February Is The Month Of Love

3rd February 2018

How quickly we all arrived at February and already people have ended the new years resolution and started smoking and eating like they were storing up the calories for the summer. Although Spring is closing in and the signs of change have arrived, winter is still not so far away and a severe frost overnight and the predicted snow for tomorrow is a constant reminder not to become complacent and not to expect anything more than nature can provide at a speed that it naturally moves forward at.

I ventured out today and set off to the farm before the weather turns to snow and whilst the skies are so perfectly blue, don't assume for one minuet that it was anything more than freezing. Here is one of my many places of which I visit on a regular basis to just be alone and absorb the tranquility and moment of extreme silence in which to capture the moment on my camera whilst the light and blue sky is in my favor. I often get remarks about the many pictures that I have taken and I always say that photography is easy, the skill is the patience and light and everything else is easy. These wind turbines are something of a spectacular sight when up close and they create such a spectacular silhouette on the skyline when the light is behind them. The fascination to myself is watching them turn silently but at the same time creating energy in which to power homes and whether you are in favor or against these mechanical giants, what you can't dispute is the fact that they are clean and work very well and by producing a 100% clean energy, I find myself liking them more and more.
Today was quite a special day in regards to photography and whilst I had no intention of taking pictures, I did have my phone with me of which allowed me to capture some snaps and video and the result is what you see here today. I always feel blessed that all of this natural beauty is all within 10-15 minuets from my home and whilst I would agree that there are many beautiful places on planet earth, there is only one that goes by the name of "God's Own Country" and this is what Yorkshire is known for all over the world and I assume it did not get it's name by accident.   

12th February 2018

I had good cause to take a drive out today, with the weather changing and temperature dropping fast, I had to get up to the farm and offer help in collecting and bringing inside some mothers to be from the sheep who by now and hiding out in the snow. However, they may be smart but not super smart and the call of food and an easy meal soon brings them in. The major problem is that for the most part, some of the sheep are above the snow line and the bitter cold was making life hard work and here are a few images from the hills of which I was to be seen running around with a bucket of food.

As one might imagine, the sheep are out there but despite not playing hide and seek, they were well camouflaged against the white background and although you can't judge it on a still picture, it was quite breezy and the sun was in the eyes as this field faces west and the sun was going down, the result was that it is going to be a challenge and one that requires brains over brawn and I'm blessed by having both. I always enjoy my time at the farm as the ability to clear the mind and think about other issues apart from the daily routine is truly a blessing that I enjoy despite the moans.

As you will see by the level of the sun in the distance, there is probably less that 30 minuets in which to carry out the duty today before it becomes too dark to see whats required. The ground and snow are rapidly turning to ice and when that happens, the roads around here become quite a danger and hazard to drive on and as such, it's time to get on and not waste a moment. The Mothers to be need to be indoors for the next few days, may even go into weeks until the severe cold weather passes over as the new borne lambs are not always equipped to cope with the severe drop in temperature and need to be protected from the cold. They will soon be back out again and dancing around in the green fields when the sun stays up for a few days but as the wind is coming from the North West and down from both Greenland & Iceland, as you might imagine, it's very cold and well below zero at night.

As you can see below, the sun is now disappearing over the horizon and will not appear before 07.00 am tomorrow morning and as such it's time that Peter Hulbert dropped back down into the valley below and into the car and heading home for a hot shower and nice cup of tea.

20th February 2018

How a few days makes such a difference in my part of the world. When I last gave you all an update, it was white all over with snow and ice but today was blue skies and bright sunshine, although not warm and followed 3 days of raising temperature and this gave me an excuse to escape to the countryside for a few short hours before the predicted drop in temperature arrives at the weekend with expectations of -10% for the weekend. However, it's not all doom and gloom as the days are getting noticeably longer and soon the cold will have gone for the next 8-10 months and a long and welcome period of warmth will descend upon Yorkshire and we will all smile with excitement. Today saw me heading for a small village about 30 minuets from my home and below are some images for you to see where I went.

You will note that this small waterfall is running freely through the valley of my city and this water flows 24 x 7 to connect with many other rivers that join the river don valley which is so clean today that I am often found fishing for both rainbow and brown trout and whilst it is the worst kept secret, it is also known that salmon also run in the river along with grayling and many course fish. This part of the river is probably one of the narrowest sections but even here, brown trout can be seen swimming upstream on a calm day. The main reason the the river is so rich in marine life, is due to the many years of clearing up and maintaining high standards or water cleanliness in this part of the world. The benefit being that we now have otters and some true quality game fishing along the full length of the river and the splendid views that are provided by the clean water is a true bonus. I took this picture of the river riverlin on my way out to the moors and villages where the tranquility is something to savoir and today was no exception as I headed for a village made famous for it's castle and mines of which are purely for the tourist today and they flock here in their thousands when it's a Bank Holiday of warm Sunday which is a not often enough at this time of year.       

