Teetering on the Forgotten

 I was clearing up my folder of beach photos after publishing the last post, when I discovered a glut of photos from earlier in the month that I hadn't done anything with.  So here they are. 

 Aren't you lucky?!

 The first four are from an early morning dalliance on the prom on the 3rd June:

An Interlude of Orchids Amongst Other Things...

Bee orchid... and guest

 Orchids!  Yes, it's that time of year when the hardy British orchids around here are in bloom, so what better time for an orchid-related interlude?
 The following photos are from Thursday and this morning, with Thursday's mainly featuring wildlife, and today's featuring the aforementioned orchids, some unusual suspects, and an update from the End-of-the-Line.

Thursday 20th:

A little overcast but...

... the cormorants didn't seem to mind.

Because I can't just pick one...

#909

 I promised sunset photos, and here they are.  A multitude of them!  All from last Friday.  I've whittled them down quite a lot, but cannot cull any longer, as each of these has something of note, despite being very similar to many of the others.
 I've numbered them for ease of commenting about a specific photo (in case anyone feels inclined to comment on a specific photo, that is).  After all, "The cloud in #944* looks like a tayloo" is better than "There's a cloud that looks like a tayloo in that photo with the sunset in the middle and the waves just breaking and the three stones that look like a face.  You know, the one three down from the page break thingy?".  Isn't it?
 Anyway, as always, click to embiggen, and try not to fall asleep on your way down.

#915

#917 (with seagull!)

Trapped in the bath

An unused concept for my Holy Rings of Betazed
Star Trek treasure map

 Oh, dear...  I trapped myselves for too long in a hot bath with the excess time unintentionally used to over-imagine a Blog Map.  The design evolved and grew, eventually galloping away without me, the reins flapping and dangling in its wake*.  It transcended beyond the work of a lifetime, easily casting off the shackles of having to be finished by the end of July.

 Dratted thing.


* I'm not sure why it took on a legged equine form?  Particularly as it came about while I was partially submerged.  A hippocampus would have been more suitable... 

P. S.  The sunset photos will be my next post.  I promise.

Sidestrand Landslide on the Seashore*

 I side-saddled jumped astride Broom like a Man, and dithered along three feet off the ground plied the skyways up to Tower Lane in Sidestrand this morning, to get some arial shots of Wednesday's landslide.  And this time, I've also provided some "before" shots (from 6th May - one of which featured here) for comparison purposes.

Ow! My Groyne!

 Well, it's the end of the line for the End-of-the-Line, unfortunately.  The sun has set on this particular subject as its taken a pounding like no other, leaving just its severed groyne dangling out into the sea.
 "What's the old Drama Queen going on about?" you may ask.  Well, prepare yourselves.  The following images may be disturbing to those of a sensitive nature...

 Oh, and no cormorants were crushed, or bunnies harmed in the making of this post.

 Unless they were, of course...

It's A Faaaake! Not The Art Of Star Trek - Treasure Map

...continued from X Marks The Spot

 This is the "making of" of my Star Trek treasure map, as featured in the last post (and linked to just up there ^).  It came about thanks to the monthly Star Trek Art Challenge over at the Trek BBS that I frequent when I'm not here.  Specifically, the "Treasure Map" theme was chosen by me for May's challenge because I won April's with my clumsy Andorian ("won" is probably the wrong word - after all, it's the taking part that counts - my Andorian picture just got the most votes, that's all).

 Anyway, here's May's challenge:

A brief sojourn to Wikipedia tells me that May's birthstone is the emerald. Ah, ha! Precious stones! Treasure!

So, I thought this month we could try our hands at map making. But not just any old map - a Trek treasure map! Maybe a map like the ones featured in Romancing the Stone, or The Goonies but filled with Trek terms ("Here be Gormaganders" and the like)? Or something more futuristic in keeping with the era of Star Trek of your choice, like an okudagram?

However you decide to do it, the challenge is to create a star chart, geographical map, floor/deck plan etc. that promises a Trek treasure or secret to whoever successfully navigates its course.

X marks the spot!

