Hay Horse & Pony Show. Country pursuits.

Here is my favourite pony at the Hay Horse & Pony Show last Sunday. I had a chat with the young owner before asking if I could take a photo. He was very proud of himself!

It's a quite informal event, lots of people taking part, and not that many spectators. There's show jumping, in hand showing, working hunter, driving classes and dressage.

Some very smart horses, as well as the magnificently round  and hairy ponies.

My view of the day was through my car windscreen. I was writing for the dressage judge. Here is the view of the rectangular dressage arena. I won't go into the detail, but the judge parks at point C, which you can see. Point A is directly opposite, and that's where the riders enter the arena, trotting up the centre line to C. We can see if they are going in a straight line, or if their line wanders!

Here is our schedule, and the sheets that need filling in for each rider's test. Not everyone rode the same test, depending on skill and how advanced they are. Each section on the sheet represents something the horse and rider have to do, and there's a space for a mark out of 10, and a comment.

The writer needs to concentrate, and also write the judges comments very quickly, and I struggled to write both quickly AND legibly. I think I succeeded!

Here are some of the competitors queuing up to enter various classes at the beginning of the day, some no doubt thinking 'I hope the dressage judge likes me and my horse'

At the end of the day, all riders judged, we had ice cream, which I forgot to photograph before gulping it down. And then I went home feeling marvellously refreshed for having had such a different day, and with only one sunburned shoulder!

Printing shed. Letterpress printing. Summer garden.

It has been absolutely lovely, in this hot weather, to have both doors of my printing shed open. The garden becomes part of it.

The sun shining onto the metal of the proofing press, which is on the floor. I have been experimenting printing with two colours. Very daring.

Enjoying finding quotes and phrases that I like.
Here is a bit of Descartes, I think therefore I am, making full use of the big fancy A and M.

My tray of the ever reliable and beautiful Caslon font by my side. I use this most of all for the big prints. It has upper and lower case letters, and there is something so reliable and utterly right about Caslon. Don't know why - it just is.

And here is the washing line with all three pieces hanging up to dry. Pirate map lore, Descartes, and Game of Thrones. I think that just about covers it!

Happy Summer. x

High Tide. Summer Poem. Heat.

  High Tide

The fields are flooded with sunshine,

It swirls through parched corn,

Washes over dusty hedgerows,

Drenches weary trees,

Dripping into trembling shade.

A tide of heat drowns the land,

Every living thing submerged,

Slow and breathless in the golden ocean.

There is nothing to do but wait,

Wait for the tide turning,

And the slow ripples of night.



This is a high summer poem, from my collection Garden Seasons.
You can find it on my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/153337724/poetry-collection-garden-seasons-in-a?ref=shop_home_active

When I took the photograph I didn't have my glasses on, so had no idea that I had captured a hoverfly in front of the poppy! 

two summer haiku. sweet peas. tomatoes.

sweet peas

so simple in shape

they cannot be photographed

you just have to look

watering the greenhouse

stretching to the sun

tomato leaves smell so good

as water splashes  

These are two poems from my collection Garden Seasons, which you can find here https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/153337724/poetry-collection-garden-seasons-in-a

Bold colour in the garden. Orange.

Orange is a great colour for the garden. It's bold and bright and beautiful. Encouraged by Christopher Lloyd's wonderful book Colour for Adventurous Gardeners, I use it a lot in planting my small garden.

I am really enjoying the orange flowers today, as I sit outside, writing copy for a  local business's new website. 

It's amazing where the skills  learned in writing poetry come in useful - brutal self editing, striving to find exactly the right words - oh, and search engine optimisation as well of course!

Here are million bells

Wonderful snapdragons

achillea

a rather lovely pale rose, with a very decorative snail sitting on a petal

a tangle of roses and million bells

and the first nasturtium of summer.

poem. obscured. destination.

 

destination

an idea obscured

perhaps

more than

the present

path

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  I couldn't quite believe the veil of rain and mist in West Wales yesterday.

poem. almost enough.

  in the garden a

bird sings the sky
is blue there is
no noise from traffic the
tree whispers leaves are
shining the air is
warm what a beautiful
quiet place

poem. learning from my cat.

slow time
complete
happiness
in warmth
and sunshine

haiku. tagetes. summer flowering.

summer flowering
summer's here at last -
flowering bright against blue,
reflecting sunshine





Perhaps the summer really has arrived. The tagetes seem to think so!

haiku. close. blossom.

                                            What a wonderful blossom time this year.