About
Watching nature take it’s course, from the top of a hill in northern England.
Having spent most of my life avoiding writing, I now need to do it!
I am no domestic goddess, but if I were expecting visitors to my home, I would whisk round with the duster and plump up the cushions and generally make the place look presentable. I hope that by putting my words where others may see them it will encourage me to ‘tidy up and push the Hoover around’ my writing.
On the other hand I may just be adding more words to the cyberspace compost heap. Only time will tell!
Pull up a chair, sit yourself down, I’ll put the kettle on.
We (my man and two children) live in what was once a working farm, it’s the area where I was born and raised, as as the Scots would say it’s not just where I live, but ‘where I belong’ we have a few acres of land, a couple of hens, dog, cats, a duck pond and a leaky roof.We consider ourselves to be very lucky indeed.
In a previous life I had my own business, I sold it five years ago, in search of a better work life balance (there is nothing like having to sign ten year lease on business premises to focus the mind) after that I went out in search of some of the education I never had as a teenager and I am now continuing to study, work part time (term time only; joy!) and take part in voluntary community work, its a delightful ‘mesh’ of diverse interests, but nature will take its course and things will shift and change, watch this space.
It has taken me a long time to feel in a position to write publicly about anything, I am therefore rather possessive and protective about my words, they belong to me and all original content is © drop me a line if you wish to discuss the matter in detail! uphilldowndale@ofarm.co.uk
This is no economy wash Uphilldowndale! The look of your blog is great! Well done!
Am looking forward to your writings as I,ve followed some of your comments on other peoples blogs and I concur with most of your sentiments. Theres a rich seam of humour within you….
Welcome to the wonderful world of blogs….kingmagic .
Thank you for your kind words and link; you said in your post you were studying history, all or a specific period?
I,m studying 19th and 20th C history. Mainly British political history and WWII German history.
Its something that I loved at school but unfortunately had a crap teacher who tried to make it as boring as possible.
I,m also very interested in the “Sharp” books and the early history of the British Army.
My wife says that I,m turning into an anorak!
I,d rather say that I,m a cagoule!
I loved geography, I think it was because we had a very dynamic teacher who got us out (and lost) in the peat bogs as often as he could, (maybe it was a front and he was trying to get rid of us.) Ahh hanging valley’s, drumlins limestone pavements, when he took us to Chamonix I thought I was in heaven; happy days. I could learn so much more from seeing and doing, than stuck in the class room.
On the subject of cagoules when were they invented? I seem to remember the teacher kitting us all out with bin liners for an expedition to Malaham Cove, (holes cut for arms and head) to wear over the top of our anoraks.)
My family have concluded that I am morphing in to a bit of a train spotter, as I have started a collection photographs of dry stone walls. I think they are fascinating, I must post about them. (Click away now, before its to late!)
Off to look at digital SLR cameras today, there will be no stopping me then.
Back at work…computer at home down.
Am also buying new digi SLR…the wife is going crackers!
Half a story!; what SLR? we are trying to look at Nikon D40x, Canon EOS400D, or OlympusE410.
I may have to go to a CITY next week, yuk!)
I say trying because I can’t find a shop with the Olympus on the shelves.
It’s a long time since I have been in camera shop, but I can see it is an industry in a state of flux, if you are competent enough to handle digi images, you can cope with buying your kit on line…. so who needs a shop except to get a ‘feel for it’ then go home and but it on line
On the subject of competency, do you do tutorials in images for blogs! not got the hang of it yet, where do I start to look for a gargoyle?!
good luck with the PC, we have had our BT bill today and the end of our relationship with them is nigh; not looking forward to the ‘interruption in service.’
I cant remember the stats for the camera…but its expensive!
Will have a look at what I,ve ordered when I get home and let you know.
Look in WordPress for the tutorials on images, its a case of trial and error at first but it gets easier.
I usually Google most of my images or use my own collection of weird and wonderful stuff (but I have not got a single one of an anorak or a cagoulle!)
p.s. nothing wrong with drystone walls…I,ve got a collection of stones, rocks, pebbles and other assorted bits of hard stuff accumulated over twenty years which I intend to build a life size replica of Stonehenge in my back garden (planning permission allowing)
p.p.s. if planning permission is turned down then I am going to return all the above stones to the dark recesses of my mind from whence they came…off home now.
You should have submitted the PP on the solstice, for good vibes, I thought in returning your stones from whence they came you were going to live your life in reverse and so discover immortality.
ah - a chicken keeper - thank you for reading and posting on my blog - I shall keep an eye on yours now! I too work term time only, write and have just finished studying for a while.
Hi Anne, welcome aboard.
Love reading your posts. And the farm sounds lovely, my kind of place to be. Ill come back to read more
H
Welcome to my blog Hanie
Hello out there -
stumbled across your wonderful words (great Blog BTW) via Stonehead’s Musings.
Well, if you’re a drystone wall ‘cagoule’ you’ll truly love some of the distinctly unusual examples we have here - we’ll try & post some on our Blog for you although we’re not sure we have an SLR (as being ex-military, to us that abbreviation means a Self-Loading Rifle - but a camera is a lot less terminal unless in the hands of a tabloid photographer, methinks…?!).
Anyway, by way of introduction we’re former RAF Officers turned fellow ‘downshifters’ (never worked harder) & in Jo’s spare - ahem - time she writes articles for ‘Smallholder’ magazine whilst Tony is an airline pilot (paying off the mortgage!).
Meanwhile we’re just about to launch our goat dairying business here in South West Wales: our 36 acres is home to a herd of pedigree British Toggenburg goats; a flock of Shetland/Ryeland ewes running with a Greyface Dartmoor ram; a pair of Shetland carriage ponies; two Welsh Cobs (one as a logging horse & one as a quadruped because we don’t believe in environmentally-unfriendly quad bikes); a flock of hens; a trio of ducks; a gaggle of geese; & of course, our three fearless Maine Coon rat-cats & our Greenland Guard Dog. I’d also mention the piggies; but alas, they’re in the freezer!
Hope you’ll be happy to pop the kettle on for an intentionally regular visitor: & please feel free to warm your welllies against our Rayburn whilst indulging in honied homemade Welsh Cakes & of course, a goodly cuppa…made with fresh goats’ milk, naturally!
Best wishes,
Jo, Tony & Ffarm Fach (aka LittleFfarm Dairy) menagerie.
Hi Jo and Tony, and welcome, I’ll be round for a brew, although I expect being ex RAF, you can probably rustle up a jug of perfect gin and tonic in the blink of an eye and that would be nice too.
Oh no, I can feel an addiction to uphilldowndale coming on…
Greetings from a hill in Somerset, where the view is lovely (when the mist lifts and it isn’t raining like this morning) although not in the same league as yours….
Hi,
I’ve just discovered your blog (followed the link from Stuart McBride’s blog), and I love it. You make me quite homesick, as I am originally from the north of England.
My husband and I lived in California for 9 years before deciding to “downsize” our lives (and our expenses), and move to a rural area of Oklahoma. Put the kettle on, I’ll be back.
Welcome, Jan.
The teas in the pot.