Saturday 31 October 2015

PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT and SATURDAY CRITTERS

For October's Photo Scavenger Hunt, I am doing something a little different.   I have been encouraging a friend over the summer to write short stories and as she is always up for a challenge, I decided to ask her to write a story around the photographs and word prompts for this month. However she was a little busy so I decided to have a go myself of WRITING a story.  So sit back and enjoy what I have come up with in story and photographs.   
The word prompts will be in CAPITALS and in bold.
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Every summer was exciting because in July and August the two sets of cousins came together when the families rented cottages on Mr Browns farm.   Although this farm was in the countryside, it was also a short walk to the sea and a wonderful beach. Mr Brown was FAMILIAR at seeing the children around his farm.  The blond bomb shells were Colleen and Charlie who lived on the Isle of Wight and the ginger heads were David and Daisy, from Australia.


TODAY began their summer adventures on the farm.  
They had named themselves ‘The Formidable Four'.


Early the first morning, it had been agreed for each of them to pack a bag with drinks and any goodies they could find in their Mum’s cupboards, start off as dawn broke, meeting outside cottage NUMBER 3.  



Colleen who was the oldest, was WRITING a note for Mum telling her they were off on an adventure when Charlie told her to stop wasting time and hurry up.

Quietly they crept out of bed while their parents slept, dressed, remembering to put on their boots, raided the fridge and tins of baking that Colleen's Dad had done for this holiday.  He is a chef.  Opened the first gate and although it creaked terribly, no one else was up to hear it.  David said his Dad would probably have WD40 to sort that out later.  They were amazed how the dew was highlighting the MANY cobwebs on the brambles in the hedgerows. Daisy, who was the poetic one among them, thought they looked like diamonds sparkling in the morning sun.

David had brought his binoculars as he was interested in getting to know the birds in the UK.  He had been a birder in Australia for 4 years now and even thought he might like to work as an ornithologist after finishing university. He spotted a Robin and Wren as the first most vocal birds of the morning, then Greenfinch, a company of Linnets and a murmuration of Starlings rising from their roost from under one of the bridges. 

While the other three was strolling up the field, heading to the sea, Colleen was doing cartwheels.  She was very supple and wanted to be a dancer so was always practising.


 Through another field they found Mr Brown's bullocks grazing,   Suddenly Hector, the bull, rose from his sitting position and headed in their direction with his big RING through his nose.  Mr Brown had warned them about him and said Hector often liked a good chase and that was certainly what was happening TODAY.  Charlie had brought a stick with them, but it was not up to stopping a bull.  However the bull was intent on charging and was joined by all the other bullocks.  The cattle were having such fun, not so the children as they sprinted to the nearest hedgerows, just managing to struggle through the brambles and over the fence, falling in a heap before the cattle reached them.  Phew!   That was close, Charlie said, time for a break and something to eat.


Daisy produced Custard CREAM biscuits for everyone but Charlie's biscuits were BROKEN when he fell over the fence but as everyone loved chocolate, nobody minded and they were scoffed down.



They decided to head for the beach and ran along the walkway.  David spotted a beautiful Black headed gull with its white eye RING  and there were Eider ducks on the bay.  He explained to Daisy that was where the DOWN came from for her Eiderdown duvet.   


Colleen found a BROKEN egg shell that David carefully put in his bag so he could ID it when he returned to his cottage to check out his bird book.   



Daisy climbed on this tree stump and entertained them by singing her favourite songs before jumping DOWN onto the soft sand.  Charlie walked along the shore line looking for different coloured shells as he knew his Mum collected them while Colleen continued her hand stands and other gymnastic manoeuvres. 


All the cousins loved coming to Northern Ireland for their summers.   They enjoyed walking up and DOWN the Drumlins of Co. DOWN.  (OWN CHOICE)


Charlie said they should make their way to Mrs Galway’s Cottage.  She always had some sweeties for them.  They arrived at NUMBER 2 Coastguard Cottages.  It was very pretty and Mrs Galway loved working in her flower garden.  
There was no bell to ring so they hammered on a large door knocker.  


No answer, so they made their way round the side and shouted over the fence in case she was working in her back garden.  No answer again but Colleen said they could climb this LATTICE fence as Mrs Galway would not mind if they had their lunch in her summerhouse that they were so FAMILIAR with.


Charlie said he hoped his Dad was not cross that he had taken all the CREAM buns that he had made for Daisy's birthday the next day.    Certainly Daisy didn't mind at all as they looked scrumptious and anyway, she said her uncle would probably rustle up more for tomorrow. 


David had also managed to bring lovely slices of cake decorated with white icing and brown LATTICE work on them.  With homemade lemonade and the sausage rolls that Colleen managed to smuggle out, they had a wonderful feast.  


