July

 I have had a weekend break in Devon with my oldest brother, who lives by the sea.  It was lovely to spend time together and explore Dartmoor , we both have an interest in stone circles, so visited some in the area

Scorhill - Wikipedia

Scorhill is one of the biggest stone circles on Dartmoor, Devon and dates back to the Bronze Age.  The North stone is the tallest at over 7 feet.  Whilst we were in the circle, whenever I turned North, my hearing aid went off making a lot of noise and interference!  Some ladies walking their dog commented that the dog was making noises they hadnt heard before,  he was whining.  We had  walked for several hours and were tired, so lay on some of the stones (that had fallen flat over the years) and rested for a while.  It's a beautiful place, used for grazing in part by sheep, cows and Dartmoor ponies.

Before we reached the circles, We stopped at a  stream to eat our picnic lunch then on to Chagford

village as it is so pretty and has several nice art galleries to browse.  This lovely building above is the public toilet!

Warren House Inn - Wikipedia

We drove to a higher point on Dartmoor for more walking,  then stopped for some dinner at the Warren, it is in a very remote part and has lots of history, claiming to have an open fire that has never gone out - it was certainly smouldering away when we were there.  At 7pm it was getting misty on the moors but we still had more to do..

Merrivale, Devon - Wikipedia

We wanted to see Merrivale stone circle and lines at sunset as it has a magical atmosphere.  Nobody knows what the long lines of stones either side of the narrow stream, heading towards the circle are for.   I wish we knew more about these mysterious places, built on ley lines and near water . 

Below are pictures of a small church we stopped at.

Above is one of several standing stones near the church walls, there is a stream running through the churchyard, churches were often built on sites of pagan or earlier significance, it's likely this one is a stone circle.

The church was advertising Lammas festival, also observed by pagans as the harvest festival on 1st August.

There was an honesty box on the roadside, selling teacups and flowers...

A phone box library:)

My allotment (above).is doing well, I have a lot of produce and am very pleased with my first complete year.  My garden has been a little neglected but is full of gladioli,  lavender and roses so I am happy.

Thank you for stopping by - apologies to you if I haven't left a comment on your blog lately, Blogger is not letting me do so on some, even as 'anon' and tells me to log in when I already have, anyone know how to resolve this please?

I will leave you with a picture of my little cat, Mollie, she's been with us for over 2 years now and has changed from the frightened, biting, scratching little creature we adopted,  to a gentle, shy little personality who sometimes jumps and reacts but is not intentionally hurtful.  She has put weight on (weighs 3 1/2 kilo now) and although I doubt she has forgotten the cruelty she experienced before she was ours, she has moved on to trust the men in the house, venture out in the garden as long as I am nearby and even sits on my knee very briefly if I pick her up.  She's come a long way, her nervous regurgitation of food has also become very occasional and I think she is probably her best self now.