Wealie's World » nature

Born Under A Storm

Ruth Weal — Tue, 24 May 2011 23:20:29 +0000

For She Is The Storm - Copyright R.Weal 2011

One of my family’s favourite stories about me (of which there
are many), is how I was born under a raging summer storm.
In fact, that August in the year of my birth was a very stormy one and apparently even as a babe, I was never frightened of the storms – mainly I slept peacefully through them.

As I grew I became increasingly fascinated by storms and I’ve always been able to tell when a storm is coming, even before the clouds roll in and the ozone coats the air about us. Every so often in my life there has been a special storm, one that feels familiar and right. A deep gravitational pull exists between us, pulling us into each other’s sphere of being, speaking deeply of home and belonging. She is the elemental force from which an unknowable part of me was sprung the night I was born, my mother storm.

As I sense mother storm I feel the need to go out and meet her; (for I cannot think of her as an ‘it’), to commune with her essence. I can only describe it as a perfect feeling of being welcomed home. She always comes when I need guidance or support, when my reserves are low and my spirit ebbing. She infuses my being, filling me up with her rejuvenating power, firing my creativity with her lightning, warming my heart with her raucous thunder. And as for her blessed rain? Oh, to be kissed by her tears – for a moment to be washed clean of all my earthly bonds and pains is a truly indescribable experience. For when her essence whips about me I am not of this earth – I am the wind, I am the rain and I dance to the thunder beneath the lancing lightning that binds my spirit to her.

Storm Swept - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Whilst I commune with her time stands still and yet moves faster than anything I have ever known. The exceptional bond between us defies all reason. When she leaves me I am bereft, for a moment so heartbroken I wonder how I will even find my next breath. But then the world reasserts itself, my heart beats and I find that I am once again whole, infused with a new lustre and will to go on. Her gift to me is the elemental sorcery that always resides within me, keeping me safe in the light until she can find me again.

She visited me earlier this month and brought forth a torrent of poetry and art (which you can see here in this post), stoking the fire into life from the dying embers of my creativity. Below you will find the video I captured of my mother storm and the piece of poetic prose I wrote for her. I hope maybe some of her power leaps out from them into you.

Thank you mother storm, ‘till we commune again I will ever be your earthbound daughter.

Tread safely in the light.

Wealie x

Reunited

She felt the presence long before she consciously understood. Something called up from deep within her – dormant electricity brought forth into being with only a thought, brightening the very blood within her veins to sing in anticipation.

Alive with power, glowing with effervescence and a pure spark of life, she stepped out into the world no longer entirely a part of it. The wind’s whispers grew into a loving caress, promising the birth of magic to come. Brooding clouds crowded about her, transforming her into an ethereal form. The very weather itself courted her like an attentive lover – framing her like an ancient goddess among men.

And then she knew; knew her storm was calling her home. So long since last they communed, too long since she was filled with the ancient power in her veins and blessed with the mighty kiss of the storm’s tears. So long since she had been absolved of all earthly bounds and shame.

Original Sketch of Storm Goddess - Copyright R.Weal 2011

“Come,” she plaintively called
“Come to me,” she breathlessly heaved
“Breathe new life into my tired soul.
Imbue these wizened veins with the elixir of your simple truth.
Release my true self and I will be your earthly emissary.”

And so her storm came, rushing over, under, around and through her – flooding her system with cleansing power, covering her with tears of joy as it sung her thunderous praises, ecstatically lighting up the sky with the excitement of their reunion. Woman and storm converged in sorcerous communion, her earth bound spirit set free, birthed anew in the tender love of her mighty Mother Storm.

With regretful motion the two were parted, neither knowing when next they would converge as one. But always within they carry a vital element of the other, so that they might always find each other across the long oceans of time and the lost, lonely valleys of each day and night. For in truth they can never truly be parted.

