Power Up

Posted on April 25, 2026 by crispina kemp

Image credit: Crispina Kemp

What excites me
Gives me a challenge
What opens my head
Food mixer in
Power on
What?
It’s a conundrum

20 words written for Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt: Conundrum

Posted in Poems (Some Silly), Prompt | Tagged , | 19 Comments

CCC083: Little Jimmy

Posted on April 23, 2026 by crispina kemp

He idolised his Uncle James, did Little Jimmy. But how I wished he wouldn’t try to emulate the man. Ha, emulate. Whoever told Jimmy that a fisherman was a master knot-tier needed his gullet sliced.

It started the day Jimmy found some string. Off he went to the town library and borrowed a book and there he sat on the kitchen floor. Practicing.

He was a quick learner. If he’d have been a boy scout he’d have had his badge in no time. But did he have to string all the cupboard doors together? Did he have to tie all the door-handles in the hall? Shoes he tied too – annoying when you just wanted to slip them on quick.

In the end I found up a chunky length of rope and told him to practice elsewhere.

The farmer never forgave me.

Posted in Crimson's Creative Challenge, Mostly Micro | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

Crimson’s Creative Challenge #083

Posted on April 22, 2026 by crispina kemp

Every Wednesday I’ll post FOUR photos (if you want to get a head start you’ll find them marked in that week’s Sunday Picture Post and Tuesday Treats). Lots of choice!

And here they are:

You respond with something CREATIVE. Perhaps an  answering photo, or micro-fiction, or a poem, or just a caption

As before, there are only two criteria:

!!!!! Your creative offering is indeed yours !!!!!

!!!!! Your writing is kept to 150 words or less !!!!!

If you post a link in the comments section of this post I’ll be able to find it.

Here’s wishing you inspirational explosions. And FUN

Posted in Crimson's Creative Challenge, Photos, Prompt | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments

Tuesday Treats: Flowers and…Things

Posted on April 21, 2026 by crispina kemp

A miscellany of photos from our walk on 10th April 2026. Enjoy

10th April 2026

The trees are greening nicely now. Though the earliest tree-leaves belong to non-native species 🔼 Here, horse chestnut and here 🔽 and here ⏬ sycamore

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

🔽 Our native beech is putting forth, though sparingly as yet

10th April 2026

🔽 I was surprised to see a swath of ramsons; these are lovers of wetlands. But then I saw a grid of drains, all in a dip in the land

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

Common wayside flowers in this part of the land shining out in the strong sunshine 🔼 Alexanders 🔽 Red deadnettle and ⏬ White deadnettle

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

🔽 This petite-petalled gem (a wild geranium) I found on the close grazed hillside

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

Three shots that are not flowers! 🔼 The ragged rope that tied the gate 🔽 A peacock butterfly ⏬ Spleenwort, found growing on the bridge above the train-track

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

And lastly, another non-flower pic 🔽 I’m calling this ‘fishing accoutrements’

10th April 2026

I hope you enjoyed. Our weather is steadily warming up, beckoning the flowers and the butterflies. Who knows what we shall find next week? Join me then.

Posted in Photos | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

Sunday Picture Post: ToThe North

Posted on April 19, 2026 by crispina kemp

10th April 2026 is forecast lots cooler than the previous day but with better visibility. That suits fine. We’re off to the North Norfolk coast which requires a bus westward, then another bus northward. For those mathematically minded, the coast forms the hypotenuse, though strictly speaking it’s an arc. So, grab your camera and let’s go

10th April 2026

🔼 A Parthian shot as we head out of town 🔽 A conveniently provided footpath takes us ‘upward’. Where am I taking you? You’ll see

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

🔼 We pass a field of bleating lambs… 🔽 and sycamore trees, their buds silvery in the sun ⏬ we tramp through a belt of trees (perhaps not open to the public, oops)

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

🔽 And finally we’re here. Though truth, we’ve been following Weaver’s Way since we left the town. The 61 mile walk begins in Cromer; it ends in Great Yarmouth

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

🔼 Can my lens ever resist a gate? No, it cannot 🔽 The view from this hilltop sweeps over fields, woods and houses, and so to the lighthouse. But even on a clear day zooming such a distance casts all in mist

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

🔼 A bridge carries Weaver’s Way over the Sheringham to Norwich line. We’ve no idea when the next train is due, but… 🔽 here she comes. Not the longest train we’ve ever seen!

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

🔼 How could we come to Cromer without a walk along the prom? 🔽 And a few shots of the boats and tractors

10th April 2026

10th April 2026

🔼 Then back atop the cliff. But I have to pause to take this shot, landing Viking-style, straight up the beach 🔽 From ‘men of the north’ to impressions of the south. Living in the flatlands to the east, I always think of these houses with their climbing levels as rather exotic, especially with the sun strong upon them

10th April 2026

Hope you liked this little taste of Cromer, not the usual crabs and chips!

