I’m reblogging an old post about a Spring day I went out for a walk with my What to look for in Spring Ladybird book. ❤️
https://sunshineandcelandines.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/what-to-look-for-in-spring-a-ladybird-book/
Tag Archives: ladybird books
What to look for in Spring ~ A Ladybird Book.
Spring is well and truly here ( along with lots of April showers!) , so on Sunday I took my Ladybird Book ‘ What To Look For In Spring’ out and about for an impromptu Photo Shoot. Ladybird Books were part of my childhood, though it is only in the last couple of years that I have started collecting the What To Look For series. Now I have all four seasons, I think I will expand my collection to include some of the other Nature titles. 🙂 It was interesting to compare the pictures in the book ( beautifully illustrated by naturalistic painter Charles Tunnicliffe) with life in the countryside today.
My photos are from two walks I did with the dog ( and Wil!) in my local area. I’ve included a few written extracts found in ‘What To Look For In Spring’ along with my pictures. 🙂 This Ladybird book was published in 1961.
‘By the first week of April the lambs that were born in February are large enough to enjoy springtime games. The blackthorn is now in full blossom’
The lambs I saw were catching the sun’s rays and the lacey blackthorn blossoms are indeed in full bloom.
‘Growing amongst the roots of the tree are violets and lesser celandine.Dead leaves have gathered here and decayed , giving nourishment to the roots of the violets which like soft humus.’
I’m not sure what soft humus is, but it seems to be true…..
‘ Magpies are wily birds and it is extremely difficult to get near enough to shoot them, but many countrymen do so when they can, and feel they have done a good deed.’
Hmmm not sure country folk go round shooting Magpies, but some do salute them!
‘In a woodland opening we find wood-anemones which spread by underground stems and are consequently all close together.’
Saw carpets of these pretty white flowers in the woods.:)
It was the perfect day for a walk up a country lane with views of Pendle Hill, its slopes looking almost gentle from this distance.
‘We know that March will soon be followed by April-when windows can be opened again,and hedgehogs and dormice can end their hibernation and enjoy the sunshine.With Spring comes the greatest wonder of the year-possibly even more beautiful than Summer.’
I certainly agree that Spring is full of wonder. Every day new flowers appear and life is springing up everywhere. If you have a ladybird book or any nature publication from the past, why not see how wildlife compares ,then and now.Let me know how you get on. X
Sunday Sevens ~ 20th March.
It’s been a Happy and a Sad week for me this week….but my blog is totally my Happy place,so I have some nice memories to share on here mostly. 🙂
- It was my nephew’s 8th Birthday so it was great to go out with the family for a Birthday Tea. Here’s Roman blowing out his candles with a little help from his little sis. 🙂 I also got to see them in their school production of The jungle Book which in my somewhat biased opinion was absolutely brilliant. Well done guys!!!
I got my little twiggy Christmas Tree down from the loft and resurrected it as an Easter Tree. There are so many cute decorations in the shops at the moment. I got some glitter eggs for £1.85 for a pack of twelve from my local card shop Party people and found the bunnies in a Clitheroe gift shop, Urban Sheep. Hattie the Hare was made by a friend a couple of years ago. 🙂
3. I spent my last week of four without Facebook and Instagram. I’m now back on!! I really missed Facebook. I have definitely felt out of touch without it. It’s such a communication tool between friends and family these days, that if you rely on it , you really miss it when you don’t have it.And i did miss out on a friend’s wedding do. 😦 His written wedding invite didn’t arrive and when he facebooked me to ask if i was coming,i didn’t get to read the message until it was to late. Sad times. 😦 But there have been advantages too. I have read more books and spent more time getting on with things instead of checking Facebook constantly. So there have been negatives and positives. Slinky the cat is most pleased that she is again being snapped in various sleepy poses and uploaded onto Instagram though. Purrrfect!
4. I completed my LadyBird What to look for collection with What to look for in Spring. You can’t beat a Ladybird Nature book for beautiful illustrations and detailed descriptions of wildlife going about their days.