Ruth Weal

For Mother Storm, until we meet again I am ever your earthbound daughter
x

Written during a beautiful Summer Storm

Copyright R.Weal © 7 May 2011 1.10 am

An Afternoon at Heale Gardens

Ruth Weal — Sat, 21 May 2011 00:01:16 +0000

Heale Gardens Iron Gate - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Here’s the first in my Wealie Nice Places To Visit series of
articles. The aim of these articles is to give you a feel for
the places I visit in words and images, a bit of the history and the pros and cons of visiting as I see them. I hope you will be inspired to visit one or two of those places after reading my articles. Anyway, let’s get on with talking about Heale Gardens.

With the two long weekends of 4 days a piece in April I had lots of opportunities to get out and about during the Easter and May Day weekend. One of the places I chose to go was Heale Gardens. Heale is a lovely late 16th century private house and gardens situated in the Woodford Valley near Salisbury, Wiltshire.

A Magnolia's Secret - Copyright R.Weal 2011

What people visit Heale for most is its gardens; many generations of the still resident Rasch family have created and developed the gardens we see today. The house is also famous for having been one of the places where Charles the II took refuge on his flight from the country. Charles II spent 6 nights at Heale on his way to Shoreham and then onto France in October 1651.

On entering the garden you walk through a beautiful meadow full of gorgeous wild flowers and grasses. The managed orchards are full with beautiful fruit-bearing trees, grown to form lush archways where shade loving blooms can thrive.

Ferns on the River Bank - Copyright R.Weal 2011

To your right the river Avon flows through the bottom of the garden splitting into a number of tributaries to make an amazing riverbank landscape through the woodland garden, with it’s abundance of ferns and Spanish bells. Beautiful wisterias climb the walls and archways and intricate ironwork decorates the gates that break up the different elements of the gardens.

Heale House Wisteria - Copyright R.Weal 2011

It takes approximately an hour to walk round the gardens at a leisurely pace, but there’s no time limit to how long you may spend in the gardens. Many people come with a picnic blanket and a good book to absorb the wonderful sense of peace, tranquillity and relaxation that the gardens are bound to inspire in you.

The crumbling stonework and ornate rusting iron gates exude a sense of dignified decay, lending an indefinable air of ‘times gone by’ to the gardens. It’s not hard to imagine the quintessentially English corseted ladies and proper English gentlemen living a lifestyle most of us would never have been able to experience except through great BBC period dramas!

Stone Pot Detail - Copyright R.Weal 2011

In terms of amenities there’s a lovely coffee shop with indoor and outdoor seating to accommodate the moody British weather. In the coffee shop you will receive a very warm welcome and reasonably priced and exceptionally well presented home made food that is in my opinion is to die for! Whether it’s a full lunch, a lite bite or just a cup of tea and a slice of cake (I heartily recommend the warm scones!) there will be something to whet your appetite.

Green and white drops - Copyright R.Weal 2011

As well as food, the coffee shop also has an array of home produce, gifts, gardening items, knick knacks and greeting cards for sale that are fun to browse through and again reasonably priced. On top of the coffee shop there’s also a small nursery where you can buy some of the beautiful blooms and shrubs you see in the gardens at prices that are great for the size and quality of the plants you buy – some of which are now gracing my own garden.

Buttercups close up - Copyright R.Weal 2011

The house itself is not open to the public and as the family is in residence there are areas of the garden where the public are not allowed to enter to protect the privacy of the Rasch family home. Unfortunately the gardens are not particularly suitable for wheelchair access or individuals with severe mobility impairment, however you can experience much of the garden’s beauty by just sitting out in the coffee shop garden area, as long as you watch out for the crafty Robin with designs on your cake crumbs!

Iron Gate Close Up - Copyright R.Weal 2011

From February and October the gardens are open to the public between 10 am and 5 pm, Wednesday to Sunday (not Monday or Tuesday, except Bank Holidays). Entrance is reasonably priced at £4.50 for adults and £2.50 for kids. All in all Heale Gardens is a lovely place to spend some relaxation time, whether you are walking round the gardens or just popping to the coffee shop for a cream tea and a mosey round the nursery. It’s well worth a visit if you are in the area and a great place to while away a morning or afternoon.

