nichepoetryandprose

For eight months now, I have been encouraging myself to exercise by pretending to cycle far from home.  I use Street View in Google Earth to explore the countryside in parts of the world where I have never been except in imagination.  From January 30, 2013 to June 28, 2013, I cycled virtually in Central France, from Lusignan to Ile de Ré.  Since July 1, 2013, I have been following the coast in Cornwall, beginning in Rame.  In each post, I have presented Street View images I have ‘seen’ along the road.  I have also shown you the drawings and watercolours inspired by the images.

~

Change is always refreshing to me, so I am going to alter the way I report my bike trips.  In part I am doing this in order to be able to do more posts in my ‘colour of the month’ series and about writing my novel.  I might also return to posting some of my poems.

~

In each post, I’ll report on one or more of my days of exercise, and I will show you the drawing or watercolour and the Street View image that inspired the art.  I hope you enjoy comparing the ‘real’ image with my artistic interpretation.

~

map showing distance travelled for day 32 to day 34 (map from Google Earth)

~

7-32  Sept. 24, 2013  40 minutes  3.0 km  (Portscatho to Bohantha)

~

South of Portscatho, fields are separated by hedges and rows of mature trees.  I loved this view of trees against the blue water of the Atlantic …

~

inspiration for ‘row of trees south of Portscatho’ (Image from Street View)

~

September 21, 2013 ‘row of trees south of Portscatho’ Jane Tims

~

7-33  Sept. 28, 2013  35 minutes  3.0 km  (Bohantha to St. Mawes)

~

My virtual bike trip on September 28 took me along the Froe River at low tide.  The brown mud dominated the scene and reminded me of some of the areas around Moncton, New Brunswick where we have huge differences between high and low tide and spectacular carved mudflats …

~

inspiration for ‘Froe Creek’ (image from Street View)

~

September 19, 2013 ‘Froe Creek’ Jane Tims

~

7-34  September 30, 2013  30 minutes  3.0 km  (St. Mawes to St. Just in Roseland)

~

I continue to be enchanted by the way the roadside vegetation is managed in Cornwall.  There are strict rules about how and when to trim the vegetation of the verges (the area between the hedge and the road surface) and the hedge.  The Cornish roadside hedges are unique in having a ‘stone and turf’ structure.  The hedge is basically a stone-faced earth bank,  The vertical face of the hedgerow is populated by ferns and flowering plants. On top of the hedge is turf or a shrubby hedgerow.  This area is often occupied by oak and other mature tree species.

~

The resulting environment provides habitat for wild life species, including the wild flowers that have been a delight along every bit of my virtual journey.  When vines occupy the face of the hedge, it means the hedge has been cut back too severely.

~

For a fascinating read, have a look at the leaflet ‘Cornish Hedge Management For hedges adjacent to highways’ at http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=13777

~

inspiration for ‘road near St. Just in Roseland’ Image from Street View)

~

September 26, 2013 ‘road near St. Just in Roseland’ Jane Tims

~

I hope you have enjoyed this part of my virtual journey.  Please let me know what you think when you compare my watercolours with the images that inspired them.

~

Copyright 2013  Jane Tims