5. Hugo is back wearing The Cone of Shame after his wound reopened. 😦 Poor boy now has fresh stitches and has to wait for yet another two weeks before he has them out. Don’t worry I am not tempting him with a real donut here. This is a doggy donut from a doggy bakery stall on the Makers Market in Manchester. It didn’t last very long!
6 & 7. A couple of piccies of my friends Birthday Celebrations in Manchester. No doubt I will blog about it soon. Lots of cocktails were consumed! 🙂
#sundaysevens was devised by Natalie at Threads and Bobbins.
30 Days Wild ~ Days 16-21. Daisy Chains and Ladybird Nature Books.
Day 16 ~ Listening to Birdsong. Whilst out and about this eve I made sure I listened out for the birds. I have downloaded a bird ID app on my phone to help me out identifying birdsong.Calling all Bird Nerds. 🙂 Its called Isoperla and cost £2.99 on my android phone. Its a great app actually that lets you record which birds you have spotted, helps you identify them through their appearance and a snippet of song. Looking forward to using it more! Above is a tiny wren which has a BIG voice for such a little bird. 🙂
Day 17 ~ Read a Nature Magazine. Ok ‘the Simple things’ is not actually a nature magazine but it does tend to concentrate on simple pleasures such as beautiful home style,recipes,vintage,travel and the outside world. In the June edition there are features on Wild cocktails, wildflower meadows,summer berries,campsites with campfires,nature books,garden swings, the twilight garden and homemade lotions and potions to name but a few. I enjoyed a quick glance through with my coffee this morning.
Day 18 ~ Make a Daisy Chain. Speaking of simple pleasures, I fashioned Hugo a daisy chain on our walk this evening. Trying to get a good picture of him however proved difficult! Plus all he wanted to do was eat the daisies. 🙂
Day 19 ~ Buy some Faith in Nature products. I saw these in my local ‘Oxfam’ so thought I would give them a try. Faith In Nature products are made with natural ingredients and they smell wonderful. I found that they are quite watery compared to other shampoos and conditioners I have used but the end result left my hair feeling healthy and shiny.
Day 20, 21 ~ Ladybird Nature Book. This weekend I took my What To Look For In Summer Ladybird Nature book out and about with me. The book was published in 1960 and I have its companions, Autumn and Winter too. Still looking out for Spring. Delightful descriptions of what wildlife and wild flowers you may spot at this time of year are accompanied by beautiful illustrations by artist C. F. Tunnicliffe. As the books are over 50 years old now, it’s interesting to see how our country lanes, meadows, woodlands and rivers have evolved over the years. And quite reassuring that some things never change!
I was happy to see that many of the wild flowers especially, mirror those in the books. Yellow Irises, Campions,Foxgloves and Cow Parsley all adorn our countryside just like they did back in the 1960s. 🙂
Do you have any Ladybird Nature books?
Picnic Ware Pinspiration. :)
So Picnic Weather is just round the corner again ! I’m assured that after the weekend the sun will be shining, the ground will be dry and many a picnic rug will be hosting a scrumptious spread. 🙂 I could not help but look to Pinterest for some Picnic ware Pinspiration.
I have a hankering to purchase a retro picnic set like one of these.I love the brightly coloured & kitsch patterned melamine ware.There are lots and lots for sale on ebay but I might have a look in my local charity and vintage shops first…
Did you know that the UK has a ‘National Picnic Week’ ( just one day would be tempting fate with our weather!) from Saturday 13th June until Sunday 21st of June. Find out more on Twitter at #picnicweek.
I love these jars with straws ~ ideal for smoothies and milkshakes.In fact I recently bought two quite simular ones from Winfields Outdoors Store in Haslingdon. And the nautical inspired Picnic plates are by Modcloth though i’m not sure they are still for sale on their website. How perfect for picnics at the beach though.
You can’t really go wrong with Cath Kidston. Loving their new cloud covered picnic wares.
This picture is from the ‘Happy Holiday’ Ladybird book from 1964.The first Ladybird book featuring a picnic was ‘Bunnikins Picnic Party’ published in 1940. Popular Picnic reads.:)
So for my perfect picnic I need yummy food, cushions and blankets, a vintage picnic set, reading material, a countryside or beach setting and maybe even an old fashioned record player to play some tunes.Oh and sunshine. Wish me luck!
