West Tanfield, North Yorkshire

Beautiful West Tanfield on the River Ure

View from a former gatehouse, which you see in the first photo on the far left.
See the pretty bridge in this photo? That's where I stood to get the first pic.

An entry in Wikipedia states, 'The village has a monument called the Marmion Tower, a 15th century gatehouse which belonged to the now-vanished manor house formerly home to the Marmion family. At first floor level there is a fine example of an oriel window. The Anglican church next to the tower contains monuments to the Marmion family. The tower is now in the care of English Heritage.

Descending the spiral stone staircase in the gatehouse

Typical of houses in the area
I'd love to visit later in the season when there are flowers in those pots and on the trellis!

The Bull Inn, West Tanfield
I love pub signs. Next time I'll be taking many more close-up shots of signs!
I say 'next time,' as in 'next time we have a sound economy, next time gasoline prices have dropped, next time airfare to London or Manchester isn't outrageous.'

'Very Polite Notice'

How very British
My favorite sign read, 'Dogs and well-behaved children are welcome.'  :-)))

Author, Second Chance - A Tale of Two Puppies

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Gardening in Wisconsin

My body's definitely feeling the consequences of a long and sedentary winter followed by a frantic gardening season. Springtime in NW Wisconsin is about a week long, summer is about three months long, and we can already see next winter on the horizon, so there's no time to waste. Got to purchase perennials, annuals, and vegetable seeds, get the garden planted, and start mowing the grass. I suggested to my husband tonight that we fence in the yard and get goats. He just gave me a look. But doesn't it seem a bit ridiculous to mow all that yard when something could survive by eating it? And then I could make Feta cheese with goats' milk! Yes, I am kidding...kinda.

 As I reached to get the spade so I could transplant strawberries*, I happened to notice a wee little bull snake resting in a warm spot inside a railroad tie next to the house. Doesn't he look comfy - and cute!!

Zooming out, you can see a few of my garden tools resting against the house. You're right, it's not where they belong, but it's so convenient to have them just outside the door! The red arrow points to...the little bull snake. (He was about as big around as a crayon.) Later, I noticed that he was no longer there. I'm really hoping that he didn't decide to slither into the basement. I'd like him to know that his home is outdoors. We have enough pets in the house.

And speaking of pets, I took these pics of the dogs today. Lionel and Tuppence were unavailable for a photo shoot.

 Misty, lying close to wherever I am at any given moment. She snores. Loudly.

When I took this pic, I was sitting at the kitchen counter, checking my e-mail.

Yes, I know I should purchase a new rug for on top of the dog bed, but she hasn't complained yet.

 Bridger, looking his usual handsome self.

I've got to take him to the vet next week for his shots. He's 10, and it's getting harder for him to get into the Jeep. I'll have to provide a ramp for him.

Last, but not least, the visiting grandpuppy.

She gets a Lyme booster shot next week and then she can go home.

* From three strawberry plants that I purchased last spring, I now have 30-40 strawberry plants which I'm transplanting into rows.  Next are the raspberries. Since I neglected to wrap the chicken wire fencing around the raspberry patch last fall, the local bunny population survived the winter by eating raspberry canes. I think it's a good time to move new little plants which are coming up to a new location, inside the fenced-in main garden. And I also need to plant some asparagus crowns. Rodents manage to take one or two asparagus plants per winter.



P.S. The following photo is posted especially for Judy S. who mentioned in a comment that she loves pics of parents reading to kids. Actually, this is Grandpa reading to the boys when they were out last week. I think the book is Tifky Doofky by William Steig. We have several of his books and read most of them to the grandsons while they were with us. Steig's stories are so much fun!!

 Tifky Doofky holds everyone's attention

Back to the garden.

Author, Second Chance - A Tale of Two Puppies

Check out my handcrafted soaps at Soap'n'Such