Tag Archives: Cornwall

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Primroses & Powershots

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I thought I’d show you a little of what goes on behind the scenes here at Gifts Of The Journey and I need to say now…it isn’t always pretty. I’m almost never without a camera of some kind. It could be my iPhone or my Nikon D200, but more often than not it’s my Canon Powershot G9. Last week, I was running through the churchyard on my way to what I refer to as the buttercup field, when I was overwhelmed by a carpet of flowers that seemed to have popped out almost overnight. There were primroses everywhere I looked blanketing the ground like a patchwork quilt. I had my iPhone with me, but I wanted to get a higher quality picture so I went on with my run, but cut it a bit short to get back to the house to pick up my Canon. It was a perfect weather day, but given how it can be sunny one minute and dark and rainy the next, I didn’t want to take any chances and I barely paused as I told John what I was up to while running in and out for the camera. He said he would walk down and join me in a few minutes and showed up a little later with his own camera.  Here’s a bit of what he captured of me that day along with the bottom three which are my images. 

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I didn’t realize until later that I had been so excited about getting the photographs that I wanted that I’d forgotten to take out my earphones even though I wasn’t listening to music. See below…

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Remember what I said about it’s not always pretty….well here goes..

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Would you like to see what I was trying to get a decent shot of back in the shadows?

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I think it’s one of the oldest gravestones in the churchyard, but I don’t have info on it yet.  

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These are two more of my photos from that morning…

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This churchyard is one of my favorites in Cornwall and much to my surprise, there  are a few Harpers buried there. No relation I’m sure, but interesting to see my name among the gravestones.

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A Few Things About Me

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I was tagged by the talented Melissa who can be found here. According the the rules, I’m supposed to fill out this little Q & A and tag eight people to do the same. I decided to shift it a bit and added a few photographs to help you see what I’m talking about…show and tell…one of my very favorite things in school.

Additionally, for those who would like to give this a whirl, you get to delete a question and add one of your own. My question is the first one below. I’m tagging these eight people and if you’re checking me out, scoot on over to a few of these folks when you get a chance and have a look around their space. I know they’ll make you feel welcome. Thanks again Melissa.  Now for my eight in no special order (they’re all special)… Kim, Hay, Leslye, Carolyn, Kerstin Darcy, Maz, Alycia, Leaca, Bim, and  Jules.

The question I added is the first one.

Who was your childhood hero or person you most admired and why? My aunt, Wylly Folk St. John. She was a published author of many children’s books and twice nominated and runner up for the Edgar Allen Poe Mystery Writer’s of America award. She made me a character in one of her books (I bet you can’t guess which one) and gave me some of the best presents I’ve ever received. Her gifts were always lumpy strangely wrapped bundles of books and handmade treasures, like a pin cushion tomato that she embroidered my name on the side. I still have it almost forty years later. She brought a sense of belonging into my life with every letter and I think about her almost everyday.

What is your current obsession? Taming the wild ponies of Bodmin Moor with sugar cubes.

What are you wearing? My UK uniform …  sweater, backpack, jeans, good walking shoes and a camera.

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Do you nap a lot? No, but when I do, I power nap. 12 minutes and I feel as refreshed as if I’d had a full five hour night.

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Who was the last person you hugged? My darling husband, John

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If you were a tree, what tree would you be? A little one like below reaching towards the light

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What’s for dinner? This is more like what John had for dinner last night at the pub. I had a burger and chips (fries)

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What was the last thing you bought? Today …I bought five packs of my new favorite Chocolate Mint Gum (Sugar Free)

What are you listening to right now? Carry You Home – Listen Here

What is your favorite weather? Blue Sky

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Say something to the person who tagged you: Hello Melissa…this is the very first time I’ve done one of these Q & A things and it was a lot of fun…thanks for sending it my way.


If you could have a house, fully furnished and paid for, anywhere in the world, where would it be? Scotland, Isle of Skye

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Favorite vacation spot? The western highlands of Scotland

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What would you like to have in your hands right now? My former dog Bones now renamed Beau who lives with a sweet woman who dotes on him and lets him sleep in her bed. (He didn’t get to do this with me)  I see him every time I go back to Georgia.

