Taggle Doo

I haven't been on for an extended time.  I relocated from my cabin in the woods to a more civilized existence and have been busy ---  and what the hell, I don't need no stinkin' excuses!

Very much the same activities --- gardening, guitar, painting, eating, sleeping and drinking.

Will try to view a few sites to catch up.

Hope that everyone has a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!  These photos were taken at the Witchcraft Museum
in Boscastle, Cornwall in September.

Photos from my recent travel in England,  The Old Grey Mare in York.





The Victoria is in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.



The Two Brewers in Windsor.


Woodbridge in Wiltshire


The Red Lion, Avebury -- the only pub inside a stone circle.



The Kingsbridge Inn, Bourton-on-the-Water.


Sir John Barleycorn in Hitchin

England has hundreds of charming churches and magnificent cathedrals.   Stonehenge and Avebury are incredible stone age sites of ancient spiritual  significance.   The simple stone circle at rollright, with the adjoining standing stones -- in my mind -- equaled the most elaborate of the other sites.

These stones, in the northern Cotswolds, are estimated at 4,000 to 5,000 years of age.




The Kingstone, at the winter solstice aligns with the Whispering Knights.




There is clear evidence of ongoing celebrations at the site.   There are offerings -- monetary, flowers and talismans at the Whispering Knights.   The Kingsmen circle has evidence of fire and Maypole dances.  The King Stone has an impressive companion wicker creation of recent vintage.
An added plus is that there are few tourists interfering with the natural feel of the location.

Richmond Castle & Bootham Bar, York



















The Shambles, York   &  The fern grotto at Brodmore Gardens

















Sherborne Castle, Dorset









Port Issac, where the Doc Martin TV show is filmed

Been traveling out in the central plains.   Spent some time hangin' out with these guys.  This was at the Maxwell wildlife preserve in central Kansas.

Tenderloin sandwich #1 @ 54th Street Grill in Wentzville, Missouri.

I haven't been very actively posting -- sorry 'bout that.  Guess my excuse is that we have had a long azalea season and I have been delighting in what the deer failed to consume.  This is an Admiral Semmes and is not my plant -- obviously taken at a nursery.  I have one but it had fewer blooms.




This is an Alabamense, a native azalea indigenous to a small area of eastern Alabama.  This photo is from my 17 year old bush.



This is an out of focus Chapman Azalea.  The chapmans are endangered and only exist in the wild in 3 or 4 locations in North Florida. This is from my 18 year old, well established bush.



This is an oriental hybrid called Duchess of Cypress.  It is another well established bush from which I have taken propagations.

My chapman azalea is blooming beautifully right now -- right on schedule, not early like most of the oriental hybrids.



The chapman is native to north Florida, but rare in the wild and endangered.