Porridge for Breakfast, The Ordinary Life of a TTP Survivor

Wimbleball Lake was constructed in the 1970s.  Its a reservoir, but open to the public not only for great walks around its perimeter, but water sports, bird watching and angling.  We only walk there, the path to the dam is fairly easy access with good views and points of interest.  It’s worth remembering that the valley hasn’t always been flooded, cottages and a farm were swallowed up, and the ruins may still be under the surface.   It changes throughout the year, of course, with the rainfall and need.  Sometimes full, sometimes with gentle, muddy, slopes down to the water.  There are wooden jetties if you want to take a closer look. Yesterday we visited an almost deserted lake.  The cafe was closed but we had our own picnic with flasks of coffee.  It was just warm enough to sit out for half an hour.  No water sports to disturb the geese or the cormorants, absolute peace and quiet!  A great place to visit at this time of year on a dry, i...

One of the many things I like to do is take photographs of the same area throughout the year.  Up on the MacMillan Way, above Minehead, there is a bench on a spot known as Holes Corner.  It’s a favourite for many people though we like to regard it as ours 😀.   We always take a while to sit there, often with a flask and a snack.  The view can be glorious on a clear day. Right there, a beautiful Beech Tree takes pride of place and I have taken many photographs of it over time.  Here are four of my favourites. Autumn Spring Summer A Winter Evening "Nature gives to every time and season unique beauty; from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, it’s just a succession of changes so soft and comfortable that we hardly notice the progress." —  Charles Dickens

Well, it seems to me it’s time to start blogging again.  I really didn’t want this to turn into some kind of recovery blog, but after a long illness and then Covid, I think it’s time to start over. I haven’t been sitting about, I’ve been walking!  Absolutely miles!   And I’ve taken so many photos that I wish I had shared!   Never mind, I’m ready!  So here we go. This week we drove to Willett Hill.  After checking that we weren’t trespassing, we set off on the well trodden path.  There seemed to be several routes and we choose one that took us around the hill, with a fairly gentle climb.  It’s obviously being used by mountain bikes, you could see the tyre marks in the earth but only a couple of dog walkers were there at this time. Much of the walk was through forestry but nearer the top we came across this beautiful old beech hedge, I love to know how old it is.  Mental note to visit again in the summer when it will be in full leaf. We came ac...