Colours of Cornwall in Autumn

Gosh, it was raining cats and dogs when we arrived at Cornwall's Eden Project for a short walk.

We hurried down to the Mediterranean biome for some shelter and to look at some of the plants.

We plonked ourselves on a seat, where we often sit when visiting the biome. A friendly robin came to say hello.

This reminded me of a good friend, sadly now deceased, who believed robins brought him good luck. 

One Saturday he was off to a football match to see his team play an away game. The team, by the way, also had the nickname of 'the robins'.

He drove about half the journey and pulled into a lay-by for a cup of tea. His wife was with him and he pointed out a robin sitting nearby. The bird then hopped onto his car bonnet. My friend said a few words to the effect that this was lucky - and therefore his team would win.

Before he continued his journey he crumbled up a biscuit for the robin. As he left the lay-by, he could see the robin feeding away and the bird appeared to look up as if in acknowledgement.

Yes, his team did win. But he was luckier than this because he bought a club lotto ticket as he entered the ground. At half time the result of the lotto was called over the loud speakers and my friend won £1000! So the robin did bring him luck. And maybe leaving something for the bird brought him some extra luck. Kind acts are often rewarded.

Anyway, still in the Mediterranean biome, there was also an owl - a big one! 

The colours are uplifting ... 

... even though the rain was still chucking it down.

Another photo from the same biome.

We decided to head for the Rainforest biome.

Pink flowers to welcome us ...

and lots of leaves ...

... big ones!

There was also a photo from a real rainforest.

An information board explained the following:

A little Ot Danum girl running through the forest far up the Melawi river in Kalinantan, the Indonesia part of the island of Borneo. She already knew the names and uses of many plants.

We continued wandering around the rainforest biome, in the pleasant warmth, and saw this basic building pleasantly decorated.

It was soon time to wander back to our car.

Mentioning the robin, in this post, reminded me of a meeting with a young bird we had in our garden, a while back.

We were doing some gardening when the little bird below flew onto my wife's gloved hand ... and stayed there - it wouldn't move.

I went indoors to get my camera and when I returned the blue tit still hadn't moved at all.

The RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) advice is: "Fledglings are extremely unlikely to be abandoned by their parents. Just because you cannot see the adult birds does not mean that they are not there. The parents are probably just away collecting food - or are hidden from view nearby keeping a watchful eye, or even being frightened away from their youngster by your presence. Fledglings should be left where they are, in the care of their own parents."

As for our young bird we settled him in the garden, where he would be safe, and in a short while he was gone.

There's not very much colour about at the moment, but saw this lonely nasturtium stretching through a fence.

Also these red leaves and berries were overlooking a high wall - not sure what they are called but they are very attractive

Of course it is possible to overdo leaves!

Oh well, guess that's it for this week, thanks for visiting my blog, enjoy your days ~ Mike.

A Mixture of of Photos Snapped in Cornwall

 A mixture of photos today, but all taken when I have been out and about in Cornwall. Above is the  Towanroath Shaft Pumping Engine House. It's hard to imagine that this area would have once been a hive of activity with tin and other minerals being exported all around the world.

Next a glance inside of the Huers Hut in Newquay. It was used in the past as a look out when shoals of pilchards were expected. The hue and cry would be heard when the fish were seen.

We are now by the White River near St. Austell.

It's definitely a hotchpotch of photos. The next photo is of the old lock on the church door at Tywardreath. The village is known as a setting for Daphne du Maurier's book, The House on the Strand.

Just along from the church, in a field, were these happy faces making hay.

Charlestown now, but probably a view you haven't seen previously

 A couple of cloud photos, how quickly the weather can change.

The new(ish) part of St. Austell all lit up, at least for a while.

The Eden Project lights last Christmas.

And below plants in Eden's biome ...

... plus a West African shop. You never know what you might spot at the Eden Project.

Moving on, a few houses before the rain came down.

 An aeroplane ready for take off at Truro's Victoria Gardens.

At Charlestown again now, with a father and young son fishing. Good to see.

Red berries: it's often said that if there are lots of red berries, especially on holly, it's going to be a cold winter.

Flying high, a black and white photo, clicked on an evening walk.

Looks like St. Austell town is trying to get locals to shop locally - perhaps free parking would help.

We must have had a 100 plus of these fellows on our back garden grass - also a reminder that our grass needs cutting!

Not too sure what this is but looks very tactile and could well tell many stories - imagine how many people must have touched this over the years.

Oh yes, and this dog was sleeping when he should have been on guard duty.

Finally today, all is quiet at Charlestown.

Thanks for visiting my blog, all good wishes ~ Mike.

On Tour: The Wonderful Red Cliffs of Devon

Occasionally we sneak over the River Tamar and out of Cornwall. On this particular trip we popped into the neighbouring county of Devon. I wanted to visit the red cliffs, sand and soil.

This is the beach where we started our short walk  along the coastal path, near Exmouth.

My shadow and I thought we would walk towards Budleigh Salterton - my wife agreed. So quite a special moment!

Yes, the cliffs are definitely red in colour with the occasional green of the seaweed.

The red is from iron minerals which have weathered over millions of years to produce the colour.

There are also the remains of fossilised roots to be found. These are whiter in colour against the red rocks.

As I understand it these roots go back some 35 million years to the Triassic Period. Ancient plants grew here amongst a desert river. The roots of these plants burrowed down into the soft red sand of the desert, drawing  up any water they could find.

Minerals that were dissolved in the water grew in crystals around the roots, encasing them. As time passed the streams moved and the plants died but the nodules that encased their roots remained.

Fossil roots like these can be seen on other parts of the Jurassic Coast. This, however, is the only place where they can be seen easily.

The photo above shows the view when approaching Budleigh Salterton and below getting nearer still.

The beach at Budleigh Salterton is now in view, plus some beach huts.

A closer look at the beach huts ...

... and the pebbles that make up the beach.

Further along the pebble beach with two people fishing in the distance.

The following photo is looking back to where we had walked along the coastal path with the red cliffs.

Before we retraced our steps we wandered around the small, but interesting, town. Unfortunately I only snapped one photo. This is of the museum, previously a cottage built in 1812.

Now we are heading back to where we began our walk.

The gulls were peaceful on the beach.

To finish: another look at those wonderful cliffs.

... and home we go. Hope you have an interesting week ahead. Good wishes ~ Mike.

Five Other 'On Tour' Posts

(1) City of Bath and the Roman Baths

(2) Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury Tor and King Arthur
(3) Visiting Wells Cathedral - 16 Photos

(4) Visiting Cheddar Gorge

(5) Alone with the Stones at Stonehenge