A north-west English summer's day, buttercups ... & llamas

Near Dutton last Sunday we passed a field of donkeys and buttercups, a quintessentially English scene... but lovely llamas?! Taking part in Rural blog hop Thursday.

ABC Wednesday: "W" is for Wing Yip

The contrast between the Wing Yip's pagoda, shop and restaurant and the grand old apartment block opposite it (Victoria Square, you can read a fascinating article here) on the Oldham Road in Ancoats is a clash of two cultures - but it works for me. Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Our World Tuesday: Garage door blues

I've got them underneath the arches, closed up for the evening, garage door blues...

A slightly abstract offering from the heart of Manchester today for Our World Tuesday.

~Fame at last. I'm featured on Greg Thorpe's lovely Manhattanchester blog, in the latest Manchester in Residents feature.

Monday Murals: From little acorns on Oak Street

Flowers and guns and an appropriate "Big brother is watching you" theme on this well-worn patch just off the beaten track on Oak Street. Clever how the effect of layers is deliberately given here and underneath it all the powers that be are always surveying you...

Linked to Monday Murals at the Oakland Daily Photo blog. 

City Daily Photo Festival of the Solstice

The City Daily Photo mid-month theme is the Festival of the Solstice, where entrants have to respond to one of the five classical elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit.

For me, this sunset photo snapped on my Sony smartphone with Instagram sums up a lot of my feelings to the elements at this time of year. (My Instagram account is http://instagram.com/chrissycurlz). The beauty of the sunset after a warm and satisfying day amongst the elements- a walk in local countryside appreciating nature for what it is. You don’t have to venture out to a mountain range or a mighty ocean in order to appreciate nature at its best.

Breathing in the late spring and early summer air, appreciating the trickle of a river or stream and the reflections on the canals bring out the earth goddess in me- which is never far from the surface anyway.

On a sunny afternoon, my just chilling in the garden, reading a good book, listening to birdsong, watching the vegetable patch grow, the excited shouts of neighbourhood children, the stretching of a lazy dog on a sunny patch of lawn; family having some down time; all of these put me into a spiritually good place.

Thanks to Julie for running the theme days so efficiently and with such interesting follow up reports too. There is also a City Daily Photo Instagram feed, just use the #citydailyphoto to post your photos to it ;-)

Weekend Reflections: spinning around Spinningfields

Spinningfields still has a handful of older buildings on its periphery but is dominated by glass and steel. Some of it is a little soulless but some is effective and pleasing to the eye. It makes for the occasional good reflection too... 

I got rather excited when I saw the letters "JMWW", thinking that the impressive JMWW flash fiction, art and poetry publication may now have its own Mancunian branch but, alas, it is actually JMW solicitors, with the reflection adding a second "W". 

Taking part in Weekend Reflections.

Skywatch Friday: 200 river sign

This stone sign by the River Weaver is a mystery to me. I am not sure what such signs designate. From a distance I thought it said "zoo" but obviously not... Click for other Skywatch Friday posts. 

Rurality Blog Hop: Last of the bluebells

On a lovely walk early last Sunday morning at Alderley Edge, it was a pleasant surprise to still see some bluebells hanging on. While beyond the bushes a field is a mass of yellow buttercups.

This is the latest I have ever seen bluebells bloom, so slow a starter was the spring of 2013. I have known springs when whey are all over by the first week of May or peaking in April.

Taking part in this week's Rurality Blog Hop.

ABC Wednesday "V" is for vinyl & vegan @vrevolutionyeah

The top end of Oldham Street is where you will find the wonderfully retro-styled V Revolution, home to vinyl records and vegan food - you can't get much better than that in my book! It ticks all the boxes for ABC Wednesday's "V" day too.

Tie dye guy, Sketch for a Manchester Summer

I'm always pleased to see the spirit of the first summer of love in '67 and the tie dye of that era live on in fashion for the young and young at heart. Audio accompaniment for this burst of colour finds me going back to 1989 and the Durutti Column's wonderful track called Sketch for a Manchester Summer. It's my contribution to this week's Our World Tuesday.

This was just a quick snap as I spotted the subject ahead of me. I only had time for one effort and with a little tweaking it was an occasion where it all seemed to work out quite well ;-)