::

 I began working on my map remarkably early in the month - the 11th May, to be precise.  I knew that my vague ideas were quite [adventurous], so I'd need plenty of time to work everything out.
 As with many things in life, click the images to embigulate!

 I'm wasn't exactly sure what the finished article would be like, but I had some ideas involving pin-pricks and space-lanes and telepaths. Also, being so early in the month, I thought that this first set of squiggles might just end up as a trial run, with something else as my finished piece.

 After setting down a few white outlines, I didn't spent much time on my treasure map for a week. Well, I tell a lie, I spent a lot of time procrastinating in the name of research: Searching Memory Alpha for star charts and telepaths, plus trying to work out where certain stars and planets might be located (including getting caught up in the ST Generations stellar cartography scene screenshots at TrekCore), as well as trying out fonts etc.

X Marks The Spot

 Long ago, before it became known as Betazed, Cyndriel used to be a ringed planet, but a stray comet disrupted the rings' orbit and they coalesced into the three moons of Avandar, Merandar, and Keylandar.  However, some of the rings' exotic particles fell to Cyndriel and were fashioned into three circlets by smiths of the Fifth House.  During the Terabian conflict, the circlets were split up and hidden offworld for fear of their rare power being perverted, but over time, their locations were lost.
 Nearly 200 years later, an ancient star map came to light which guided a determined Daughter of the Fifth House across the stars in a "commandeered" Federation starship to seek out the treasured Holy Rings of Betazed...

Displaying My Rear...

An Aloe or Haworthia or somesuch on the paysho*

 The Official Plant Spotter of the DeVice Mansion (prev. Castle DeVice et al) and its Extensive Witchdom, the dazzling Jon,brought up a very good point recently: "I wonder if the "missing Canuck" is going to be hosting the garden show'n'tell this year?".
 Well, I hope The Very Mistress does manage to get up off her quince and play Hostess with the Mostess for what will be the Ninth Annual Infomaniac Garden Photos Event, as I've been sorting out the swampy building site (as was) to the rear of the DeVice Mansion.
 No you haven't!  It was me!  I've done all the sorting and lifting and digging stinking horse muck into the borders and other hard manual labour, not you.
 Fine.   In that case, you can carry on with this post.

 These two photos (above and below), were taken at the end of March, after the leftover building detritus was cleared up, and the swampy, clay "soil" rotavated in preparation for a lawn.

 The photo below is how it looks now, but it's not going to stay this way, however.  This is just a temporary solution until I settle upon a design or, more likely, a cobbled together mish-mash of ideas that will "just have to do".

Sunday Swim: Bunny Boiling

Overstrand beach this morning

 Don't worry - I haven't gone all Glenn-Close-in-Fatal-Attraction on anyone/thing. Rather, I have partaken in my first sea swim of the year on this, the most boilingest hot day so far.  Last year I didn't fling myself in the drink until mid July (although, back in 2017, I was a day earlier than this year, managing to brave the cold sea on the 1st of June).

 Oh, and for the 'Bunny' bit, just keep going... 

The knobbly old spine of some ancient sea monster plying the depths shallows

All The Queen's Horses...

 Oh my Christing gods!  I've just discovered that Siobhan and Marcy are back!  Shakespears Sister rides again!!!

New single, All The Queen's Horses

I love all the call-backs to their previous videos (some of which can be seen below)

Here's a recent interview


And now, how about some of their classics:

Out on a School Night

 The other day, Dinahmow had sent me a photograph of the beach between Overstrand and Cromer, taken in the evening of 11th May, with a solitary someone on the sands.  She asked if it was me, but it was not, I replied, as I'm more of a morning beach walker than an evening one.*
 It did, however, prompt me to drag myselves down there on Thursday evening, from whence the following photos came from.

  I did not, however, have the beach to myself.  Rather inconsiderately, a large group of youths (with a handful of supervising adults) were congregated at the foot of the cliffs getting up to who knows what, and making a din about it.  I tried not to get any of them in shot, but if you squint at the bottom left of the photo below, one can just about make out the fuzzy, indistinct silhouette of a youth clambering over the curved revetment.  Ruining the photograph.  Ruining everything!!!