pointing out your direction, in duplicate. If you get lost it’s your fault.
This, whatever-plant-this-is is dancing. Maybe it’s taking tips from the dancing tree, after all it grows only yards away from it.
Swans having a conversation.
Swan 1: The seagulls always steal all the bread and then they have a go at us.
Swan 2: Greedy bastards.
Geese doing an epic walk, or I should say an epic swim.
September Days Are Here Again
For this post I’m recycling the title from last year because I couldn’t think of anything better. And, like, it’s not a lie. September days are truly here.
Roman Lakes, Marple
The problem with taking so many pictures when going on a trip is that it’s so hard to decide which ones to post on the blog.
me
When I went to Marple, I didn’t have any particular plan. I asked the guy behind the information counter at the station what there was to see and he said there was a river on one side (Goyt), canal on the other and that there was a place called Roman Lakes.
I went down to the village and walked a bit, when I spotted a trail and I thought, okay, since I had such a good experience with it last time in Hebden Bridge, I would try it again. A good decision! Not only did I get a healthy hike and some great shots out of it, I eventually reached the lakes place the information guy told me about–from the other side.
I can see why it is popular.
My old friends ducks and geese hang out here a lot.
That’s where I sat when eating my bacon sandwich. Yes, they do serve food and drink here and there is also a toilet–see the building on the left on the top photo.
I should add, the lakes have nothing to do with Romans, they’re just named that way. I haven’t managed to find out why, so I’m going with Bill of Kill Bill‘s saying “They thought it sounded cool”.
Dancing Tree
It lives in Heaton Park. What I like about it is that it does its own thing and doesn’t care a fig what everyone thinks of it.
Yay for dancing tree.
Cone You Dig It?
Worrying about what to blog is the worst. What if I run out of things to post, what if I have no ideas?
But then I remember I have thousands of photographs saved on my hard drive. It’s just a question of which ones to dig out. Today it’s these cones.
Taken at Heaton Park, Manchester.
2018 Recap
I’ve not done this ever but I had such a productive year of photography, I decided to post some pics from this year that didn’t make it to Some Photoblog. I will also look back to some of my memorable posts from this year.
A snail, snapped not far from my neighbourhood.
City Tower in Manchester city centre. Taken by my smartphone, from the Piccadilly Bus Station. I like this angle.
Radcliffe area, near Bury, north of Manchester. Not quite the moors of Yorkshire, but still offers a great scope for imagination, as Anne of Green Gables would say.
This is in the above mentioned Bury, away form the town centre. Proper farm area, I heard cockerels and everything!
Save the best for last, this is Formby. Visiting Formby was definitely one of the highlights of the year for me. Here I am holding a pinecone, which I have actually kept and even used it in my autumnal and Christmas still life posts!
To say 2018 has been a turbulent year is not an exaggeration. The Beast of the East freezing conditions in February and March were followed by scorching hot summer (there was like four months, of no rain in Manchester and that happens, like, never). Climate change is here–so what are we gonna do about it?
Elsewhere, politically, I best not to even talk about it–but a huge shout out to Ireland, who knows how to do referendums right! (They voted in favour of making abortions legal, which is an issue I will never not feel strongly about, even when I’m dead in the grave.) I also went to two anti-Brexit marches, the second of which was attended by 700,000 people; an event I will never forget for the rest of my life.
Creatively for me it’s been the best year ever. I took over 1000 photographs between May and July, ran a dystopian series, blogged about Kindle eBooks, ducks and trees that look like Yggdrasil. Although I wish WordPress didn’t kill their Weekly Photo Challenge. That was not cool, guys.
So there it is, my 2018 end-of-year recap.
Raise your glasses for 2019 and let’s hope for the best.
Purple Flower
I don’t know what they’re called, but their flowers and they’re purple, so…
Does This Tree Look Like Yggdrasil?
Let me just start with saying I know very little of Norse mythology and what I do know comes from either Marvel Cinematic Universe or the TV show Vikings. But at least I’m aware that Yggdrasil is a mythical tree that connects the different realms, or worlds.
So obviously I don’t walk around looking for trees that look like Yggdrasil. I do, however, photograph trees and it was this one that reminded me of something.
This tree grows in Abney Hall Park. As I said in before, Agatha Christie used to spend time there, visiting her sister and brother-in-law. Now, on first sight, the Queen of Crime doesn’t appear to have much in common with Norse mythology, but bear with me.
This a page from the novel The Hollow. (no spoilers ahead)
In this scene, Henrietta is reminiscing about a country house, Ainswick, where she used to stay during school holidays. She’s talking to her second cousin Edward, who is now the owner of Ainswick. And she remembers there was a big oak tree that she named Ygdrasil!
When first reading The Hollow, it was actually the very first time I have come across the name Yggdrasil, though I had no idea what it was. I thought Agatha made the word up–I suppose she presumed her readers would know–but for some reason the name stuck in my memory. Until I finally learnt what Yggdrasil was and I was like, ooooh, so that’s why Agatha Christie named that tree in The Hollow that!
It’s so sad that the tree in the book was struck by lightning.
Thor is a god of lightning.
So, if Agatha Christie drew inspiration for her books from Abney Park, could she have been thinking of this very tree?
Like, it looks pretty old. It was probably there when she was there. I know when I saw it I immediately thought of Henrietta in The Hollow.
Of course, there are millions of trees like this all over the world and Agatha travelled a lot and it may not have been an actual tree that inspired her, she just needed a sentimental moment between Henrietta and Edward. I realise all of that. It’s fun to think about though.
Okay, Bjorn, I just said it looks like Yggdrasil, not that it is Yggdrasil.
What do you think? Tell me in the comments!
One more thing…
The mythical Yggdrasil was an ash tree, the tree in Agatha Christie book was an oak. I don’t know, botany not being my subject, what kind of tree the one in my photos is. If you do, I would be much thankful if you could let me know in the comments box.
Skol!
*drinks water
Some Photoblog 