Here is something to take your mind off the Australian election, which still doesn’t have a result!
Spotting hummingbirds is one the great joys of living in California. They are just so darn cute! We have hung a hummingbird feeder on our balcony and the little birds have been coming to visit. They usually announce themselves with the loud whir of wings and sometimes they tweet.
In the wild, they usually hover while they drink from flowers. However, our feeder has a ring that they can perch on so we often see them quite still. Sometimes they stop feeding and have a little sing.
They’re territorial and I have seen one bird chase away another before. We had a cardboard hummingbird hanging off the feeder for a while but I removed it as I was worried it might be scaring some of the less assertive birds away.
They’re really hoeing into the syrup water – we’ll have to refill after just a few days!
This is a pretty good selection – you can see that we are getting a few different species of hummingbird. Some have iridescent blue-green colouring, other ones are red like a robin redbreast. Lovely! For more photos see the Flickr set.
In the month before I left the UK for San Francisco, I went up to Scotland for work followed by some pleasure travel through the Highlands. I spent a few days visiting my uncle Jeff and aunt Judith and my cousin Jenny came down from Glasgow.
Jeff and Judith are now living in a mobile home next to their cottage up the glen (valley) from Inveraray, while they get building works done on the cottage. The work was three-quarters complete when I was there and it’s going to be very nice, with a lovely big kitchen and more bedrooms, but still keeping the charm of the old cottage.
Jenny (left) and I went for a hill walk directly behind the cottage on the first full day I was there. We didn’t go to the mountain peak a bit to our left, but went to the highest point in a straight line behind the cottage. We saw a family of red deer (sadly, I didn’t have my zoom lens with me so the photograph fails to do it justice), which was very exciting. It was pretty steep going and a lot of it was really scrambling or climbing rather than hiking but it was lots of fun. We called Judith when we reached the top so she could see our silhouettes waving from the ridge line. At the top the ground was flat and boggy – the treacherous peat bog sucked Jenny down to her knees at one point! It was pretty though, scattered with fluffy white bog cotton flowers and patches of red moss and 100 metres or so in from the ridge line, there’s a beautiful little freshwater tarn (lake).
Red deer
The tarn
While I was at the cottage, I also found time to go chanterelle-hunting with Judith (slim pickings though as we were a few weeks early and it had been quite dry) and hang out with my uncle Jeff and talk about the meaning of life. We had my other uncle Steven and Jenny’s cousin (and my friend) Andrew come to dinner on the Saturday night and Jenny and I drove back to Glasgow with Andrew. I stayed at Andrew’s place that night, then it was back to London by train on Sunday, and into the US Embassy for my visa appointment the following day.
San Francisco is not especially warm in the summer and some days it is downright cold and foggy. While I am bemoaning the lack of opportunity to wear my favourite cotton sundresses, the local wildlife seems quite content.
We have a pair (maybe even a family?) of cute little red squirrels living out the back of our house. They have a couple of different hangouts but one of their favourites is this beautiful cedar tree* in the neighbour’s yard. I shot this picture above when I was eating my lunch on the back step a week or so ago (it was film so it took a while to get developed).
Our next door neighbours on the other side have a gorgeous flower garden, full of colourful chrysanthemums and dahlias and other blooms. We look out over this garden – and beyond to the city – from our kitchen and living room windows. This morning when I came back from a run, just as the automatic watering system turned off, a dozen tiny birds descended, feeding on the nectar of the flowers. I think they might have been hummingbirds. Gorgeous!
* Edited 1 October: I thought this was a Californian redwood but it’s actually a cedar tree of the same species found in Yosemite National Park, according to my neighbour.
I had a meeting in town today and I walked back to the Tube via St James’s Park – one of my favourite parks in London. It’s officially still autumn but there’s a distinctly wintry feel to it right now – no snow but it’s been seriously cold. The trees have almost lost their leaves and the water birds are huddling on the islands in the pond.
Parks do have their appeal in winter but it’s not usually related to the vibrant colours. Yet, I found some surprising patches of colour in the park. Firstly, a tree with beautiful amethyst-coloured berries – I don’t know what the tree is called though so if anyone can help me out that would be great. Then purple crocuses growing in the still emerald green grass – I thought crocuses were a spring flower but apparently not. The final one was a tree covered in pink blossoms – I’m fairly sure that one IS early, which is a bit of a worry.
Apologies for the quality of the photos – I took them with my mobile phone but I want to share them anyway.
Meanwhile, I also want to refer you to my post on Passports for Purpose on Roaming Tales – it’s a great cause and I hope you’ll support it and buy raffle tickets when they go on sale next week.
