Archive for the ‘my exercise plan’ Category
Downderry by the sea 7-6
my first view of Downderry (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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Downderry is a charming town, tucked beside the sea …
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houses in Downderry (image from Street View)
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My virtual memories of Downderry will be of stone walls …
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gardens along Downderry street (image from Street View)
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hillside gardens …
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hillside gardens (image from Street View)
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and a charming red brick church …
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Downderry church (image from Street View)
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Best View: a lilac in front of a white house …
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July 4, 2013 ‘Lilacs, Downderry’ Jane Tims
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and a Horse Chestnut tree beside Downderry Church …
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July 5, 2013 ‘Downderry Church’ Jane Tims
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Then, onward to Seaton and a backward view at Seaton Beach from Looe Hill …
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July 6, 2013 ‘Seaton Beach’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
along a Cornwall road 7-5
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farm tucked into a valley (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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Today’s virtual biking trip took me toward the town of Downderry, along narrow roads lined with Western Gorse (Ulex gallii) in yellow bloom. Gorse grows on sunny sites with sandy soil and is common on the heathlands along Britain’s Atlantic coast. Before my virtual trips to France and England, I had heard of gorse but had never ‘seen’ it …
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gorse in bloom (image from Street View)
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I saw a few farms along the way …
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a house and barn (image from Street View)
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and horses in a green pasture …
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horses (image from Street View)
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Best View: farmstead not far from Downderry … my skies are improving, don’t you think???
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June 8, 2013 ‘farm near Downderry’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
painting my way along the Cornwall coast 7-4
street in Crafthole (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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One of the things I like best about my virtual journey along the Cornwall coast – the names of the communities: Crafthole, Portwrinkle, Freathy !
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a dog looks at me from the window of a house in Crafthole (image from Street View)
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Today, I drove through Portwrinkle along Finnygook Lane.
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July 3, 2013 ‘Portwrinkle’ Jane Tims
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Here is an interesting sequence of photos and a visual commentary on the width of the roads. First, I see a truck coming toward the Street View car …
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Help! I am sure there is no room to pass! (image from Street View)
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Then we squeeeeeeeze past …
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I look back and I don’t see any indication we did pass (no tracks in the shrubbery for example) …
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And, I was so busy trembling over passing the truck, I almost didn’t see this door in the side of the hill …
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you’d miss it if you weren’t looking (image from Street View)
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July 8, 2013 ‘hidden door on Finnygook Lane’ Jane Tims
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Best View: houses in Crafthole …
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I am having fun trying to understand painting with watercolors. I have always worked with oils or acrylic, but watercolors are quite different. I love that the colors have a mind of their own. If I allow the colors to go where they want to go, sometime the surprises are wonderful, sometimes, not.
I am trying to use less paint, more water. This improves transparency and gives a fragility to the painting.
I am trying to clean my brush well and to freshen the water more often. This prevents ‘muddiness’.
I am also trying to leave more white space. This provides white ‘color’ and space for adding color as the painting progresses.
Here are two attempts at painting houses in Crafthole. I include the original image so you can see my inspiration. As you can see, I used lots of artistic licence.
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In #1, I like the scaling of the houses, the houses in the background, the gardens, the pinkness of the wall, and the grey house … I don’t like the windows …
July 3, 2013 ‘houses in Crafthole #1’ Jane Tims
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In #2, I like the chimneys, the red door, and the background houses … I don’t like the windows however I think these houses have personality in their ‘lean’…
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July 3, 2013 ‘houses in Crafthole #2’ Jane Tims
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houses in Crafthole (image from Street View)
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Now, what do you think of that door in the side of the hill ??????
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
farms in hidden valleys 7-3
Tregantle Fort near Freathy (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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Gradually, I am learning the layout of this part of the Cornwall coast. The uplands are mostly devoted to wild land or agriculture (grazing or crops) …
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cattle in a field near Freathy (image from Street View)
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The houses are either along the coast, at the very edge, or in the treed valleys that peek at intervals from the countryside …
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fields and valleys … a reservoir in the distance (image from Street View)
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Driving down into these valleys, I find farmsteads, made up of clusters of buildings and usually associated with water …
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farmstead in a valley (image from Street View)
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ponds at a valley farm (image from Street View)
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Cattle must stray into the roads on occasion. The entryway of the house below is guarded by a ‘Texan Gate’ or ‘cattle stop’. I am familiar with these from my days in Alberta. Cattle will not cross these gates because of the spaces in the surface, but cars can cross quite easily …
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a Texan Gate (image from Street View)
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Best View: the Cornwall coast stretching before me …
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July 2, 2013 ‘Cornwall coast’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
a holiday by the sea 7-2
a view along the coast near Freathy … note the houses down the hill nearer the ocean (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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My virtual biking trip along the Cornwall coast has me totally enchanted. I love the rugged landscape, the hills (huff, puff), and the huge variety of wildflowers …
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a view of the rugged coast and the yellow Gorse growing along the road (image from Street View)
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Today’s drive along the Military Road showed me that the people love to spend recreational time along this coast. There are vacation communities …
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a vacation community (image from Street View)
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Homes and cottages were downhill from the road. I am sure you could step from the road to one of these rooftops!