Below are some of my favourite pictures from my afternoon at Heale and you can see the rest in my flickr photo set Heale Gardens.

Happy visiting!

Wealie x

Cherry Blossom - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Seed Pods - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Thistle Bud - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Fern Dancing - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Lone White Heart - Copyright R.Weal 2011

A Walk Round Wilton House Gardens

Ruth Weal — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:00:19 +0000

Wilton House Corner View - Copyright R.Weal 2011

A few weekends back I finally got around to visiting
Wilton House after living just down the road from it for
over 6 years! Unfortunately the house wasn’t yet open to the public, but there was more than enough to see and photograph on a lovely sunny April day in the extensive gardens.

In this post you’ll see some of my favourite pictures from my walk round the gardens, which include the beautiful flora and the architecture of the house. To see all the pictures I took please view my Wilton House Gardens April 2011 set on flickr.

Wisteria Leaves - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Wilton House is the home of the Earl and Countess of Pembroke and has been the residency of their family since the grounds and buildings were granted to the family’s ancestor by Henry VIII back in 1544. The main house is 460 years old with superb architecture and holds a wonderful art collection within.

The Wilton House estate has been used as a location in films such as Sense and Sensibility, The Madness of King George, Mrs Brown, Pride and Prejudice and The Young Victoria.

The Herald - Copyright R.Weal 2011

The house has undergone a great deal of restoration in recent years and the house and grounds are well worth a visit when they are open to the public between April and September. There’s an adventure playground to keep the children occupied.

If you are interested in visiting or want to know a bit more about the estate see the Wilton House Website.

Below are some more of my favourite shots from the day, enjoy.

Wealie x

: Pinky Green Tulips – Copyright R.Weal 2011

: Fingertips – Copyright R.Weal 2011

Wilton Bell Tower - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Ancient Cedar at Wilton House - Copyright R.Weal 2011

In the bridge - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Imperfect Clock - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Approach to the Bridge - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Softest Pink Blossom - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Bluebells and Daisies - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Delicate Yellow - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Iced Rosemary

Ruth Weal — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 01:52:50 +0000

We had a wonderful few days of snow the week before Christmas 2010 here in England. I was lucky enough
to get out and about in Salisbury when the snow was still fresh, but it was a lovely bright and crisp winter’s day.

I’ve been slowly sorting through and editing all the pictures I took that day – To say I took a lot is putting it mildly, I’ve got macro shots, shots of Lizzie Gardens and The Cathedral and Cathedral Close. I’ve almost finished all the editing, just got 5 or 6 shots left I want to work on. However the set I named “Iced Rosemary“ is amongst my favourites and very much a standalone set in it’s own right. They were taken just down the road from where I live using my macro lens on the K7 Pentax DSLR.

The sun was just perfect and the brilliance of the snow and the glow of the reflections in the ice droplets had me totally enthralled for quite sometime. I’m sure I got a few weird looks as people passed me by on the street, but what price the perfect capture?

I have edited and uploaded the best of the iced rosemary shots to flickr and they can be viewed in the set conveniently named “Iced Rosemary“. However, here are a few of my absolute favourites and a little explanation as to why.

Ice drop - Copyright R.Weal 2010

I was fascinated by the way the iced droplet distorted the reflection in this capture. I also liked the contrasting textures of the wood, leaves and ice.

Winter reflected - Copyright R.Weal 2010

One of the many droplets that were starting to melt under the winter sun allowing me to capture a perfect reflection of the garden in which the rosemary resides. It took a few attempts to get a shot in focus with the right amount of light, but it was well worth the effort.

Frozen Drips - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Part of me toyed with the idea of calling this one “reptilian rosemary” due to the pronounced textures of the rosemary sprig through the magnification of the ice. In the end I decided not to call it that, hoping that people would see the texture and make up their own minds about it.