What to look for in Autumn ~ A Ladybird Nature book.
I’m not sure whether I have left it a little late to take my What to look for in Autumn Ladybird book out and about. After all November is not particularly Autumn like, in that the best of the seasons colours are fading away. Today however was fine and sunny so I made the most of the afternoon and had a mooch down the river. Unfortunately I think everyone else in my hometown had the very same idea. Oh, I don’t like to share !
I love the Ladybird What to look for books, which were published in the 1950s. I have managed to collect three of the seasons ( Summer, Autumn & Winter) and they are interesting to look through ~ especially to see how the countryside has changed over the years. They are illustrated beautifully by artist Charles Tunnicliffe, whose work was also used in the novel Tarka the Otter and on Brook Bond Tea cards. 🙂
Here are a few of the photographs of my afternoon and the star of my shoot ( tee hee ), my What To Look For In Autumn Ladybird Book.
Do you have any Ladybird books?
Thursday Favourites ~ April. :)
I have kind of got out of doing my Thursday Favourites posts recently. I think its me rebelling against having a bit of routine on my blog ;0). Today though I am in the mood for routine ~ so here are a few things I have enjoyed lately…
A couple of weekends ago I got to spend the whole day with two of my best friends. I cannot remember the last time before this that we managed to snatch more than a couple of hours together . Life just gets in the way you know. Anyway I blogged about how we enjoyed yummy tea and cake at Propertea in Manchester before spending the rest of our day shopping, gossiping and having the odd cheeky drink. 🙂 Days out with the girls are the best !
Here is a very sticky gooey calorific chocolaty pudding I made from a recipe found on a Tesco recipe card. As soon as Easter arrived and Lent ended it meant that I was allowed to eat chocolate again.Yippee ! So yes i really pigged out and this yummy dessert was quite the Easter treat. A bit like a bread and butter pudding ,its a good way of using up those impulse buy Hot Cross Buns.
It was certainly grand to get some lovely sunshine over the Easter weekend too. As I was working on Good Friday, the other half agreed that on Monday we could head for the seaside. 🙂
We drove over to Morecambe and had a wander along the promenade which is home to The Tern Project ,a nature trail of quirky art works featuring the seabird life of Morecambe bay. There are limericks,jokes and poetry too….and a magpie Hopscotch. Fun on the Prom. 🙂
Did you watch the BBC adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn ? Having never read the novel or seen the 1939 Hitchcock directed film , I was interested in catching this version. Despite the grumbling about the mumbling , I actually really enjoyed this gothic tale. The final part of the three parter was definitely the best though. Did you manage to watch it and did the cornish accents put you off?
A little treasure hunting with a lovely friend from the blog Olive and Harry , resulted in me purchasing two more Ladybird nature books first published in 1959. I remember there was a library of them at my village primary school. So I shall look out for more. Love exploring the countryside with them and taking them along with me , to see how farming and wildlife have evolved over the decades. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by
🙂
What to look for in Winter ~ a Ladybird Nature Book.
I’ve been meaning to do this post for a while, though it hasn’t really been, well, winter’y enough! What I mean is sure its been rainy, wet and muddy but we haven’t really had much of the cold crisp frosty weather we imagine winter should have. And not a sniff of snow like on the front cover of my Ladybird ‘ What To Look For In Winter’ book above…
I purchased the book back in November and my plan was to take it with me on my ramblings and compare the wildlife that we see now with what features inside this pretty illustrated guide , first published in 1959. Happily it seems that most of the animals, birds and plant life that appear, I have seen this season, though not always managed to photograph. Today I put on my wellies and headed out over the squelchy fields to the river. I spied clusters of snowdrops on the opposite side of the river which were to tiny for my camera to capture and a grey squirrel jumping from branch to branch of a very high oak tree. I need a new camera.Sigh. So anyway here are the pictures I did take along with some others taken on a previous winter walk.
I shall have to have a nosy for the other Ladybird Nature books in the series. I am looking forward to Spring. 🙂
sunshine and celandines 