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The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry, Scottish Poetry Library
"When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free."
(Explored)
Bombardier B12 Snow Coach at Cedar Meadows Resort and Spa in the Township of Mounfjoy located in the City of Timmins in Northeastern Ontario Canada
A Quebec mechanic and inventor Joseph-Armand Bombardier set out to design a vehicle to travel on snow, his drive brought on by personal tragedy—his two-year-old child died in 1934 after his family couldn’t reach a hospital in time.
In 1937, Bombardier launched the B7, a seven-person wooden vehicle with tracks on the back and skis in the front. Four years later, he unveiled a longer, more aerodynamic machine—the B12. The first buyers were country doctors, ambulance drivers and priests in remote areas. The market then expanded to retailers, transportation and utility companies, mail carriers, forestry operations and, eventually, outdoors men.
Looking like a giant beetle against the stark snowy environment, the B12 (above) has become an icon of the outdoors. While production stopped in 1951, many of the vehicles are still being used today by commercial fishermen in Manitoba. They also remain quite popular with ice-fishing outfitters on Ontario’s Lake Simcoe and other hardwater hot spots in Quebec.
Why the appeal? With a 12-person capacity, the B12 is perfect for groups of anglers who understand that getting out on the ice can be almost as enjoyable as what happens once you get there. Over the hum of the machine’s powerful six-cylinder engine, anglers can discuss strategy on the way out, and compare fish tales on the way back. You can’t do that when everyone’s on roaring snowmobiles or ATVs. Think of it as yet another communal outdoor experience—a snowbus ride to icy adventure. Source: Outdoor Canada
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On one of my trips to visit Lyveden, I stumbled across Hardwater Mill. It's an ancient water-powered corn mill on the River Nene at Great Doddington in Northamptonshire. Work was to begin there on installing hydropower some years ago.
West Pond, Parsonsfield, Maine.
Well, we where supposed to see some light rain this morning but woke up to about a quarter of and inch of ice on everything and in spite of the temperature getting up to 36F today the ice has not melted, the hard water persist and the temperature is now dropping.
We where planning on going shopping this evening but that plan has now been scraped as the roads are a real mess, so we will be staying home instead where it's safe, dry and warm.
The Grade II-listed Hardwater Mill is just to the west of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, on the River Nene. The buildings date from the mid-1700s to the early 1800s, though there has been a watermill on this site since the time of the Domesday Book. Milling ceased in 1946 and it is now a private residence.
Storm clouds were rolling over Northamptonshire from the west yesterday as I crossed the River Nene by Hardwater Crossing. This is down in the river valley, a couple of miles west of Wellingborough.
The Grade II-listed Hardwater Mill is just to the south-west of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, on the River Nene. The buildings date from the mid-1700s to the early 1800s, though there has been a watermill on this site since the time of the Domesday Book. Milling ceased in 1946 and it is now a private residence.
Hardwater Ice Fishing for this Blue Heron a few week ago. Taken after our first hard cold spell and snowfall.
The main river that flows through Northamptonshire is the River Nene. This rises in the west of the county, eventually flowing slowly across the Fens before reaching the sea at The Wash. There were once numerous watermills on the river, and this one is at Great Doddington, just outside Wellingborough. Dating from the mid-1700s, the Grade II-listed building is now a private residence.
A bit of t’interweb research yielded a Telegraph article on the mill. Not only does this place have a lot of history, but it also shows just how stupid house prices are an Britain….
After the Norman conquest, William I seized the mill and gave it to his niece Judith. According to local legend, the property later became a brief hiding place for Thomas a Becket, who had escaped while being tried at the Council of Northampton. He eventually made it to France, where he remained in exile until 1170.
Yet, in spite of its glorious past, Hardwater Mill sold for just £729 7s 6d (about £20,000 at today's prices) when it was a working mill in 1919 - and the sale included another house across the road.
It was converted into a five-bedroom home in 1965. The developer, a Mr Stamford, sold the property in that year for £7,500 (£87,000 today). But he only managed the sale by lending the purchaser the money. It wasn't until the property was resold, for £36,000 in 1973, that he finally got his cash.