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a view of houses along the road (image from Street View)
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The cottages were small, not much bigger than our own cabin …
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cabins overlooking the ocean (image from Street View)
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Best View: acres of Gorse along the road …
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a ‘learning-watercolor’ note: the first painting below was done on 140 lb paper made for watercolor. The second painting was done on sketch paper of much lighter weight. The second painting is wrinkled (see dark shadows in the left and right margins). This is called ‘cockling’ and can be prevented by stretching lighter papers before painting. I tape the edges of my paintings on a hard surface prior to painting.
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July 3, 2013 “Military Road, Cornwall coast’ Jane Tims
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July 3, 2013 ‘Gorse’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
along the Cornwall shore 7-1
After completing my virtual bike journey through central France, I was faced with a decision …. where to go next? I considered all sorts of places, but the winner has been the setting for some of my favorite literature … the Cornwall coast of England.
A few minutes with Street View convinced me. Along the Cornwall coast are the ocean views I love, the rugged shoreline of Daphne du Maurier fame, the hilly countryside of southern England, and numerous opportunities for side trips to see farmsteads, churchyards and ruins. It was hard to settle on the 26 images that would take me through my first 30 minute virtual bike excursion. So hard, in fact, I selected 39 images for the first trip!
I decided to begin just west of Plymouth, and I plotted ten, 3 km trips to begin. Beyond that is a more than 300-km-distance around the entire Cornwall coast.
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Today’s trip took me through the hamlet of Rame, along the Whitsand Bay of the Atlantic Ocean. The Street View image of the parking lot at Rame’s Head provides a view of 14th century Saint Michael’s chapel on a cone-shaped headland. The chapel is now derelict and is thought to be the site of a Celtic hermitage …
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St Michael’s chapel is the tiny building on the cone-shaped hill at about 5 o’clock (image from Street View)
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The first part of the trip took me past the Saint Germanus churchyard …
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Saint Germanus churchyard (image from Street View)
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The church was dedicated in 1259, on the site of an older building. In the church are pews surviving from the 16th century! Since there is no electricity or gas, services are by candlelight. I particularly like the lych gate in front of the church since my novel begins with my main character standing under a lych gate to keep dry from the rain. A lych gate is a covered gate – during a funeral, the body of the deceased person is carried through the lych gate on the way to the church …
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Saint Germanus church in Rame (image from Street View)
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The next part of my trip was along the Military Road. This road runs along the coast on the high land. Other, narrower (!) roads run between the small communities closer to the coast. My guess is, this road was built as a way to patrol the coastline for military purposes …
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Military Road near Rame – Gorse blooming along the road (image from Street View)
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I enjoyed my visit with a herd of horses along the Military Road …
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As I looked back along the road I’d just travelled (virtually), I was so glad I chose this as the next stage of my exercise scheme …
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Best View: so many to choose from! I liked a view of lilacs in the yard of a house near Rame …
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July 1, 2013 ‘Lilacs near Rame’ Jane Tims
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
a patio overlooking the ocean 6-14
Well, I have reached the end of Phase 6 of my virtual tour through central France!!!
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This last day on Ile de Ré marked the end of a sort of odyssey for me. When I began, on January 30, 2013, I had little hope that my exercise plan would last very long. And here I am, 196.8 kilometers and 1975 minutes of stationary cycling later.
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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I have learned a lot about central France, I have practiced my French, I have drawn and painted a lot of my impressions, and I have had fun telling you all about it in my Blog posts.
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I also have several health benefits to report. My blood pressure is consistently down to normal, my blood cholesterol is improved, and I feel more energetic. As a result of this last, my house is (slightly) more organised. I have not lost one ounce of weight, but I have probably gained some muscle and lost some fat. My knees are no better but they are also no worse.
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I think, most important, I have learned two things about exercise …
1. about 2-3 months of regular exercise is needed to see a benefit, and
2. after about one month, exercise starts to be a habit, so it does not take so large an effort to continue as to begin.
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The vistas on this last day were not so different from other days on the island. I saw many paths to the beach, but rarely saw the ocean …
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a path to the beach (image from Street View)
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I saw an interesting ‘pink-flowered’ shrub growing along the ponds of the salt marsh …
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a shrub with pink flowers (image from Street View)
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And I ended my sixth phase of my virtual bike trip virtually enjoying a virtual lemonade at a charming patio in La Patache, overlooking the sea …
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a patio overlooking the ocean at La Patache (image from Street View)
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Best View: the salt marshes of Ile de Ré …
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June 26, 2013 ‘salt marsh on Ile de Re #2’ Jane Tims
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So, am I going to continue this exercise plan? You bet! Next, I am going for a 4 day tour of the city of Mermaid Waters in Australia. A very good friend of mine lived there once and biked every day to university along the path I will take. Then, I will choose a place in Britain to continue my virtual bike tour. I hope you will join me!!!!
