Tuesdays Treats: April Belles

Posted on May 5, 2026 by crispina kemp

Additional photos from our walk on 20th April 2026, mostly flowers. Enjoy

20th April 2026

🔼 Bluebells, true English bluebells 🔽 The delicate little flowers of wood sorrel with a splash of colour from the ground ivy

20th April 2026

20th April 2026

🔼 Even smaller than the wood sorrel (above) is the tiny moschatel  🔽 and corydelis (with bluebells photobombing!)

20th April 2026

20th April 2026

🔼 Love to see the newly unfurled beech leaves, the perfect accompaniment to the bluebells 🔽 In this woods, when a tree needs felling it’s not taken away but is turned into woodland furniture. A throne for me and throne for you

20th April 2026

🔽 For me, there’s magic in the combination of stitchwort and bluebells. The fairies agree, that’s why they encourage the stinging nettles to grow close by, as protection 😉

20th April 2026

20th April 2026

Tales of the river bank 🔼 ramsons, gotta love that wild garlic 🔽 and more garlic with Jack-in-the-hedge aka garlic mustard

20th April 2026

20th April 2026

🔼Perhaps (!!!) not wild but naturalised, apple blossom 🔽 But this one’s definitely planted, some decorative species of Japanese cherry

20th April 2026

That’s all for now, folks

More next week

Posted in Photos | Tagged , | 16 Comments

Sunday Picture Post: Blue Hills, Cool Water

Posted on May 3, 2026 by crispina kemp

20th April 2026, the day dawns perfect for our walk. No rain, no mist, slightly overcast sky which we prefer since the sun deepens the shadows and dazzles the white. We hop a bus to Norwich, then another to take us to Costessey. Two hills in Costessey, both filled with bluebells at this season. Our first visit is to East Hills Woods. Let’s go

20th April 2026

🔼 Here’s where I played as a child, when I chased up these hills; I’m a bit slower now

20th April 2026

🔼 Bluebells: Less carpets, more like generous-sized scatter-rugs. But it’s all natural here, unlike some of the showier bluebells woods 🔽

20th April 2026

20th April 2026

🔼 I’ve featured this field maple on the woodland edge before. It’s…ancient 🔽 A peek through the trees to what’s beyond. One, because I like to see the sharp geometry of newly planted potato fields, and two, because this looks across to the second woods, and where I lived before I moved to the coast

20th April 2026

20th April 2026

🔼 Beech and oak, amongst the oldest inhabitants of the woodland 🔽⏬

20th April 2026

20th April 2026

20th April 2026

🔼 A dragon wishes us a good day as we leave the woods. The clouds are clearing, the sun is shining, the colours take on more vibrancy

20th April 2026

🔼 Down the lane from the woods we arrive at the wonderfully cool riverside walk. Always my favourite at any time of year 🔽

20th April 2026

🔽 We’ve just time to wade through the ramsons before catching the bus (smelling of garlic, of course)

20th April 2026

That’s all for now folks. We visit the other woods next week, and another part of the river. Don’t forget to check out Tuesday Treats for more photos from this walk. See you there!

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Those Eyes

Posted on May 2, 2026 by crispina kemp

Image credit: Amanda Ignacia via Pixabay

She looked so cute
Like she was made for a bathing suit
The tantalising glean of her ponytail
Such an attraction couldn’t fail
Eyes, her eyes, mesmerised
Dark mysterious pools
To capture fools
Incandescent shine, divine
And how she used those eyes
Assessing and weighing up the passing guys
Lips expressing their lack of impression
Looking for a mate to hook for the night?
Beautiful and picky, she had every right
But then she looked in my direction
Her wordless lips offered me an invitation
Sorry, lady, I’m not of the same persuasion.

93 words written for Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt: Persuasion

Posted in Poems (Some Silly), Prompt | 15 Comments

CCC084: Spirit of Fire

Posted on April 30, 2026 by crispina kemp

Spirit of Fire, thee I admire
Bright upon the forest floor
Beautiful Butterfly, thee I adore.

Posted in Crimson's Creative Challenge, Poems (Some Silly), Prompt | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Crimson’s Creative Challenge #084

Posted on April 29, 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 , , | 20 Comments

Tuesdays Treats: Blossoms and Other April Treats

Posted on April 28, 2026 by crispina kemp

A collection of blossoms etcetera seen along the way on 16th April 2026. Enjoy

16th April 2026

🔼 Bird cherry 🔽 Wild cherry

16th April 2026

16th April 2026

🔼 Apples and 🔽 pears (I think)

16th April 2026

🔽 Blackthorn, almost over now

16th April 2026

16th April 2026

Not blossoms 🔼 The pinkish-brown newly birthed leaves of the Black poplar hybrid 🔽 the ‘catkins’ of the osier willow

16th April 2026

16th April 2026

Spring flowers 🔼 stitchwort 🔽 primrose

16th April 2026

16th April 2026

The common 🔼 ground ivy, it gets everywhere 🔽 and not so common early purple orchid, a delight for our eyes

16th April 2026

🔽 And of course, bluebells

16th April 2026

16th April 2026

Now for the butterflies, two of the less common ones 🔼 orange-tip 🔽 and comma

16th April 2026

Hope you enjoyed. We certainly did!

More photos next week

 

Posted in Photos | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

Sunday Picture Post: Green Grows My Humble World

Posted on April 26, 2026 by crispina kemp

16th April 2026 begins beneath clouds, but those clouds soon move away. Time to put on the hikers, check batteries and water, and hop on a bus. We’re not going far, just to the next town. You’re welcome to join us…

16th April 2026

Our path begins on the outskirts of Acle and heads out to the small village of Burlingham, and everywhere – EVERYWHERE –  is green 🔼 except where it’s yellow with the canola crop 🔽 and white with blossoms

16th April 2026

🔽 GREEN!

16th April 2026

🔽 GREEN!

16th April 2026

There are very few houses along the way 🔽 except here, where it looks like the garden gate isn’t often used

16th April 2026

🔽 Have I said before that most farmers around here hold to the old, organic ways? Free range, field bred chickens and pigs (Mum’s just out of shot)

16th April 2026

16th April 2026

Into the woods 🔼 where bluebells and celandines greet us 🔽 and the sun, now it’s rid of those clouds, paint the bramble-briars in muted gold

16th April 2026

16th April 2026

🔼 We’ve seen this little pond stretching wide and filling this basin. It’s a sump, collecting water from the claggy fields to south of these woods 🔽 When first erected these posts were brightly decorated, the work of the various children’s groups in the area; the ‘installation’ named the Burlingham henge. And a worthy tree it is, to celebrate

16th April 2026

16th April 2026

🔼 Ah, sun. Beech trees turn magical when the sun’s upon them 🔽 But the sun seldom lasts for long. Time to find a seat, rest awhile, then turn around and go home.

16th April 2026

Hope you enjoyed our very green walk!

For the flowers, of which there were plenty, see Tuesdays Treats on 28th April

Posted in Photos | Tagged , | 11 Comments

When the Light’s Caught Right

Posted on April 25, 2026 by crispina kemp

22nd April 2026

I was working on my garden in the evening light when… well, you can see what. I rushed indoors for the camera, and caught this

B is for Bright, my April choice for Maria’s Photo Challenge.

Posted in Photos, Prompt | Tagged , | 19 Comments

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