The mill sits on its own little island in the middle of the River Nene, with one branch of the river passing directly underneath one end of the house. I’d estimate that it is worth in excess of £600,000, today.
So now you know.
Equipment: Nikon D7000, Nikkor 10-24mm @24mm. ISO 100, F16, 8 sec. Manfrotto Tripod
Post-production: A few curve layer applied to dodge/burn. Colour Balance layer used to adjust the colours – boosted blue in the shadows, boosted red/yell in the highlights.
The Grade II-listed Hardwater Mill is just to the west of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, on the River Nene near Great Doddington. The buildings date from the mid-1700s to the early 1800s, though there has been a watermill on this site since the time of the Domesday Book. Milling ceased in 1946 and it is now a private residence.
This is a re-edit of a picture I took back in the summer. The Grade II-listed Hardwater Mill is just to the south-west of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, on the River Nene. The Grade II-listed buildings date from the mid-1700s to the early 1800s, though there has been a watermill on this site since the time of the Domesday Book. Milling ceased in 1946 and it is now a private residence.
The Grade II-listed Hardwater Mill is just to the west of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, on the River Nene. The buildings date from the mid-1700s to the early 1800s, though there has been a watermill on this site since the time of the Domesday Book. Milling ceased in 1946 and it is now a private residence.
Hardwater Mill is on the River Nene at Great Doddington in Northamptonshire. The mill dates back to the mid-1700s, and together with the adjacent cottage is Grade II-listed. The mill race passes underneath the mill building.
I posted another version of this scene a couple of weeks ago, but didn't want to waste this shot which I also liked, so here it is.
The Grade II-listed Hardwater Mill is just to the west of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, on the River Nene near Great Doddington. The buildings date from the mid-1700s to the early 1800s, though there has been a watermill on this site since the time of the Domesday Book. Milling ceased in 1946 and it is now a private residence.
This is the Nene Valley a mile or so to the west of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire. These moorings are adjacent to Hardwater Crossing, just below the village of Great Doddington. The river, which is the slowest flowing in England, has three sources in Northamptonshire. It then flows into the North Sea at The Wash, having crossed the Fens. The river is navigable in between Northampton and the coast.
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I first spotted the beautiful white thatched house when we moved to Northamptonshire in 1974. It has since been on my list of favourites, though I shall never be able to afford it! It is on the edge of farmland towards the bottom of the hill leading from the village of Great Doddington down to the Hardwater Crossing in the Nene Valley.
The Grade II-listed Hardwater Mill is just to the west of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, on the River Nene. The buildings date from the mid-1700s to the early 1800s, though there has been a watermill on this site since the time of the Domesday Book. Milling ceased in 1946 and it is now a private residence.
There was meant to be a murmuration. This place is famous for it. Starlings should have been making beautiful patterns in the sky. Shapes should form. Starling should have wheeled in concert. I should have been going oooh and aaaah. My camera should have been going snappy snappy snappy in rapid bust mode. But. Two starlings a murmuration does not make. So, a long(ish) exposure landscape snap would have to do, instead. Luckily, I did not have to clone out any distracting birds.
Epilogue
As I was departing the flooded field, I carried my camera still attached to the tripod as I did not want to risk disassembling lens, filters, etc. whilst standing in knee-deep in water. However, the tripod quick release mechanism did its work a little too well. Luckily, I also had hold of the camera strap. This saved the local twitchers and walkers having to witness an old man having a full-blown 2-year-old-esque kicking and screaming tantrum.
The Grade II-listed Hardwater Mill is just to the south-west of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, on the River Nene. The buildings date from the mid-1700s to the early 1800s, though there has been a watermill on this site since the time of the Domesday Book. Milling ceased in 1946 and it is now a private residence.
Close to my village is a place called the Hardwater Crossing.
There is an area close by that has remained flooded since the last lot of heavy rains.
I thought it looked interesting so I went there at sunset and was rewarded with these reflections on the water logged land.