Don’t miss Tuesday Treats for some of the plant-life 😃

Posted in Photos | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

To Celebrate Spring

Posted on April 18, 2026 by crispina kemp

16th April 2026

To celebrate Spring
The woodland invites you in
Feel that warmth upon your skin
Hear the drum of your feet as a grin begin
Hear those birds
Sweetest song you’ve ever heard
Watch them flit
No hope to identify them, they’re so quick
Smell that woodland scent
Definer of the lady’s bower
Inspiration of the perfumer’s hard worked hours
See those leaves, freshest green they’ll ever be
Adorning in sprays the twigs of every tree
See those blossoms – cherry, apple, and pears
Hanging from the branches like mystical chandeliers

89 words written for Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt: Chandelier

Posted in Poems (Some Silly), Prompt | Tagged , | 22 Comments

Crimson’s Creative Challenge #082

Posted on April 15, 2026 by crispina kemp

Every Wednesday I’ll post FOUR photos (if you want to get a head start you’ll find them marked in that week’s Sunday Picture Post and Tuesday Treats). Lots of choice!

And here they are:

You respond with something CREATIVE. Perhaps an  answering photo, or micro-fiction, or a poem, or just a caption

As before, there are only two criteria:

!!!!! Your creative offering is indeed yours !!!!!

!!!!! Your writing is kept to 150 words or less !!!!!

If you post a link in the comments section of this post I’ll be able to find it.

Here’s wishing you inspirational explosions. And FUN

Posted in Crimson's Creative Challenge, Photos, Prompt | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

CCC082: The Final Stage

Posted on April 15, 2026 by crispina kemp

This gate opens onto the final stretch of Weaver’s Way, the 61-mile walkers’ route that starts on the North Norfolk coast at Cromer and wends its way across the county to the sea at Great Yarmouth.

Along its way, it leads the walker through woods, fields and pastures, alongside rivers and, occasionally, it takes to the roads. It weaves its way through the Broads villages to arrive here, on the outskirts of Acle.

It has yet another two villages (Tunstall and Halvergate) to visit before it crosses Halvergate Marsh for its final seemingly unending stage around the great sweep of Breydon Water and into Great Yarmouth.

This last stage, from Acle, is reckoned at 13 miles. Have I walked it? I have indeed. Several times. But not in the past 10 years. Now I walk only as far as those last two villages. I’ll leave Halvergate Marsh and the banks of Breydon to enthusiastic youngsters.

Posted in Crimson's Creative Challenge, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Tuesday Treats: Mostly Flowers

Posted on April 14, 2026 by crispina kemp

More of those photos from 1st April 2026. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed that walk

1st April 2026

🔼 Walking through the village, heading to the ‘swamp’ this little vignette caught my eye. Perfect, despite the flowers aren’t at their best 🔽 The on-going query of which wild plum-species these belong to. I’ll plumb for cherry-plum 😂

1st April 2026

1st April 2026

🔼 It is in the nature of wet woodlands to grow ample moss… which is the exact right conditions for the scarlet elfin cup 🔽

1st April 2026

1st April 2026

🔼 There are many species of forget-me-knot. Which are these? I’m not sure 🔽 But I do know these are primroses ⏬

1st April 2026

1st April 2026

1st April 2026

🔼 Red deadnettle sharing the screen with hemlock leaves 🔽 Red deadnettle, a favourite of bees at this time of year

1st April 2026

1st April 2026

🔼 Everyone’s remarking on the abundance of ladybirds already in evidence this early year. Testimony to the abundance of last year’s food supply. Let’s hope they multiply to yet more before the summer infestations of black, green and white fly which they love to feed on 🔽 Celandines here finding purchase amongst the reeds beside the water

1st April 2026

I hope you enjoyed.

Next week, perhaps a different environment…

Posted in Photos | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments

Sunday Picture Post: A Norfolk Swamp

Posted on April 12, 2026 by crispina kemp

1st April 2026 and we’re off to a little known Norfolk swamp. No kidding. Put your boots on, and let’s go

1st April 2026

Damgate Carr, on the outskirts of Acle, is a thoroughly wet woodland, and one of the few in the Broads area with easy access 🔼 Moss-covered trees sprawl in a most relaxed attitude 🔽 The water-loving red currant makes the most of spring to flower before the canopy closes over ⏬

1st April 2026

1st April 2026

1st April 2026

🔼 Reeds have been cropped over the winter allowing new life to bloom. Trees are greening now, though ivy is still the main green-note 🔽

1st April 2026

1st April 2026

🔼 Moss covers everything. Yet these primrose plants have found a foothold amongst it 🔽

1st April 2026

🔽 We had wondered how muddy this walk would be, but it’s not too bad. Primroses and forget-me-knots line the paths (see Tuesday Treats)

1st April 2026

🔽 Out of the carr the land rises, and is drier. Here hemlock flourishes. Highly poisonous, the flowering stalks will reach 6′ or more by mid summer and release a distinctive ‘burnt coffee’ smell in the heat of the day

1st April 2026

1st April 2026

🔼 A drain runs alongside the railway embankment. Always happy to see the water-plants flourishing here 🔽 To your left, Acle. To your right, Great Yarmouth. Between them miles of rich grazing grasses

1st April 2026

1st April 2026

🔼 Weaver’s Way begins on the north Norfolk coast and wends across the county to cross the railway and thereafter head out to Acle marsh. Willows line the Way, and in early summer the cuckoo calls 🔽 Acle marsh. Follow the Way through a couple of small villages, then cross another marsh, and follow the edge of Breydon Water to the end. It’s a long walk, and not for me today

1st April 2026

Hope you enjoyed. As ever, it’s been a difficult choice, which photos to pick. I hope I’ve given you a taste of the place.

More photos from the day on Tuesday.

Posted in Photos | Tagged , , | 23 Comments