August morning. 2018

 August bank holiday 2018. This was always thought of as the end of summer when I lived down South and the weekend was spent having barbeques and family parties at the beach and a day out some where like Falmouth. In the days I was married to a teacher it was the last blast before beginning a new school year.
Here I am in West Yorkshire preparing for a day out. First I need to drink a lot of inevitable tea and walk around the tarn at day break.

 It is cold. I am not even considering flip flops though I did trip over them on the way out wearing my fur hood coat and boots. The light was good at 5.45am this morning so I headed straight out.
The swans and three gemima ducks were out and clearly looking forward to the old guy giving them some vegatables for breakfast.

 No one else around yet. good. just great light and quiet with bird song.....

August bank holiday 1983. The year I got my degree in June and my mum died in August..bank holiday Saturday. Dorothy House in Bath. We lived at Lansdown Crescent and I had just moved back after living in Bristol for a bit. I came back to look after mum. She died of cancer a matter of weeks after my return. 1983....that would now be 35 years ago.

 Thirty five years. Yes that is a slap around the head with a wet fish if ever there was one....then I got to thinking again and came to the conclusion that it must be about thirty years since I got married in August.....something like 25th of August 1987......I think. without goin g to look at the wedding album. I have no intentions of doing that to myself this beautiful day...so I will go with that......

 I have been married to Lee for eleven years.....so that too is another wet fish around the head!...The August wedding...I got married in black with a black veil. That tells you all you need to know really.
So here we are in 2018 and it is August bank holiday. Life is very very different to when I lived down South. I am on holiday for a week.....

 The swans were down by the jetty this morning and very obligingly posed for my camera.

 The cygnets are now massive and about to change feathers and become white swans......

 They swam around as the first light filled the sky and then set off towards the far end of the Tarn towards the sun rise.....

 The sun was just beginning to rise above the cloud

 And there they go...swimming straight into my picture just as I asked them too.....

 Then after this a plane took off into the dawn light. Going some where hot I think....

 The old guy was by now on his third round of the water. He stopped to chat about the swans and tell me that he was on his own today. all the other old guys were not out as it is a bank holiday week end.

 The three Gemimas twittered on the side of the slipway.....

 And then set off towards the sun rise too.....

 The old guy came back around to tell me "it's gonna be a good one. any minute now....ah bin chatin' te Shirley wi' dogs. Quick ? eye? well there ain't that many out te day...I don't muck about...ah gets on wi' it."

 He stood by me as I took the rest of the pictures and then I too trotted home for some tea and a warm up.....it is damn cold.

 Must remember Gloves! as well as tights, boots and winter coat.....my hands went that funny white colour on the ends of my fingers....

 I noted too some brown leaves on the ground....

 As ever I took far too many photos.....

 And I got the sun rise and another plane taking off.....I usually miss them because they are fast and I am looking at something else.

 More tea......some fruit for breakfast....and then we are to pile into the Fonz car and......

 The plan is Knareborough...as I want to walk along the river.

I have a real thing about light on water at the moment........


Lee has asked me to read this blog to him....are you ready?