Five on Friday - Blog Anniversary

It has been a year this week since I started my Blog.  It has been a year of joy and despair, but that's life.  I thought for this weeks Five on Friday I would look back over the year and pick out five of my  photos that sum up the last 12 months.  It has been really really difficult to decide on just five, but these are the ones I have settled on.


Family

The bearded one turned 60.  I don't want a fuss, says he, no party.  Well o.k. just a quiet little party at home.    So I booked the biggest bouncy castle that would fit into our garden, filled our home with family, from babies to great grandparents and had a wonderful day of cake, champagne and lots and lots of bouncing.  This year has also seen our family grow with a gorgeous new grandson.  I feel very lucky.

Nature

  I booked  a little cottage on a nearby 'eco' farm whilst recovering from an operation.  I had heard there were wild deer that often visited.  Every evening I went out into the fields to try to find them.  I crept along in the dark listening for any noises that would give their whereabouts away.   I had resigned myself to the fact that they had probably moved on to graze elsewhere.  I felt the disappointment I felt when we went on a whale watching trip and didn't spot one single whale.  At dusk on our last night they appeared grazing a few fields away, using the zoom at its maximum I managed to get some photos with shaky, excited hands.  You can see the stag bellowing, showing off his magnificent headgear, his maleness and doing what stags do, while his little family grazed.   It was brief, thrilling,  they then jumped over the hedges and disappeared.  I hope they are still out there somewhere, that hunters haven't taken their wild lives for so called sport.



Grow

Last summer we created my very first vegetable patch.  It has brought me so much pleasure, wandering out to pick the freshest produce for our meals. I never ever saw myself as someone who would have a vegetable plot.  It makes me feel connected to my ancestors, growing food for their families before the days of supermarkets and food flown from around the world.   I still wonder at planting the tiniest of seeds, seeing them peep through the earth a few weeks later, becoming something that will nourish my body and my soul.



Pride

The year of my life changing operation saw me too ill to go to Pride.  My son sent me photos and I cheered them on from my sick bed.  Last summer I was determined not to miss another, even though I was struggling again health wise.   For me it is showing my pride in my son, his partner and their friends.  It is showing support for all the LGBT people who live in countries where they could be imprisoned or  killed for who they are. It is showing young people who are suffering bullying or rejection by their families that they have nothing to be ashamed of.  It is thanking those who fought for acceptance and made Pride possible in this country.  I carried the rainbow flag with my son beside me.

Music

This photo sums up my joy of live music, to be among thousands of people singing along and holding our hands up in a salute to the band.  Being a 'shorty' my view isn't always the best near the front as you can see, but being among the most passionate fans is worth it. We are best buddies and family for a few hours.   I often get stepped on, beer spilled on me and sore feet from standing on tiptoe all evening.  I also experience lovely acts of kindness from lanky young lads who probably see me as a little old lady and let me stand in front of them and keep checking that I can see o.k.   Although obviously not on the same scale, playing with the samba band and seeing people dancing along, bringing fun into their day is paying it forward.   This photo was taken at the Eden Sessions last year, I ticked off one of my 60 by 60 wishes when I saw Pixies and we also saw Elbow with the charming Guy Garvy.  Happy days,




During the last two summers I have undergone surgery, I'm hoping this next 12 months will not involve a surgeons scalpel.  I look forward to sharing my year with all my blog friends, to working on my 60 things to do before I'm 60 list, and to reading about your year.  I have found wonderful blog friends whose lives have enriched mine.  Thank you everyone.

Chickpea xx

For this post I am linking with lovely Amy on Love made my home