Kelly With A Why – Abroad!

On 27/10/2024 By Peter's ponderingIn fun, heritage, history, holidays, New blogs to follow, nice things, Re posts, travel, walks5 Comments

Kelly recently spent a holiday in Italy and Croatia, with a couple of fleeting sidesteps into neighbouring countries. She’s a big believer in maximising leisure time spent overseas and views it like this: “Firstly, Australia is a bloody long way from most places. My general rule of thumb: every 7 hours in the air earns you 7 days on the ground, otherwise it’s not a proper holiday. A flight from Melbourne to central Europe therefore equates to a 3-week break. It’s solid science. Secondly, I’m still on my quest to visit 50 countries before I turn 50. I selected an organised tour that ticked off three new countries for me – Slovenia, Croatia & Montenegro. And because my starting point was going to be Rome, I tacked on San Marino too. Brava!”

You can read Kelly’s great account here:

Pennies For My Thoughts

Tread Carefully!

On 12/02/2024 By Peter's ponderingIn advice, animals, creativity, ducks, Fantasy, fun, humour, nonsense, Poetry, Silly slices of my mind, walks, wildlife59 Comments

Have you ever seen:

A flirty flamingo?

a dangerous duck?

a superman spider?

a mink in the muck?

a mouse up a mountain?

a toad in a tree?

then if you have not

come walking with me!

I talk to the trees

and wriggle with worms.

I tickle a toadstool

but stop if it squirms.

I’ll argue with ants,

debate with a deer,

and when greeting lions

I show them no fear.

I’ve ridden a hippo

and that’s hard to do.

Their hides are quite slippy

when covered with poo

I once met a cow

who told me a story.

I won’t tell it here,

It’s sleazy and gory.

So keep your eyes open

and watch where you tread.

If you step on a ‘gator

you may end up dead!

Just an Image #86

On 18/01/2024 By Peter's ponderingIn animals, beauty, horses, nice things, photography, walks17 Comments

Tottering By Gently

On 06/10/2023 By Peter's ponderingIn Army, beauty, flowers, perfection, Retirement, song, walks52 Comments

My wife said I always marched rather than walking, and it’s true!

I could cover a fair amount of ground at 120 paces to the minute, but that was no use if I walked with someone else, especially if it was my wife. She is only 5 feet and a gnat’s whisker; truth be told, she’s probably lost that gnat’s whisker by now!

120 paces to the minute is also a marvellous beat to many songs and I would often sing, hum, or whistle as I went along. There are some wonderful ribald army songs, remembered from long ago, that helped many a young man (no ladies in those days) keep going when his feet hurt from ill-fitting, hard, leather boots, and there were still several miles to go!

Of course, when my wife and I were doing long walks, or climbing steeply, we would often stop “to admire the view”. Not a case of being tired of course; Oh no!

When I first retired, I used to walk every day, alone. My wife suffers severe back pain that has progressed over time and even a gentle stroll can be horrendously painful, so it was always alone.

Since June 2021, when I first experienced vertigo, my walking has been very restricted. I no longer march, but Totter By Gently!

This was inspired when I received my annual catalogue from David Austin Roses and I saw this beautiful rose called:

Tottering-By-Gently

Just an Image #72

On 17/04/2023 By Peter's ponderingIn about me, Fact, Just because, Personal, photography, walks27 Comments

Just an Image #63

On 26/01/2023 By Peter's ponderingIn animals, beauty, environment, joy, nature, nice things, photography, trees, walks, wildlife32 Comments

Fantastical things!

On 10/01/202310/01/2023 By Peter's ponderingIn alliteration, animals, beauty, birds, cats, dogs, environment, insects, magic, nature, The spoken word, trees, walks, wildlife32 Comments

I love to see the blackbirds on the decking, pecking, pecking

and to hear the jackdaws squawking like they’re talking when I’m walking.

Then the little robins sing, in the Spring, it’s their thing:

little wrens aflutter, give a mutter in the gutter

and the mighty seagulls fly, way up high, in the sky.

If I’m lucky I will see a small bee in the tree

or a little startled frog, all agog, in the bog:

perhaps a pecking hen in the den, maybe then

I’ll see a barking dog in the fog with a log,

and after that a rat closely followed by a cat.

I see so many things nature brings, some on wings.

Some of them are tall, some are small but they’re all

such magical, fantastical things!

The earth moved for me!!!!!!!!!!!

On 02/06/2022 By Peter's ponderingIn about me, animals, beauty, environment, Fact, happiness, joy, Living well, nature, nice things, walks36 Comments

9 Years ago today I posted the following on Facebook:

Despite being a country boy, and growing up with nature, I had a totally new experience this morning. I saw a mole hill being made!!!!!
Walking by the river, along a row of molehills, I saw one that was still damp, despite strong sunshine. Suddenly it erupted like a mini volcano and grew by an inch. This happened several times and was 3 inches higher when Mrs Mole moved on. Absolute magic and a joy to watch.

A couple of days later I added this comment:

A unique, once in a lifetime experience cannot, obviously, happen twice………………………SO, was I dreaming this morning when I saw another mole hill being pushed up?!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow and Wow again.

I have never seen it since, but isn’t nature wonderful, and aren’t such memories worth an absolute fortune!

Mud | Peter Matthews — Whispers and Echoes

On 16/03/2022 By Peter's ponderingIn creativity, global warming, nature, Poetry, Re posts, walks, weather28 Comments

In the UK we love to talk about the weather. After all, we do have plenty of it, and it tends to change many times throughout each day! Despite global warming we still have a surfeit of rain, showers, storms, winds, and MUD.

Recently, Margaret at FROM PYRENEES TO PENNINES showed us a lovely muddy walk she had taken with a few hardy friends, and Sue at Nan’s Farm showed us a bit of typical dampness around her home.

Coincidently a poem of mine, entitled Mud, was scheduled to appear on Whispers and Echoes today. You can read it here.

There’s good mud and bad mud and mud in between The thing is with mud you don’t know where it’s been It’s come from the hills or has stayed on the plain It sometimes just washes on past with the rain Whatever the type you encounter today Don’t worry when covered, it will wash away! […]
Mud | Peter Matthews — Whispers and Echoes