Good Friday - lovely weather for a day out

[woodchip]

The bluebells are now out in the woods everywhere so we went out to Abbotsbury in Dorset today.
I just looked at the trees, never even thought of them as firewood. well, alright, I did give them a cursory glance................

And below is an English Oak which came down in 2010, been growing since 1828.
It is always sad to see something so old down, but at least plenty of people will get the pleasure of looking at the carving.
And I never even thought of it as potential firewood................... Honest ;-)

On the way home, we stopped to take a picture here at Thomas Hardy's cottage.
It was a great way to spend the first day of the Easter holiday out in the spring sunshine!

 

[fireview2788]

Can't wait to share these with my wife. She has a money jar that we are saving up for a trip to England, Ireland, and Scotland. Our dream trip. Thanks for sharing.

 

[woodchip]

I must get out and take some more pictures, the South West of England where we live has some very quaint villages with pretty cottages.

Good way to have a holiday is to join the National Trust so you get free entry to over 200 houses, gardens, and castles.
And you have to have a cream tea with scones, strawberry jam, and clotted cream. Here's a taste.......

 

[PapaDave]

woodchip, what the heck is clotted cream? Butter?
Those look good!

 

[woodchip]

Clotted cream is fresh cream which is then slowly heated to 180f, and kept there for a few hours.
The thick yellowish skin that forms on top are the clots. these are removed with a slotted spoon and put into pots.
The residue at the bottom, which is like a cream version of skimmed milk, can be used for making the scones.

Clotted cream was originally made before the days of fridges on the old farms.
It was a useful way of preserving a glut of cream in warmer weather as the heating acted as a way of killing bugs and making it last longer.

 

[fireview2788]

Clotted cream..... :wow:

 

[woodsman23]

clotted cream, i believe i just threwup a bit in my mouth.......

 

[fireview2788]

OHHHH, NOOOOOOO. Clotted cream is quite yummy and then there's the scones.

 

[BrotherBart]

Talk about a strange twist. Sunny and beautiful in the UK and 46 F, overcast and drizzling rain at my house. In fact here today reminds me of many days spent in London and Maidstone.

Glad you had a nice Good Friday.

 

[yooperdave]

clotted cream...named for what it does to your arteries???

very nice pics...log is my favorite. interesting to have both above and below water scene in a carving

 

[Gary_602z]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotted_cream

 

[Backwoods Savage]

woodchip, it is amazing how much further ahead of us you are. We certainly do not have any leaf on trees and nobody mowing grass either. Snowed again this morning. Not much, but snow nontheless.

I like the way someone did the carving on the old tree. Making use of something that normally would not be used.

 

[fireview2788]

I've cut my grass twice and have the peas and potatoes in the garden.

 

[begreen]

I thought our spring was moving right along, but it looks like you folks are a couple weeks ahead of us. Our bluebells won't be blooming for another week or two. Love the shots, especially the carving and Hardy's cottage. One of these days we'll get to England. Lots of family history there.

 

[GAMMA RAY]

Thanks for sharing Woodchip...I think the folks here would really like to see more....I know I would....I have never been to England...it is on my list...hopefully within the next few years.....post more!! It is so beautiful there..I enjoy hearing about the culture there, yeah even the clotted cream...betcha its good...

 

[loon]

very nice pictures woodchip

 

[raybonz]

Very nice pics Woody! Been more rainy and overcast here than anything else.. Temps in mid 40's to 50's.. Typical for here then suddenly it's 90 degrees lol.. Noticed some blue bells growing in the field here though.. Lady Slippers should be popping up in a bit.. I reseeded the grass in front of the house and after 2 weeks it's finally starting to grow.. yay!

Ray

 

[raybonz]

Very nice pics Woody! Been more rainy and overcast here than anything else.. Temps in mid 40's to 50's.. Typical for here then suddenly it's 90 degrees lol.. Noticed some blue bells growing in the field here though.. Lady Slippers should be popping up in a bit.. I reseeded the grass in front of the house and after 2 weeks it's finally starting to grow.. yay!

Ray

 

[firefighterjake]

Great pics . . . thanks for sharing.