Ice Drop on Rosemary - Copyright R.Weal 2010

I really liked the overall tone and composition of this shot. The blurred snow in the background and the detail of the individual ice crystals within the snow in the foreground. The smoothness of the rosemary sprigs, the roughness of the wood and the frosted glass effect of the ice droplet. It all added up to a beautiful shot in my eyes.

Wealie x

Drain My Colour, But You Will Not Steal My Beauty

Ruth Weal — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:02:43 +0000

I was very pleased how this picture came out, it was originally pink, which those of you who know me will be aware is not my favourite colour. I was surprised how nice it looked in sepia though, it gave it an added softness and dreamy quality, which then inspired the short poem beneath it “Drain My Colour, But You Will Not Steal My Beauty”. I hope you enjoy the photo and the poetry.

Wealie x

Drain My Colour, But You Will Not Steal My Beauty - Copyright R.Weal 2008

YOU WILL NOT STEAL MY BEAUTY

Drain my colour, but you will not steal my beauty
Pierce my heart, but you will not take my love
Take my freedom, but you will not break my will
Steal my breath, but you will not capture my heart

Ruth Weal
15 May 2008 10.54 pm
Copyright R.Weal 2008 ©

The Golden Hour

Ruth Weal — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 00:56:55 +0000

The golden hour is the hour just prior to sunset and the hour just after sunrise when if you’re lucky, the landscape is bathed in a beautiful golden light which adds an extra dimension and beauty to the quality of your photography. I don’t very often see the golden hour at dawn, unless I haven’t been to bed yet, but I do try and get out to see it at dusk every now and then.

Whilst out on a walk with my Dad and Ben I was lucky enough to get some spectacular autumnal sunset shots at Shearwater Lake. It’s a lovely man made fresh water lake, popular for fishing, sailing, walking, cycling and of course photography. Shearwater is situated nicely between Longleat and Warminster in a picturesque area of Wiltshire on the cusp of the Deverills at Crockerton. If you’ve never been I highly recommend taking a visit!

The lake is surrounded by many beautiful specimens of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs/bushes such as Rhododendrons. There’s lots of wildlife on and in the lake, from the fresh water fish – carp, bream, roach, perch, tench and rudd to the many water fowl – Canada geese, ducks and sea gulls. In the woods the sharp eyed will see numerous grey squirrels and if you’re lucky you might even spot a deer or two peeking out from the dense foliage of ferns . All of which makes it an excellent place to visit for photographers whatever the time of year you visit.

Here’s some of my favourite pics from the evening’s golden hour!

Wealie x

Golden Sets - Copyright R.Weal 2010

The Bull Rushes - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Ruth Weal — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:04:52 +0000

Right now it seems that everywhere I turn outside there’s a garden spider just like those in my pictures below. I’ve never quite understood why people find them scary, I’ve always found them to be interesting and as a child a source of comfort. When I was about 8 years old I had a morbid fear of burglars or “burgerlers” as I used to call them!

I kept waking up from very vivid nightmares in the middle of the night petrified that my panda “Sarah” was going to be taken away from me when the burgerlers came to burgerlerise us – yes I said it that way too!

Luckily I had a very inventive dad – he told me that I didn’t need to worry about the burglars as he kept his smelly socks at the end of the bed. Now everyone knows burglars can’t stand the smell of Dads’ socks and my Dad’s were some of the worst you could find! Then there was Dad’s very loud and very scary snoring and best of all Boris the spider would protect me and Sarah the panda.

For those who were not in the know, Boris the spider lived behind the picture over the downstairs hallway door and apparently if a burglar ever tried to get in Boris would jump out from the picture onto their shoulders and frighten them off, so they wouldn’t even make it up the stairs, let alone to my bedroom.

Well as bizarre as that may sound, it did the trick and I never had the burglar nightmares again. I grew up feeling all warm and fuzzy about Boris who was our watch spider living behind the picture over the hallway door. The warm and fuzzies for Boris turned into a general respect and soft spot for Boris’s eight legged family. So here’s a few pics of some outdoor Boris’s!

