Weekend reflections

                                River blues


Mirror image reflections on the Sulby river. One for my friends who miss this area more than any other part of the town of Ramsey, Isle of Man. .


Jane Hards Photography


Image part of weekend reflections

Sulby River, Poyll Dooey

                                    Still waters


A walk along the river with a camera, down by the river, alongside the Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve. The plan to seek out and capture on camera the elusive cormorant. I didn't find the bird, but I did find this tranquil scene. I'll take that. 


Jane Hards Photography for more from the Isle of Man


Image part of Weekend Reflections

Melting ice

                                Winter blues
   

It's that time of year again when the harbour freezes over The last remnants of the frozen over Sulby river melting under the (surprisingly warm for this time of year) winter sun. Taken from Bowring Road, Ramsey Harbour, Isle of Man. This time next week, who knows tidal flooding or snowdrifts

Image part of Our World Tuesday 

More of the Isle of Man images can be found on my facebook photography page

The Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve

                              It's snowtime

Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve is an area of land in Ramsey that is a haven for wildlife. It is also a haven for me as a photographer.

Poyll Dooey has a series of nature trails running through it. Follow the trails and you will find many wonderful birds, rabbits, dragonflies, ladybirds... and dogs. It's a dog walkers heaven. A photographers heaven. Take a step off the nature trails and walkways and you will find yourself wading through overgrown scrub land, ponds, bogs, wild grasses and wild flowers such as bluebells and all sorts of flowers I don't know the names are. Nestled amongst all of this is a picnic area in a beautifully maintained garden setting. The far side of Poyll Dooey you happen upon the white bridge or wander a trail until you reach the Sulby River and follow it back into Ramsey Town. A lovely walk, a lovely area.

More abc's around the world can be found here

A walk along the Sulby River

                        Get away from it all


The Sulby River, is the longest river on the Island, rising on Snaefell close to the Sulby Reservoir, running north through Sulby Glen and onto the coast at Ramsey.  This part photographed is situated in the Poyll Dooey Nature reserve. You can follow the river right into town and out to the Irish Sea. A great walk, and getaway from the town. Perfect place for dog walkers, picnics and wildlife. Another hidden gem on the Isle of Man.


Isle of Man TT launch night tonight. Not long now, but for those who don't like motorbikes and tourists taking over the island, you can always escape here.

The White Bridge

Single File only

Another Ramsey landmark,  and regular haunt, the aptly (if not imaginatively) named White Bridge, situated in The Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve, crossing over the Sulby river.  It's basically a single file pedestrian only bridge, although bikes and motorbikes can be walked and not ridden across. It really is quite a narrow and sturdy, but perfectly formed walkway that allows you to reach the other side of the river without getting your feet wet. 


When looking for information about this bridge,  I've  just found the vaguest reference, or uncorroborated info. How long it's been here who knows, apart from the ducks possibly who appear to live below it, coming out for a waddle and food off locals. A mystery perhaps an older local can solve.

Ellan Vanin is the E

Another river walk

As usual I try and educate you in a little Manx, the once fluently spoken language of the island I live on, the Isle of Man. Don't study the image to hard to focus on the river or the foliage for the E. It is the big picture you should concentrate on, as a whole. In fact I could have chosen any unused island photo for this one. E's are good, a great letter to use, as there are so many Manx words beginning with E. I digress. Ellan Vannin is in fact the Manx name of the Isle of Man. Tune in next week for more crazy Manx words.


Other abc's can be found by clicking here

Angel's tears, evening dew

Things you find on a river walk

Going through photos to find ones for the blog I found this unused curious image. I confess it is a Summer capture, not a recent Winter one. A friend reminded me of river walks with a dog along the river and in the Poyll Dooey, or as we he likes to call it affectionately the "Pollydollies" which always makes me laugh. On one of those summertime river walks I went armed with the camera. While the doggie was splish splashing around in the water to cool down, after playing the favourite dog game of "human throw stick, dog chase stick, dog not return stick back to human, so human throws another stick" I began to photograph the scene of the dog splish splashing to espy this evening dew. An Italian friend calls the evening dew above "angel's tears" which is so poetic a way to describe the photo, I just had to use those words. Simonetta thank you.

To all those who have left these shores and miss the island, and the PollyDollies and walk with dogs. One fine day, we do it all again.

Thank you all for the big welcome back.

Just when you thought it was safe!

So where was I?

