This mornings walk was from Ballyholme in Bangor to Orlock Point and back again. It started to rain at the half way mark 😦
Not much in the way of inspirational trees to see but a beautiful place to take a walk. Here are some of the views on route.
Hooded Crow takes off just as I get the camera up!!
Sycamore with a windswept look. Thatched roof behind.
Stenna Ferry heading out of Belfast Lough
Yesterday I popped over to Frankies house to meet up with Phil, Frankie’s son and one of my bonsai muckers [that means friend].
Phil had put up a poly tunnel at his Dad’s to take care of the Winter storage for his and his dad’s bonsai collection. I’m thinking of getting another one to ensure all my own trees get protection. This will also double up as a recovery area for collected trees You can see photos of the Tunnel getting erected on our club site NI Bonsai Society .
While I was there Phil and I looked at a few trees that he has been preparing for work over a number of years.
This is a Scots Pine, one of the short needled varieties. It had been grown in a pot by a neighbour for over 40 years. Phil managed to get his hands on it about 5 years ago and has been getting the roots and growth sorted during that time. He’s considering a first styling next year.
This big Hornbeam was field grown for 8-9 years. It has been in this pot for a few years not just getting a clip and grow approach. Next year will see some clearing out done to define the future structure.
Some of Frankie’s and Phil’s trees in the garden. I haven’t a clue who owns what, so I’ll just put them all together. Some are still pretty raw and have yet to be styled. Phil likes to get a compact tree before doing the initial styling.
A few bits of Pine material
Pyracantha
Scot’s Pine
Yew
Large Juniper
Chinese Elm
Japanese Larch
Small ones on a gravel tray.
The Next generation, trays of cutting from some of the best varieties.
After a week of nearly constant rain, the gruesome foursome took their normal Sunday morning walk. After a quick check out the window I donned a warm jacket only to shed it after 20 minutes in the warm sunshine.
The brothers grim 🙂 I know you check this Sam, and it would be remiss of me not to follow on from the Gorrillas in the mist dig from the last walk 🙂
Extra light hitting the forest floor now that leaf drop is well under way.
A Larch on the Autumn turn.
Peeking out over County Down.
Every time a walk past this cottage in the country, I want to move in! Wonder if the back garden is big enough for my bonsai collection 🙂
Spent a few hours with Stephen yesterday sorting out my garage to get ready for the Willowbog Bonsai School that’s being held this weekend. I wish I could have a garage full of crap like everybody else instead of this constant clearing out cycle. Had a laugh with Stephen as I kept throwing stuff up into the rafters and hiding crap under cloth covered tables. I love it really.
You can just see the wheels of the lawnmower under the cloth 😀 It’s sitting beside the kitchen sink!!
My Sunday walk took me up Cavehill in Belfast. It’s been a while since I walked here and I forgot what a lung buster it is. I haven’t been fit enough to exercise much lately and this was a shock to my system. While most of the UK has been basking in sunshine this weekend we have had heavy rain, but sometimes this has a beauty of its own.
View before we entered the clouds, Belfast Harbour.
Maybe in 20 years time. Too young to collect.
Most of the Hawthorn have lost their leaves but it looks to have been a great year for berries.
Up top, not a lot to see!!
Gorrillas in the mist… my two brothers 🙂
More Autumn colour, and I don’t mean the cattle!
I entered a few trees in the Autumn Fair at Botanic Gardens in Belfast over the weekend. I had time to spare today and took a few snaps.
The main glasshouse.
Spotted this large Yew in the grounds. It has been chopped back recently and was back budding well on internal branches. Interesting to see the technique working on a full sized tree. Nice nebari too.
Haven’t a clue what this tree is, being in a botanical garden, it could be anything! Loved the bark and light through the branches.
The flower show itself was well turned out. Just love the riot of colour from all the Dahlias.
That’s the biggest leek I’ve ever taken 😉
Shows like this are struggling. This one got a last minute reprieve after losing it’s funding. It may not be the best way to display bonsai, in fact, it’s probably the worst way other than setting them on the ground, but it’s a good way of reaching the public with are art.