What would you like to get rid of? My house in Atlanta Georgia

What is your favorite tea flavor? No tea… I don’t like it!

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would it be? In Cornwall, walking the coast path with my daughter and her dog.

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What is your favorite snack?

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Dog or cat? I love them both, but…. I miss this dear little dog.

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The Long Walk From Mevagissey To Gorran Haven & Back

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Yesterday John and I took a long walk along the south coast path of Cornwall. We began in the village of Mevagissey and picked up the path just past the harbor where colorful boats rocked gently and seagulls battled loudly for bits of dead fish floating near the boats in the low tide water that edged the harbor.

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With a fish that big you’d think they could share it, but most of time, the strongest one wants to take it all. Take a look in the two gulls over at the right in the picture above…don’t they look like they’re planning something.

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Meanwhile,  I think there may be more fish in the ( gulp) sea…

 

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Leaving the seagulls to battle over brunch, we climbed up out of the village and onto the path going towards Gorran Haven. The day could not have been more perfect, blue sky, a light wind, and everything blooming and greening up for spring. People in the village had paintbrushes out touching up for the season of tourists that come for summer holidays and school breaks. The coast path though was mostly empty with only a few people passing us fro the opposite direction. 

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This green space with sheep was what we could see when we looked to the right and below is what we saw on our left….        img_73035     

 

It’s a remarkable contrast…it reminds me of both Scotland and the California coast.

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You have to mind where you go as sometimes the path takes you right along the edge. 

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These forget-me-not flowers almost don’t look real. John said they were a bit early for this time of year and then he reminded me of how when I came to Cornwall to see him the first time, I brought him a packet of forget-me-not seeds. He planted them after I left  and they didn’t do well here in Cornwall. He has the nicest green thumb, but only one tiny flower survived. Of course, one can be enough…if it’s the right one.

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Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Through The Snow We Go

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The morning after the BIG snow!

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Snowy Self Portrait

Okay, maybe it wasn’t really a big snow to some of you out there and I’ll admit when I lived in Oswego NY for two winters, I had a chance to see snow measured in feet not inches, but for Cornwall…this was a good bit of ground cover. If you read yesterday’s post, you saw the picture I took of John’s daughter and granddaughter walking down a snowy road as they hiked out of the village. The goal was to walk the 2+ miles from the house on the hill to the main road to meet a taxi at a pre-set time.

You may have noticed that I was standing a fair distance from where they were when I took the photograph. It wasn’t because I decided it would make a great shot and so decided to hang out and wait for it, but because I was running to try to catch up. When I came in from my big hike alone through the snow, John told me that his younger daughter and granddaughter were walking out and that we should go with them. I hadn’t even packed yet thinking that I would have time to before we left especially with our previous plan to drive to Bristol to catch our plane. John asked if I could be ready in 30 minutes or less. 

Grabbing our backpacks from the attic so we could carry our stuff out on our backs, we began to toss things in fairly quickly. I was moving so fast, I could barely think about what I needed to take.  As we were packing, they set out ahead of us because it was a long way through the snow for a 4 year old. John followed them not long after with his backpack and a small duffel bag with some of their things in it. I was the last to leave as I was running around trying to shut down my computer and be sure I had all of the camera gear I might need. I forgot my boots, but I managed to make it with everything else.

As I was running out the door to catch up with the three of them, I grabbed my bridal bouquet on the way out. I attached it to my backpack and took off running down one hill and up another in an attempt to catch up.  As I ran, slipping and sliding on the snowy street, I scooted past John to get close enough to snap this  photograph.  My bouquet dropped off my backpack as I ran past him and I actually ran on a few yards before I realized it had fallen. Running back, I scooped it up and ran on with a camera in one hand and my wedding flowers in the other. I’m sure I was a sight pounding up the hill with a pack on my back and something in each hand. 

 

The Long Walk Out

The Long Walk Out

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We were on the other side of this bridge heading up yet one more icy hill when an angel in a four wheel drive stopped and offered us a ride to the main road where we were meeting our taxi.  After Matt, (our burly angel) moved a few things around, we all squeezed in and began to make our way through the snow.  A quick phone call gave the taxi driver notice to meet us a bit earlier and on arriving at the drop off point, we had an opportunity to pay back some karmic goodwill by pushing a stuck car out of a drift. 

