The green truck hummed low
Oh, we took only back roads
We drove miles of country
We saw an old barn burning
Skies were a light blue
All the billboards read untrue
I read them, each one
We passed by the thousands
Was a full sun and I knew
That up rose a bright moon
Casting shadows like dancing sparrows
It is my Blip birthday today 🙂 – 1460 entries and four years on Blip. In some respects it has got in the way of blogging on WordPress, the constant daily quest for a new image. The upside is the incentive to use a camera everyday while the quality of images across the site provide a constant source of inspiration. In some respects it has enhanced my enthusiasm for photography while feeding my sometimes obsessive-compulsive tendencies. In celebration, these are a few images taken recently – at this time of year and in this weather, I probably would not have bothered but for Blip:
On Windermere, from Waterhead
The view from Stock Ghyll Lane, Ambleside
More from Stock Ghyll Lane – inspired by John Martin 😉
The longhorn dreaming of sunlit prairies.
Fawcett Hill on a snowy day
A bend in the North Tyne between Barrasford and Chollerton.
The loneliness of the long distance golfer – Tyne Green, Hexham
The light has gone
A blizzard blowing in
northumbrian : light 
I dream with the longhorn of summer and sun ;O)))
Me too – this winter is dragging on. Hope all is good in your part of the world, if not the weather.
Happy Blip birthday! Other sites can easily shift our focus from WP. I joined Instagram about a year ago, and while I don’t post daily, it’s updated a lot more often than the blog. This series of photos is breathtaking. So atmospheric. Hopefully Blip will hang around for a while, unlike so many smaller social networks that have disappeared.
Thanks Julie. Blip nearly went belly-up a couple of years back following a takeover by Polaroid. Since then it has survived by crowdfunding and subscription in order to keep it ad free. I am sort of addicted 😉
Hope all is well with you and yours, R.
Am with Julie on the breathtakingness of these shots, Robin. The loneliness of the long distance golfer is an absolute star, but then so too are the views of Ambleside. I love all the different strata of contrast in the first shot. So glad you’re still posting here. I was thinking of you as I read Alan Garner’s Redshift over Christmas. It is a very odd book, but I liked all the Cheshire familiar spots, and the sense of parallel time zones which I remember from my own childhood there – my mother’s ever garbled carseat versions of things past as we drove by them.
Many thanks for your ever generous comments, Tish. Redshift sounds fascinating – I will be ordering from Amazon shortly. Stories set in places we know have enormous attraction. On a similar theme, I have just finished reading Death at Wolf’s Nick – the Killing of Evelyn Foster. I am not usually one for murder mysteries but this true story took place in Otterburn and the surrounding roads, one of my favourite motorcycle routes. I was even moved to visit her grave over the weekend:
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/who-killed-evelyn-foster-author-13098729
All the best, Robin
That looks to be quite a story, and all those bleakly atmospheric shots – calling for a screen play!
An excellent idea – it is a very filmic story. The major events centre around the garage and the family home, The Kennels. Both are still standing although the latter is missing part of its roof. I would cast Maxine Peake as Evelyn – a very fine Mancunian but I am sure she could do Northumbrian 😉
The chill is reaching me from the screen, Robin! Happy to escape to the Algarve in a week or so. I suspect that might herald Spring 🙂 🙂 Good to have the odd obsession! And it does produce great results.
Ee lass, I ain’t half jealous – when I think of that Algarve sun and all those dry golf courses, I feel like hopping on a plane from Newcastle 🙂 All the best from a very chilly NE – more snow this morning!
As stark as winter can be, it does provide some exceptional scenes – and you’ve captured them well.
Many thanks – shame we can’t have the same effects but a little warmer 😉
Some great images there, Robin
Many thanks Sue – almost all with the Fuji X100F which is the other thing, apart from Blip, which reinvigorated my photography. All the best, Robin
Ah, nothing like a bit of invigoration!
Absolutely stunning photos!! 😍😍😍 So inspiring! And happy birthday to your blog! 😄😄😄
Many thanks Trini, much appreciated
These are incredibly beautiful images; especially the Stock Ghyll and Tyne Green shots. Yay for Blip if getting you out with the camera means we can see these 😀
Many thanks Su – I have to confess that the original RAW images looked pretty flat, it is just wonderful what you can do with Photoshop and ON1. The other trick is to take ACROS simulated monos and start adding split tone filters. The camera never lies – hokum 🙂
All the best, Robin
Thanks for the tips Robin. It’s interesting how often images do seem pretty flat without editing. I figure that if I saw something in the scene that made me want to photograph it, then that’s hidden in the data somewhere. It’s just that the camera’s technology alone can’t reveal it.😀
I love how while I’m scrolling through the pictures, out of nowhere a longhorn pops up lol. Your photos came out amazing:)
Many thanks – there are just two local longhorns, not very common in these parts 😉 I think they are kept for fun.
“The light has gone” and “A blizzard blowing in” – absolutely fantastic work, beautiful beautiful trees…
Many thanks – my favourite pair of trees, our nearest neighbours. Always good top hear from you, hope all is well with you and yours, R