Fujifilm X-T2 with a Samyang 12mm F2 @ F8 with an ND400 filter
This is known as Hardwater Crossing, and is a couple of miles to the south of Wellingborough where the River Nene splits into several streams and meanders through a wide flood plain. This part of the Nene Valley has been heavily used for gravel extraction, and some of the resulting lakes have been converted into country parks or water sports centres. There has been a watermill near here for the best part of a thousand years, and this bridge which carries the road from Great Doddington to Wollaston dates from the medieval period.
A little while ago, we had a bit snow in the UK. With forecasts of clear skies, I planned to leave work early and grab a snap of local windmill standing in a field of white, silhouetted against a dramatic sunset. I had planned it to the minutest photographic detail: location, angles, timing, lens, everything. After battling through the snow-covered country roads, I got to my chosen location (actually, the roads where not that bad – it was the idiot drivers who don’t know how to drive when more and three flakes have hit to ground that gave me all the problems). Except there was a small issue – in all of the arctic-like UK I had found the ONLY field that did not have any snow! And in an act of sheer spite, the sun had decided to hide behind some dense clouds. Well, that was the end of that.
Driving home in a very disconsolate mood, I decided to take a detour and drive past an old favourite site – Hardwater Mill. Luckily, the scene looked worthy of a snap or two. However, in all my photographic planning I had forgotten one thing – the fact it was cold. Very cold. And I had no gloves. By the time I had set up the camera on its tripod, attached the ND filter and taken a few bracketed 30 sec exposures, I lost all sense of feeling in my fingers. It took an hour before my poor digits were back to normal (plus a large brandy). I must be getting old. In fact, one glance in the mirror confirms that fact. When did I turn into my Dad?
Equipment: Nikon D7000, Nikkor 10-24mm @10mm, ISO 100, F9 & F4, 30 sec HiTech Firecrest 7-stop ND filter, Manfrotto tripod
Post-production: 2 images manually blended together. Some curve layers for exposure control and a color balance layer to add a touch red to the highlights and blue to the shadows
This is the valley of the River Nene, the main river in Northamptonshire and one of the slowest flowing in the country. This was taken near Hardwater Crossing, and is a couple of miles to the south of Wellingborough where the River Nene splits into several streams and meanders through a wide flood plain. This part of the Nene Valley has been heavily used for gravel extraction, and some of the resulting lakes have been converted into country parks or water sports centres
Water is the softest thing
yet it can penetrate
mountains and earth.
This shows clearly the
principle of softness
overcoming hardness.
-Lao Tzu
So, I actually came to one of my favourite photo spots to watch the starling murmuration. The starlings were on good form, but I couldn’t help myself and dragged the camera and tripod over to the mill.
Equipment: Nikon D7000, Nikkor 10-24mm @ 13mm ISO 100, F16, 30sec sec
Post-production: Mainly curves and masking. Colour Balance and Saturation layers to strengthen the blues in the shadows and the reds in the highlights
A surprise visitor to my fountain this morning was this little guy. Grabbed my camera and shot this through a hardwater stained patio door, and then adjusted it the best I could in LR and PS. Photo is grainy and soft, but I don't see these beautiful little warblers very often.
Also saw my first Yellow Rumped Warbler visitor for the season this morning and I can hear the chickadees making their little "squeaky toy" noises, but haven't spotted them yet. Fall is in the air!
Wilson's Warbler - Cardellina pusilla
Vacaville, Solano County, California, USA
The Grade II-listed Hardwater Mill is just to the west of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, on the River Nene. The buildings date from the mid-1700s to the early 1800s, though there has been a watermill on this site since the time of the Domesday Book. Milling ceased in 1946 and it is now a private residence.
A long exposure of Hardwater Mill on the River Nene, taken last year but I never got round to sharing
The main river that flows through Northamptonshire is the River Nene. This rises in the west of the county, eventually flowing slowly across the Fens before reaching the sea at The Wash. There were once numerous watermills on the river, and this one is at Great Doddington, just outside Wellingborough. Dating from the mid-1700s, the Grade II-listed building is now a private residence.