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I’m wearing the brown coat with the light blue jeans and John is to my right.  The taxi arrived just after his daughter snapped this photograph as we pushed the car onto the main road.  Once we were in the taxi, I caught this curious look on John’s granddaughter’s face.  I imagine she was thinking, ” What is with this woman and that camera!”

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I’ll leave you here now with us all packed into a taxi hoping that we can make it to the closest train station.  Come back tomorrow if  you’d like to join us for the next leg of our journey.

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Walking The Saints Way – When Living Your Life Gets In The Way Of Writing About It

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Three guesses as to what I’ve been doing instead of writing.  John and I like to spend a fair amount of time walking the coast path here in Cornwall. We went out for a little walk on Friday and it wasn’t until four hours later that we headed for home. Additionally, I had a few projects drop into my lap that have required my creative attention and life has just gotten in the way of my blogging. I want to take a minute to share some photographs from our walk along the south coast path toward Polkerris and The Gribbin a few days ago so you can see a bit more of my world through my eyes.

After leaving our car in the car park we set off in the direction of Pokerris and the Gribbin, with part of our walk taking us along The Saint’s Way which is clearly marked with signs like the one below.

 

Marker For The Saint's Way

Marker For The Saint's Way

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As you can see above we hiked for most of the time with a heavy sea mist all around us. 

 

Warning!

Warning!

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Danger In The Mist

 

Sea Loving Dog Walking The Wall

Sea Loving Dog Walking The Wall

 

The Saint's Way Footpath

The Saint's Way Footpath

Not all paths along the way are scenic…some pass right through farms right near the cows and through the muck.

 

Mind Your Step!

Mind Your Step!

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The Newlyweds

The Newlyweds 2009

This last photo below is taken around the same time last year in the same location as the one above.

John & Elizabeth 2008

John & Elizabeth 2008

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Washed Away

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Wellies - Washed Away

The constant rain over the last few days has made it easy for me to spend what seems like an endless amount of time staring into the screen of my computer.

I’ve been editing the 3000 plus images I’ve snapped on our adventures around the southwest of England over the last eight weeks sorting though the best ones to share in this space. In each one I’m struck by the lush green that provides a backdrop to this blooming paradise.

Rain is an absolute requirement for the never-ending sea of green. The breath stopping beauty depends on the watery bounty that falls sometimes for days. It’s an unending form of nourishment from the blue grey clouds that frequently dot the Cornish skies.

In the rare moments lately when the clouds hold back and we have a bit of weather relief, we pull on our wellies and tromp about the countryside like a pair of nine-year old boys stepping deep into the mud of the moor. Decorating the waterproof legs of my rubber boots with mud spatters like some sort of earthy Jackson Pollock, I love the freedom that comes with knowing that it’s just a bit of mud and that the next deep puddle I wade through will provide me with a clean canvas and a chance to do it all again.

I can’t help but think how wonderful it would be if all the mistakes we’ve made in our lives could be washed away like that. What if all the errors in judgement, thoughtless acts or careless words could be washed from our memories, slipping away with a splash or two of water from the next waiting stream. Just think how healing that might be.

I am inclined to wonder that if by freeing ourselves from the muck of our memories we might lose some of the fertile ground that spiritual and psychological growth needs to continue to flourish.

The lessons of life cling to us instead like dried mud on our boots sometimes flaking off a bit at a time, sometimes requiring a good scrubbing, but in no way easily dismissed.

Perhaps that is as it should be.

Reposted from original GOTJ

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Happiness Lives Here

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Welcome to Gifts of the Journey.

If you are reading this first post  you’re probably a friend or family member and it is primarily for you that I’ve created giftsofthejourney.com.

Most of you are aware that in the last six weeks my life has changed dramatically, I’ve gone from having an American zip code to a post code found in the United Kingdom and a new living situation along the Cornish coast of England.

I hope to share my life here in England though regular posts written for you like a series of picture postcards from abroad. Please drop by often and say hello.

This has been moved from my original GOTJ website and dusted off to take its place with the others.