Yesterday I went West Norwood in south London to pick up what I hope will be my wedding dress. I bought the dress at auction and decided to go in person to pick it up rather than pay for a courier. I bid for it online but had some trouble with the system – fortunately when I called, it turned out the lot hadn’t sold, so I got to have it.
Getting there was a bit of a mission – I had to catch the train from Victoria to West Norwood. Then I made my way to Martell Road following my printed map of the area. I thought I’d be clever and cut through the cemetery instead of going around by road. This was a grave mistake because it turned out the cemetery only had one entrance. I didn’t find this out until I was on the opposite side of the cemetery.
I got a bit lost and found myself in the baby section. Like a scene from a B-grade horror flick, the place was utterly deserted, probably because of the cold. To top it all off, it started sleeting sideways so it was stinging my eyes and I could barely see through my glasses. In order to get back to where I started I had to walk past grave after grave for babies, many of whom had died a few days after birth, and some of whom didn’t even seem to have names. Some of the graves were shaped like teddy bears.
On a more positive note, I’m delighted with the dress purchase. I was the only bidder so I got it very cheaply and it came with a white lacy dress that might be suitable for my bridesmaid, a blue jacket, a skirt suit and a doll’s corset. I imagine I can sell anything I don’t want on eBay.
I really like vintage styles and fabrics. I was originally looking at 1930s and 1940s dresses but this one is actually from 1912. It’s made of a very delicate silk with lace and embroidery and the detailing is gorgeous. It’s also tiny and I’m not so I need to take it to a tailor to see if I can have it altered or remade. I’d like to lose a little weight before the wedding but I’m still not going to have a 20-inch waist. It does seem to have generous seams so hopefully it can be let out, as trying to colour match panels could be difficult.
Apart from style and price, the other advantage with vintage is that a second-hand dress sits well with my environmental principles.
And no, I’m not going to post a picture online – sorry! You’ll just have to wait.
I’m feeling very excited because I’m off to see Monkey at the O2 tonight. I saw it at the Royal Opera House earlier this year and it was so good I’m going to see it again, this time with a group of friends in tow. I can’t wait!
I’ll write more about Monkey after the event. In the mean time, I have two blog posts to share with you today. Firstly, over on Roaming Tales, I’ve done some follow-up to the Travel Blog Camp in London last week. Secondly, I have a post up about how to combine being green with a love of books at EcoSalon. Enjoy!
As a freelance writer I’m very interested in new media since I believe it will be a big part of my future. It’s not just a case of print publications moving online, it’s also a case of the internet throwing up new types of businesses. Educating myself about this is a large part of the reason why I blog – here and also at Roaming Tales and The Gooseberry Fool – and use social media tools such as Twitter.
I have some exciting news to share – I’m joining EcoSalonas a regular contributor. I’ve been asked to write two posts a week, one on green travel and one on green tech and lifestyle.
My first post is on eco-holidays in Cornwall, looking at walking, food, art and destinations such as the Eden Project. Cornwall is one of my favourite parts of Britain and, as I hope my photos show, an extremely beautiful part of the country. The post was published today and I’m delighted that it’s currently featured as the EcoSalon Daily Favourite right at the top of the site. Please take a look and let me know what you think. Leave a comment either here or on EcoSalon and if you like it, please feel free to share the link with your friends.
The theme of EcoSalon is about going green without sacrificing style and this is something that really strikes a chord with me. Readers who are familiar with this blog and my food blog The Gooseberry Fool might know that I am a passionate environmentalist. However, I also believe that people need inspiration and a reason for hope. We shouldn’t hide from the immensity of the challenge – but if we focus on doom and gloom, we risk generating despair rather than the committed and focused action the planet needs. Despair is just as destructive to the environment as denial.
I’m pleased to be blogging for EcoSalon because the blog is committed to the environment but with an aim to empower and inspire people rather than hector or scare them. There’s enough troubling environmental news out there – the question is what we can do about it.
I fully intend to keep my own sites and my blogging duties at EcoSalon are as well as, not instead of, what I already do. It’s a paid gig so this properly falls into my day job as a freelance writer and is probably a sign of things to come in my profession.
We enjoyed sunshine today and yesterday but as you can see, the autumn tree through my back window is starting to get a bit threadbare.
I’ve been hard at work on a feature, which I finally filed this afternoon. Tomorrow and Friday I’m going to be working shifts at MediaGuardian.co.uk (the Guardian’s media news site).
Today’s featured blog post is again at Roaming Tales, where I’ve given a full account of last night’s Travel Blog Camp – or should that be Travel Blogg Camp?
