WildPlace's Random Stuff

I spent quite some time yesterday backing up the 1000s of photos from my iPhone to the external hard drive I have connected to my PC. I also then backed up some of the more crucial ones to a USB stick. I had this idea of choosing one image a month from 2022 as a kind of an annual review. Quite a few months I couldn't just pick one photo though - particularly as between late April and early June I walked from Sevilla to Santiago on the Camino Via de la Plata with a friend and have c1000 photos just from that (all taken with my phone).

Anyway here is January, February and March.

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January - Experimenting with the Slow Shutter app then ran the image through DistressedFX

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February - I spent the month looking after my 89 year old dad who had covid and my 86 year old mum who had had a fall and broken her leg, before their stairlift was installed we had to bring her bed downstairs. Took a while but both fully recovered!

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March - At least while I was down in England I got to catch up with my grandchildren. Selfie with wee Isaac who is 2

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March - I did a charity walking challenge during March so was out and about every day in all weathers, this is the church in the village where mum and dad live in England.

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March - The parents were managing nicely so home to Scotland again and still walking daily, taking my trusty old camping stove out with me to brew up and sit and admire the view :)
 
My favourites from April 2022

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Some of the details from the amazing cathedral in Seville

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Early morning mist as we crossed from Andalusia into Extremadura

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Wonderful scenery, typical of this camino

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The beautiful old streets of the city of Zafra where my friend Seonaid and I had a rest day
 
My favourites from April 2022

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Some of the details from the amazing cathedral in Seville

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Early morning mist as we crossed from Andalusia into Extremadura

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Wonderful scenery, typical of this camino

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The beautiful old streets of the city of Zafra where my friend Seonaid and I had a rest day
What a great idea showing the highlights like this. Me too have a various stuff thread, perhaps you’ve already checked it out, but here’s the link

Happy New Year Yvonne :thumbs:
 
My favourites from May 2022 - it was really difficult to choose just a small selection from a whole month of walking!

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The Roman bridge across the river to the city of Merida (a fabulous place with many, many Roman remains)

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Early morning leaving Merida, the sun coming up behind the remains of the Roman aqueduct

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Aldeanueva del Camino

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sometimes I loved being able to see the road winding off into the distance at other times (usually when tired!) it was a bit dispiriting...

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The amazing cathedral in Salamanca
 
What a great idea showing the highlights like this. Me too have a various stuff thread, perhaps you’ve already checked it out, but here’s the link

Happy New Year Yvonne :thumbs:
Yes, I love your thread, it's partly what inspired me to start one of my own :)
 
Last one for May 2022 - Seonaid and I got slightly misplaced one morning, missed a yellow arrow and ended up who knows where. Thankfully with a bit of magic from good old Google maps we were able to find our way again, via a shortcut through a drainage pipe underneath the high-speed railway.

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Seonaid looking rather 007 :)
 
June 2022 - We finally reached Santiago de Compostela after 1006km, not bad going for two old folks, especially as there was a heatwave with temperatures up to 35C - i'm acclimatised to the 15C summer temperatures of the Outer Hebrides!

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Leaving the monestery at Oseira early in the morning

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A very welcome camino park bench - and no chance of getting misplaced, plenty of yellow arrows!

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Selfie outside the cathedral - we finally made it!

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Spent three days in Santiago for a well earned break - the rooftop tour of the cathedral is not to be missed!
 
August 2022 - Just getting on with life...

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It's not very often I can get a bird photo with my phone! Short-eared Owl that hung around even after i'd said the f-word (foto)

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A friend came to visit and we had a few days camping in North Uist - this is the image on the wall of the camera obscura at the Hut of the Shadows Image is just as it was taken, no editing.

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This wee suspension footbridge is no longer in use - well you could theoretically walk over it but there are signs up saying don't cross and danger. We chickened out and walked the long way round...
 
September 2022 - The month started out well with good weather and a camping and walking trip with a friend. Middle of the month I was called away again as my dad was in hospital with a bad case of the shingles so I headed straight down.

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The beautiful beaches of North Uist

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Wonderful late summer sunset from my front door - no editing!

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The fascinating roof of Glasgow central station as I wait for the train down to England

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My poor old dad in the hospital with his shingles :(

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The Alms Houses in the village where mum and dad live
 
August 2022 - Just getting on with life...

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It's not very often I can get a bird photo with my phone! Short-eared Owl that hung around even after i'd said the f-word (foto)

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A friend came to visit and we had a few days camping in North Uist - this is the image on the wall of the camera obscura at the Hut of the Shadows Image is just as it was taken, no editing.

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This wee suspension footbridge is no longer in use - well you could theoretically walk over it but there are signs up saying don't cross and danger. We chickened out and walked the long way round...
Love the owl! I never get to see them, though we can hear one now and then. And that image from the Hut of Shadows is so mysterious. It's like real life thumbing its nose at distressed filters.
 