Next time you feel an attack of spider heebie jeebies remember they’re a lot smaller than you and they do a good job of keeping nasty flies and wasps in check, not to mention potential burgerler frightening, so please don’t just squish them!

Come into my parlour, said the Wealie to her readers x

A Single Moment

Ruth Weal — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 21:40:29 +0000

Yesterday I had a lovely hour out taking photographs, which I haven’t done for quite some time. Just as the sun was setting I captured this picture looking out over the river in Lizzie Gardens.

As I was walking around I thought about how quickly a single moment passes and how often we miss out on some spectacular moments just by not taking the time to stop and look around you.

After I’d taken this picture it reminded me of the poem below that I wrote so many years ago.

A SINGLE MOMENT
Innocence lost, but not forgotten
Love discovered
Joy recovered
Place your hand upon my chest
Feel the love, which knows no rest
Flowers bloom, the bud has opened
Leave me here forever hoping
A single moment
The quintessential kiss
Eternity in your gaze
Forever on your lips
Life should always feel as this

Autumnal Blooms

Ruth Weal — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 23:21:29 +0000

I’ve heard a number of people lament the lack of blooms in the UK after September. Well I went out for a quick photography trip this afternoon as it was a lovely sunny evening and guess what…..I found loads of flowers still in bloom!

I’ve uploaded them to flickr in the set Autumnal Blooming in Salisbury. Here are a few of my favourites, as you can see I had trouble choosing!

I hope my blooms bring a little bit of joy to you.

Wealie x

How did you mark 10/10/10?

Ruth Weal — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:44:21 +0000

Today is the 10th of October 2010, or as it appears in the two digit date format 10/10/10! As humans we are always looking for special meaning and significance in dates like these. Many people are drawn to mark these dates in some way, assigning significance and meaning where perhaps there would not have been any.

For me though, today was a pretty normal Sunday. I slept in, took a nice hot leisurely bath, finished the book I’d been reading, did a very little bit of tidying up, sorted a bit of washing and then decided to sit down and watch a classic flick from my childhood whilst Ben was out.

The film was Bedknobs and Broomsticks, which Disney has just released an Enchanted Musical Edition, which I bought a few weeks back whilst shopping. It was lovely to hear my favourite songs “The Age of not believing”, “Portobello Road”, “The Beautiful Briny Sea” and “Substitutiary Locomotion” and to see the film restored to it’s deserved glory!

After the film finished, I settled down to think of today’s blog topic and soon realised that it was 10/10/10 whilst checking out some flickr buddies latest photographic uploads.

There are a few flickr groups that have been set up dedicated to pictures and videos taken today on 10/10/10. The pictures are of a wide variety of subjects and it’s interesting to take a look through the group photo pools to see what inspired other people all over the world on 10/10/10.

For me I decided this was a good opportunity to go out an photograph the vine on the front wall of the alley that leads down to my house. Luckily it’s been a lovely sunny autumn afternoon and the vine is now a lovely mixture of reds, golds and green.

I noticed how the vine had changed from it’s verdant green to a rainbow of red, gold yellow and green yesterday and thought then that I really should get out and photograph it before the spectacular display was over.

I’ve edited the pics and named the set The 10/10/10 Autumnal Collection and a couple of my favourites are here in the blog post. The set also includes a couple of snail and blossom shots along with a shot of the miniature Japanese Maple Leaf tree, which is just starting to turn. Hopefully the weather will hold for me to get some nice shots of the Maple Leaf when it turns fully.

If you have taken a picture or video today why not upload it to one or all of the flickr groups?

If you’ve never seen it or want to remember, below is a clip of my favourite song -”The Beautiful Briny Sea”, from the film Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I hope you enjoy it and that it brings the same smile to your lips today that it did mine.

Here’s hoping you had a great 10/10/10. This is Wealie signing off, just “bobbing along, singing a song, on the bottom of the beautiful briny, shimmery shiny, beautiful briny sea!”