Sorry I left you all with a group of drunks, I mean dedicated rugby players celebrating with yards of ale at the end of yet another rough game, but well I'm back now so perleaaaaasssse no more poking me on Facebook. For a start that really hurts a girl and it's sooooooooooooo rude ya know. If you have stumbled across this blog looking for a sensible travel guide, a little Manx history and ooh how wonderful it is living on Whicker Man, sorry the Isle of Man.....think again! You will get that from time to time, but most definitely my way. What ya see is what ya get, and how I get up in the morning is how this blog works. So, Shoprite our local supermarket (nothing super about it at all, oxymoron) if you sell chickens that go off before their sell by date and ruin Christmas..... I will be be annoyed and name and shame. One thing only I guarantee you, a photo. If you're lucky the odd photography tip. If you are even luckier I may throw in some Manx culture or a Manx swear word, I mean Manx word for seagull or some some nonsense. Well I will until they catch me and have to go back to hiding in the woods for a while.



Oh the photo. Nothing special to kick us off. A walk along the river, low tide down on one knee doing the old artsy fartsy bit with (cliche alert) setting the composition and of course this just had to be in monochrome dahlink to allow the hollow of light through the whatever that stone thing is sticking up out of the water. Look I told you, I do the photography but if you want I could pretend it's an ancient Manx obelisk that the Pagans used to worship and sacrifice virgins at on May Day to ward off maurauding Vikings. Think I may have to go into hiding.

It's good to be back.

Sunlit river bed - My World

Mud glorious mud!

My World

This is typical. I had this image planned for Blog Action Day, something I very much wanted to be part of. You were all going to get a rant about looking after the place you live re Climate change but of course Blogger was not being at all cooperative and decided my scheduled post just wouldn't get published. However many times I tried to re submit it get kicking the image out. Never mind you get the image of the Sulby River, riverbed at it's lowest I've seen it for a very long time. Go back over my previous image and you will see this is usually quite a swollen river. Well will do get more than our fair share of rain here. Normally I wouldn't be able to actually walk this far down and sink into the mud but I just couldn't resist those delicious golden golden and bronze tones bouncing around off the sunlight, leaving that tiny patch of blue in the centre puddle. That's how you can tell this is afternoon, not evening, the blue sky. Trick is shoot with your back to the sun, and the image will naturally darken and you can just bounce the light around in those watery puddles. Image is a little bigger than normal so you can have a better view. Who say mud isn't pretty? A pain to clean off thought. Photography dirty job, but someone has to do it.


For more images from the globe click here for My World.

Living on an island - My World

Dave, this is why

Yes I have been off the blog again. Sometimes it's called having a life, other times it's when the server is being erratic here and I have no time to sit and wait for it to behave. Sometimes that pile of ironing will not iron it's self, and however much I beg the fairy folk here to help with the housework they point blank refuse. A little of all of those things. Island life for you. Has it's upside and certainly it's down.

Good things about living on an island can be many, safety for one. We joke here we live in a time warp. Well who wouldn't want to live in the past a little when today's UK crime rate is at it's peak(despite how they massage the figures)and you still know names of local police, you can walk streets home at night, you do not fear sitting upstairs on public transport. You know your neighbour. Your house will be watched over when you are on holiday. It's quiet. Quieter than big bustling cities. People have time for each other. The scenery in places is stunning. Beaches, woodlands, parks. We have local shops, local produce. Smaller schools. Our news is not dominated with bad things, but community spirited events. Laid back. Time enough as they say here, but of course there is a flip side.

It can be cloying. Everyone knows everyone. It can be hard for new people to integrate into such tight knit communities. Sometimes you want to splurge the cash, or you really need something for the home that is not provided on the island. You need the Internet for these, but the net is not always reliable. Transportation costs to get off the island are astronomical. Cost of living, housing too. To be an artist, a photographer is hard. The market is small, and if you come over like us then the help, the buyers, the clients back away. We need the worldwide market, but as I said the Internet can be erratic. It can be hard to survive, financially. It can be hard to survive emotionally isolated. I am lucky, I did not come over alone, I have the artist. Sometimes you just get cabin fever and crave the anonymity of the suburbs, the big neon garish city Then you see the beach, the woods, breathe the fresh air or take a walk chasing rabbits to photograph by the river and it passes.

Dedicated to my long lost friend Dave. That's why and not why.

For more of others My world's clickety click here

Envionmentally unfriendly

No I don't know why it's there

Can anyone tell me what they think that is sticking out of the water and also why? I know I have come across some strange things and shall we say interesting items but this bar or post of some kind looks a little scary to me. Put it this way, I wouldn't fancy being out and about on a canoe and running smack into or onto this as you bounced over the short drop of water. Ouch! This wasn't the only one I found. Roughly about 6 just poking out at various intervals along the rapid flowing water seemingly embedded in the river bed. Maybe an alien spacecraft crash landed and these are the remnants of the unidentified material. Maybe it's just a more likely mundane explanation like vandals clogging up the river with something other than a shopping trolley. That I would say is the more likely answer.Who knows? Who really cares? Who will do anything about it?