October 2022 - Dad made it out of hospital for his surprise 90th birthday party that we'd all been planning for months! Ian and I managed a wee two week break away to the fabulous Balearic island of Menorca

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Dad looking much better and at his 90th birthday party

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Beautiful Menorca, a fabulous place to relax in the warmth and sunshine!

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Es Grau, Menorca. Native camera and DistressedFX

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Back in England and my wee grandson Sidney (4) and his first hill walk

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My daughter Sara and wee Sidney. Sidney's second hill walk, the day after his first. Caer Caradoc in Shropshire, England.
 
Love the owl! I never get to see them, though we can hear one now and then. And that image from the Hut of Shadows is so mysterious. It's like real life thumbing its nose at distressed filters.
Yes, love owls - we only get the Short-eared here and they are mostly out and about during daylight hours. It's very strange to sit in the Hut of the Shadows and look at the image on the wall because after a few moments you realise that the image has movement - you can see the waves moving, I think your brain tells you it's a static image but it isn't. Very weird.
 
November 2022 - Eventually made it back home to Scotland! Just in time for winter haha!

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Late afternoon sunlight on the kitchen windowsill

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Drainage channel, there's a lot of water around at the moment and floods around various parts of the island

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Still, frosty morning, view from my bedroom window

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Ian and I checking out our new game, Genius Square, it's pretty good :)

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Loch Bee, South Uist, monthly bird survey, cold and icy, not many birds, I think they've had more sense and disappeared to somewhere warmer!
 
December 2022 - A month of ice and snow then mild, wet weather!

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Snow on Ben Mor, the highest hill in South Uist

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View from the front door...

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I had to venture up to the Isle of Lewis for the day, a short 20 minute flight from Benbecula to Stornoway (saves three hours of driving and an hour on the ferry plus all the associated hanging around, and besides someone else was paying...), the hills in the Isle of Harris looked spectacular as I flew over!
 
What a set of images!! I’d be here for the rest of the day making all the comments I’d like to! I love the slow shutter one at the beginning, am in awe of your walk, the silhouette in the drain pipe is a standout and your poor dad! Ouch to those shingles.
 
What a set of images!! I’d be here for the rest of the day making all the comments I’d like to! I love the slow shutter one at the beginning, am in awe of your walk, the silhouette in the drain pipe is a standout and your poor dad! Ouch to those shingles.
Thanks! Yes I think those images, the slow shutter one and the drainpipe one were two of my favourites of the year :) Funnily enough dad had no pain with the shingles though it has left him deaf in one ear where the nerves have been affected which he finds a bit frustrating.
 
What an absolutely wonderful set of images! So many comments I want to make, but like Star said, I’d be here all day. :D Love all your travel photos… I’m a bit green with envy - how exciting. Love the drainage pipe adventure. The Hut of the Shadows looks so interesting - I’d never heard if it before and when I tapped the link I gasped a little…. I love small quirky homes and it looks similar to homes I’ve seen dug into the earth like that - one of my dream homes. My first thought was “I could so live in that!” I also love moths and look forward to seeing more of yours. :hearteyes: And your parents are amazing - so glad they’ve recovered and are doing better.
 
October 2022 - Dad made it out of hospital for his surprise 90th birthday party that we'd all been planning for months! Ian and I managed a wee two week break away to the fabulous Balearic island of Menorca

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Dad looking much better and at his 90th birthday party

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Beautiful Menorca, a fabulous place to relax in the warmth and sunshine!

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Es Grau, Menorca. Native camera and DistressedFX

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Back in England and my wee grandson Sidney (4) and his first hill walk

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My daughter Sara and wee Sidney. Sidney's second hill walk, the day after his first. Caer Caradoc in Shropshire, England.
Oh, Menorca. In the summer of 1970, when I was 10, my Dad got a scholarship for studying the Catalan language. Some distant relative owned a house in Ciudadella and I spent 10 weeks there with my parents and siblings. Not many tourists in those day. Some Brits here and there and people from Spain. But mostly locals.
 
What an absolutely wonderful set of images! So many comments I want to make, but like Star said, I’d be here all day. :D Love all your travel photos… I’m a bit green with envy - how exciting. Love the drainage pipe adventure. The Hut of the Shadows looks so interesting - I’d never heard if it before and when I tapped the link I gasped a little…. I love small quirky homes and it looks similar to homes I’ve seen dug into the earth like that - one of my dream homes. My first thought was “I could so live in that!” I also love moths and look forward to seeing more of yours. :hearteyes: And your parents are amazing - so glad they’ve recovered and are doing better.
Thank you for your kind words! I think you'd like this house that is just along the road from me, the Hebridean Earth House, built into the ground, it was purpose built as a holiday home though it's very very expensive to stay in. At one time I was seriously contemplating building something similar but came to my senses :tearsofjoy: Yes, my parents really are amazing and seem to take everything that the last few years has thrown at them in their stride. I feel thankful everyday to still have them when so many of my friends have lost theirs.
 
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