Stephen and I took a chance with the rain this morning and got a little wet but still had an enjoyable dander in the woods. The usual inspirational Beech trees on view.
We could hardly see Strangford Lough with the drizzle .
Just love walking under the tree canopy in the rain. Some lovely scenes.
We spotted this Birch that had grown for years on a slab of rock. I guess it over stretched itself and the weight of the canopy pulled it over. The glade is sheltered and wind paid no part.
Had to resort to a flash!
We did get a brief flash of Sun.
Nebari addict!!
Spotted this plant, not seen it before at Scrabo walk. Anybody know what it is? Has loads of little hooks to catch you as you walk past.
We did manage to get a real telling off from a grey squirrel! The most aggressive one I have ever seen.
Spent a few hours this afternoon talking to a group about bonsai. I get asked to do this on a regular basis and it can get a little mundane. Today it was about 35 retired NHS doctors and nurses in Bangor, County Down. I owe a lot to the care these people give, and was happy to do the talk. I even had Stephen along for some heavy lifting to save my iffy neck.
I gave a short history of bonsai to start. I then use trees on display to explain how bonsai are created and what can be used. I always do a little bit on the so called indoor bonsai and then I throw it open for questions at the end and get the usual ones!
How much do they cost?
Is it cruel?
How old is that one?
You’ve heard them all before!!
It’s taken a few days to sort these photos out, it’s been a pretty shite week but the mists seem to be clearing 🙂
On Sunday past the usual suspects took a walk along the Lagan Tow Path from Stranmillis to Lisburn. This is about 10 miles on a easy flat surface. I don’t think I’ve posted pictures from this one before. Over the 10 miles we followed the course of the Lagan river and at some points to overgrown canal which used to connect Lough Neigh with Belfast Harbour.
Loads of nice trees to see, but hard to photograph as they are close to you and surrounded by others. Some wildlife around too, I did my best to capture a feel for the walk and as many points of interest as I could.
I’ll start with a few river shots.
Part of the disused canal system that has silted up and in many places overgrown with reeds etc. Great for wildlife but an opportunity missed for tourism.
I love seeing the waterside trees hanging their branches low over the river.
Many old Oak’s in the area. Lots of dead branches poking out of the tops. Don’t think I have ever seen this reflected on a bonsai from the UK.
Spotted this old deadwood on the interior of an oak. The grain was just beautiful.
The path is part of a major cycle network.
Some of the wildlife.
Thought I had spotted an otter!!
Turned out to be my dog Smudge 🙂
Some nice old Beech trees with interesting nebari.
We walked past the old Barbour Threads Mill lying in disuse since 2006. Sad to see but in someways interesting to see nature taking back what was once fields. That glass looks a tad dangerous!!
Stephen’s wee legs just couldn’t keep up 😉
As usual pollution could be seen but on the whole, the waterway was very clear considering it was a stretch of water linking two Cities.
One of the other major issues on this stretch of river is the spread of Japanese or Himalayian Balsam. Any pink flowers you see in the photos are most likely from this plant. At points along the river, it’s 2 metres high and has choked out the native plants. The only place where I saw that it had been sprayed was below the council offices in Lisburn. The RSBP has been working hard in recent years with volunteers.
This is some after spraying.
It’s a great walk and if desired you could walk all the way to Lough Neigh. I’m afraid that wasn’t an option for me!!
Our final stop was at the Giant’s Causeway. This is probably the worst year to visit it. The centre is in the middle of a major rebuild and there is no parking on site. We had to get the Park and Ride from Bushmills.
It was starting to get cloudy and time was running out, but we still managed to get down onto the rocks. I even managed to get a few photos without the millions of tourists in them! A hard task. Top tip, most don’t walk right down onto the point where the rocks are stunning.
Can you spot the sleeping camel in the first photo?
Boy, would I like one of those stones to display a tree on!! No chance 😦
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