I'll leave this with you. I'm just the recorder of the images around me. To check out others monochromes see here

TALES FROM THE RIVERBANK - MY WORLD

Mystic River

My World

This image is a bit of mystery. Not how it was taken that's the easy bit, I know that. It's where it was taken. By that I mean I know it's along the Sulby River, I know it's the Poyll Dooey nature reserve, I know all I have to do is wander over in my kimono and slippers take the photo and be back in the house before the kettle boils,(I only said I could do that I didn't say I did) but I can't recall exactly which stretch of the river it was. Doh! On the memory card the image is sandwiched between two totally different images I remember capturing and why, but this one is a one take image of yes a beautiful reflection but why? Not that a beautiful reflection should not be reason in it's self. Was it to tell you about the geology of the island, the overflow from the reservoir, the pond life (use your imagination) or the surrounding myths and legends I was capturing the scene for I don't know. My world today then is a mystery that also reminds me of a painting and I can't figure out what or who? Any ideas? I think this flu is making me delirious, that or the medicine.


Waterworld scenes I can recall when, where, and why click to reveal.


Reflection
Spooky
Monster
Mellow Yellow
River Deep Mountain High

Klaus, Imac, Fishing Guy, Ivar, Tom, Louise, Wren, Sandy and others are to thank for the My World neme. Click here for more my world's just for fun again of course.


babooshka ramsey daily photo http://dailyphotoisleofman.blogspot.com/

SPRINGING THE BLUES - SKYWATCH

Blue River, wherever your going I'm going your way.

Skywatch

I'm back in sync again now after missing a day. As I said blame it on St Patrick, Mr Jack Daniels and the Plough. That will make no sense to you if you have just stopped by, for those in the know stop laughing. So it's Friday(well actually it's Thursday as I type but who cares) it must be skywatch. It's spring you know what that means don't you? It means I can be found along the lazy river back in the nature reserve again. It's been far to muddy in there but at last I can bombard you all with images of the Sulby River in The Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve. Why is this so fabulous? Well obviously the place is absolutely gorgeous, full of wildlife, wildflowers, meadows, the river, the white bridge, fish, fabulous reflections and sunsets blah di blah di blah. Yes, yes, it has all that majestic wondrous nature stuff of course by the bucket load which is terrific naturally, but it's not the best reason it's a boon to be able to go back in. No the best reason of all is..... It's at the back of my house so when I really can't be ars..., sorry I mean when one simply does not have time to traipse around the town I can wander over in my scruffs or kimono and slippers take a pic and walk back all before the kettle has boiled. I never said I was a hardworking photography genius, just a genius.



Of course I jest and really playing on the irony tonight. I adore the Sulby River, the nature reserve and it's close proximity to my house is so welcome. What the genius bit? Who said I was being ironic there?Ha! Ha!

Skywatch watchers can be found here. Many thanks to Dot for the inspirational idea, Tom for the first care taking and the My world gang for looking after skywatch now.


The image has the blues I refuse too.

Babooshka Ramsey Daily Photo hhtp://dailyphotoisleofman.blogspot.com/

SULBY RIVER, POYLL DOOEY, MONOCHORME ODDSHOTS

At a distance this image always looks like like a shipwreck at low tide, along Sulby River. This image had been under water for a month or two now due to the heavy rainfall, but when the riverbanks relented, the rain ceased, this strange scene was still there. This is as close as I can physically get to it without actually going down onto the river bed, which you shouldn't do anyway. There is a path along the river for a reason. To walk on! The river is to look at.

A far as I can tell it's actually tree branches embedded into the riverbed with what appears to be seaweed of some kind draped across it. When it's icy this area always takes on an otherworldly charm, like Narnia. It's not icy just yet so I went for a mono shot( just a straightforward desaturate colour) to see if it would appear ethereal and for me it has in a odd eerie way. Something ghostly about the whole innocuous scene. It could be perhaps those Manx fairies have draped there shimmering attire over the deadwood. Who knows? They are a little cheeky.

Blogger was off for sometime today, so was my server too hence little activity this end. Gary has just built his new website, my turn next. Why is it when you plan to undertake certain work on your laptop it all goes awry. Naughty Manx fairies again possibly? Perhaps they don't want me to show you the fairy magic they weave throughout the island or is Manannan out with his cloaking devise( Star Trek baddies merely borrow it) to thwart prying eyes.

Want to join the weird world of Odd Shots Monday? Then see KATNEY

Want to join the beautiful and creative world of Mononchorome Monday? Then see Aileni at LOOSE ENDS