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
a mysterious mechanism 6-13
salt ponds on Ile de Re (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled … the rectangular salt ponds on Ile de Re are visible (map from Google Earth)
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On this second-to-last day of my virtual travels through France, I found a mystery. The disadvantage of travelling far away from the images you see is, you can’t stop and ask when you see something you don’t understand. As I drove along the salt ponds dominating the eastern part of Ile de Ré, I saw a circular structure. It was corral-like and at first I thought it must be a corral for a horse. But, closer observation suggests another purpose …
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circular ‘corral’ … click the photo to enlarge and see the internal mechanism … rectangular salt ponds are visible in the background (image from Street View)
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The clues are these:
1. the structure is circular
2. a fence surrounds the structure, suggesting need to contain an animal or something else
3. on second look, the fence is more like a wall, perhaps able to contain some substance, perhaps even a liquid
4. a horse trailer is parked in the yard
5. a grass-free track surrounds the structure
6. the corral is not empty, but contains a complex structure, including an elevated ‘pipe’ near the middle, and two long horizontal poles supported by wires
7. at the end of each pole is a flat, paddle-like structure
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I have a theory about this mysterious device. I think it is a horse-driven mechanism for collecting salt.
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My theory: salt water is pumped into the structure, a horse is used to turn the paddles through the water and salt is collected on the paddles.
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Although I searched on the Internet, I could not find any reference to this method of collecting salt.
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On Ile de Ré, salt is typically collected from large rectangular salt ponds called ‘pans’. The salt is formed as the sun and wind ‘lift’ the salt from the water. The collection process is very labour-intensive. People stand on the narrow grassed dividers between ponds and ‘rake’ the fleur de sel (top layer of crystallised salt), collecting it into large salt piles. Fleur de sel is more expensive than table salt because of the complexity of the harvest. It is often sold in jars, is moist and contains sand which gives it a grey color. Some Ile de Ré salt has a pink tint, from its phytoplankton content!
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Do you know what the circular corral is used for? Do you think I have solved the mystery???
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Best View: a house covered with white roses …
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June 25, 2013 ‘house with white roses’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
forested dunes 6-12
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long empty roads (image from Street View)
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My virtual bike trip on day 12 of Phase 6 took me along a very uninteresting length of highway. Other, more interesting roads showed on the map, but Street View just didn’t go there. The houses along the way were screened by long stretches of walls …
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miles of walls (image from Street View)
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Sometimes the walls were covered in graffiti …
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miles of graffiti-covered walls (image from Street View)
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When I turned to travel along the beach, the first house I saw was a charming cottage named ‘Solitude’ …
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cozy cottage named Solitude (image from Street View)
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The rest of the route along the beach was obscured by trees. Although it meant I couldn’t see the beach, a forested dune is actually an environmental goal. There is lots of evidence that the eventual natural state of a dune is forest. In New Brunswick, we have only three forested dunes. Usually erosion of the grassed dune occurs long before forest is able to establish itself …
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forested dune along the north shore of Ile de Ré (image from Street View)
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Best View: a view across the salt marsh ponds near Le Gillieux ….
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June 25, 2013 ‘salt marsh on Ile de Re’ Jane Tims
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
seaweed for gardens and vines for trees 6-11
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greenery in a walled yard (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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I am nearing the end of Phase 6 of my virtual cycling trip through central France, but I am seeing so many interesting things, it is hard to look forward to the end. Today I saw a man digging seaweed into his garden. He had spread the seaweed uniformly across his garden and was slowly digging it into the soil …
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man digging seaweed into the garden (image from Street View)
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I am interested in gardening, so of course, I stopped to talk …
Jane: Bonjour. ‘Qu-est-ce que vous ajoutez au jardin???’ (‘Hello! What is it you are digging into your garden?’)
Gardener: ‘Bonjour. Ce sont des algues marines! Il sont très bon pour le sol.’ (‘Hello. I am adding seaweed. It is very good for the soil.’)
Jane: ‘Bon pour le sol? C’est vrai?’ (‘Good for the soil. Is that true?’)
Gardener: ‘Mais oui! Ils ajoutent la nourriture et les matières organiques aux sol!’ (‘Of course! They add nutrients and organic matter to the soil!’)
Jane: ‘D’où est-ce que vous avez obtainer ces algues marines?’ (‘Where did you get the seaweed?’)
Gardener: ‘Ah, juste à côté de l’ocean! Ils ne coûtent rien!’ (‘Ah, just by the ocean!’ It’s free!!!’)
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Using seaweed on gardens is common on this side of the Atlantic Ocean also. For example, in his book Vineyard Chill (Scribner, New York, 2008), Phillip R. Craig opened his mystery novel with a family going to the beach to gather seaweed for their garden on Martha’s Vineyard.
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There was lots of evidence of gardening and green thumbs on this part of my bike drive across Ile de Ré …
greenhouses on Ile de Ré (image from Street View)
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Best View: old trees, their trunks covered with vines (I loved doing this watercolor so much, I tried three versions) …
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June 17, 2013 ‘vine-covered trees #1’ Jane Tims
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June 17, 2013 ‘vine-covered trees #2’ Jane Tims
June 18, 2013 ‘vine-covered trees #3’ Jane Tims
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This is the view that inspired the paintings …
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vine-covered trees (image from Street View)
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
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