You will note by the picture to the left that patches of snow are showing on the high areas of the hills in the background and whilst the skies are blue and the sun is shining, it is a reminder that the air is still fresh and cold and that winter will return within the next 2-3 days with yet another coating of snow before we head toward spring time. I never moan about the weather as I feel blessed that we are lucky to experience all four seasons in the UK and whilst winter is cold, the bonus is that Spring is getting closer and hopefully the end of winter will soon be here and we can all look forward to longer, warmer and drier days to come.

                 
Above is the road to the top of "Mam Tor" which is a local high point for tourists to climb to the top and enjoy the spectacular views in all directions. I have seen "Hang Gliders" in the past take off from this point as well as "Para gliders" although I believe that they no longer do this as they have formed a club and moved the operations to that destination. To the center of the picture, you will see the car park for the Speedwell Mine which in itself is interesting as it combines a long walk down a flight of stairs to which is seriously deep down and then to climb on board a small boat and travel for about half a mile inside the mine to a large open section which is very exciting and interesting. 

To the left, you will see the small Castle to which gives it's name to Castleton and whilst small, was very difficult to attack due to the very clever positioning of the structure on the top of a hill with very steep sides which meant that defending the Castle became easy as the archers were firing downwards and the attackers were heading upwards which in itself was a problem. The archers placed in the right position within the Castle could easily ward off any attack by firing arrows downward where the attacker was trying to climb a very steep hillside and duck out from arrows and whilst trying to fire back at a target much further away. The Castle had only one weakness which was it's reliance on food being stored as water was in plentiful supply and was fresh and very clean, so food was it's only weakness of which they made provision in advance of any attacking army. For myself, Castelton offers so many good opportunities to take advantage of the beauty of this wonderful and charming village. It really is an artists dream, although I maintain that I am no artist, just a hobby to me.
 Below is an image looking away from the village and as you might well imagine, it is even more impressive from the high point of the Castle or Man Tor where you can see as far as 30 miles on a good day.

26th February 2018                                                                                                                         

It's quite frightening to admit it but the time just flies by and whilst it was only a few weeks ago that we were all preparing for Christmas, already Easter is staring us in the face along with St Patrick's day which is a day I always look forward to. So where does all the time go and how come that just when we all need more time in our life, the less we have left to waste and the clock somehow speeds up. However, the one thing I have learned in life is that money and assets come and go but time is more valuable and in limited supply. If I can offer one piece of advice in this life, always give your children your total commitment of time as they will value that far more than money in later life. This week saw a very sad end to a comic actress to whom we all loved and laughed at who sadly passed away at an age that suggests she was far too young to go and this emphasis's my point that time is the most precious thing we all posses and we should value that more than anything. It's truly sad that we all lost Emma at such a young age.  

Looking forward this week with a very positive tone to my routine as I have news coming in from 4 corners of the planet that hopefully will set the wheels in motion to a stronger platform of a brighter future and something that has been on the calendar for too long but unfortunately has suffered from delays for many reasons but to which I am optimistic has now entered it's final stages of completion.

Politics, compliance and general BS all seem to be the order of the day but the weak will always find time to moan and the positive will always find the strength to find a way and to that end, I pride myself on being the latter.  

I am enjoying my time more and more as I grow older and the simple things in life appear more precious than the tangible things in life, to the right is a fine example of this sentiment as it might appear like a simple river running past a field but this water is so pure as it filters through many layers of limestone rocks to the point where it is cleaner and less toxic than the water that runs from out water system. It provides a safe haven for wild trout to live and breed and when I see the many charity adverts on the TN requesting money for people who have no clean water, I realize just how lucky I am to have this on my doorstep. The gift of life in reality is not to be counted in money but to be valued by what we have in our lives that does not cost money. I have a family, I have friends, I have my health and I have freedom. All of these things are what many people would give the world to have and I like many take them for granted. This short update will probably take me through to March unless something happens that I feel I want to share with you all but until then, I will bid you farewell and wish you all the very best. I thank you all for your kind support and I make you one promise that I know you all want to hear. "I have not quit, I am simply on pause" and ready to bounce back with a vengeance.