Since Mrs Galway never appeared, they left promising to return to see her soon as they loved her stories of the 'olden days'.

Charlie said he thought they better head home and as they were passing through one field, they noticed it had a great MANY black covered round bales of hay in it .  So they stopped and had great fun time climbing over the 2 stack high bales and also playing hide and seek in the spaces between each of them.  


Back at the cottages when their parents had woken up, David's Dad, Jon, had gone to the next cottage to ask the QUESTION, "Do you know where the children have gone"? 


Paul showed him the note and said, I suppose, you really needn't have asked that QUESTION, as every year as soon as we get here they are off on some adventure or other.  I think they may have gone along the walkway to the beach today.  I'm certain it won't be long before they return home for their dinner because I am sure they will be starving by now. Then we will hear all about about their adventures today.

I hope you enjoyed this challenge that I set myself.

I am linking up with PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT  and  SATURDAY CRITTTERS

Thanks you for visiting and also to all those who leave comments.

41 comments:

  1. HI Margaret, I thoroughly enjoyed your story and all the photos. Well done!

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  2. This is really wonderful and cool time.

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  3. What an exciting adventure these kids had. What a relief they got out of the bullocks' way! By the time they returned home, they must have been very hungry and tired. What a day!

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  4. A fun time those two sets of cousins were having and good to see the Aussies. Great shot of Daisy jumping from the tree trunk .... hope she had a soft landing

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  5. Clever and fun.
    The photo of the shining jewels on the cobweb was incredible.

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  6. What a brilliant idea and such an original spin on the challenge - I really enjoyed it. Also impressed that you found several examples for some of the words! Loved your idea for ring and Daisy jumping from the tree stump. The cottages are so pretty - you live in a lovely part of the world. x

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  7. A very enjoyable story with wonderful illustrations! I would LOVE one of those cupcakes!

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  8. Clever way to show us all these scavenger hunt photos!

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  9. Hello Margaret, I enjoyed reading about the cousin's adventure. Sounds like a fun time. Great photos for your hunt and I love the Eider and gull. Great post! Thank you so much for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

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  10. Hi Y'all!

    If I had to choose a favorite photo, I couldn't. Each photo seems better than the one before.

    Y'all come on by,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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  11. How very delightful!!!!! Wishing you a grand day!!

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  12. A great way of showing your lovely photos.Well done.Im impressed you got the Bull's ring and lovely shots of the children.x

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  13. Hi Margaret - I'm back after a much-needed break from blogging. I LOVED this post, and reading about the adventures of the cousins!!

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  14. Hi Margaret, thanks for visiting my blog & commenting on my very 1st post. Like the way you turned the Scavenger Hunt into a short story. The photo looking out over the Drumlins is such beautiful scenery. What a wonderful place to go walking on a nice day.

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  15. Nice Eiders!

    Shame about the young man with the Chelsea shirt though................hope he grows out of that!

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  16. Margaret good job with this. Please see my Wednesday challenge for a picture and story and join in!

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  17. What a fun saga, with great photos!

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  18. so much fun stuff...and great adventures!!! i do adore sweet treats!!!!

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  19. Hello Margaret. I've enjoyed your story about the Formidable Four and their adventurous time on holiday. It looks like an idyllic place to have a vacation even if there's a bull roaming around! Your story is just as good as the ones I used to read about the Famous Five and an inventive way to illustrate your scavenger hunt challenge!

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  20. Wow Margaret, this is really writing with photos! I love the one with the little girl jumping down.

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  21. All truly wonderful pictures! I really like the Eider.

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  22. That first photo is so amazing! This is a beautiful post from start to finish, Margaret. I'm sorry I haven't been around lately, things have been so hectic lately.
    ~

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  23. What a lovely family. What a sensation of the pictures, fantastic.

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  24. How exciting to scamper along with the cousins on their adventure ~ and what an adventure it was! Your pictures bring the story to life. The dazzling spider web is stunning, and the photo of Daisy caught in mid-jump shows the energy that is felt throughout the story. Terrific! Another picture and story next month?

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  25. Margaret, wonderful adventure and pictorial story. Thanks for sharing.

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  26. fantastic photos and story!

    happy halloween!

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  27. I really enjoyed your story and photos, what a great idea to write a story around the word prompts:)

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  28. How clever, and such lovely photos! The cobweb looks like strings of diamonds, and you caught Daisy jumping down in perfect motion.

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  29. Brilliant! What a clever way to present the scavenger hunt - and a great adventure too :)

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  30. Wow, nice images and adventure.

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  31. Wonderful photos and a great story. I wish you a peaceful Sunday.

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  32. Super post Margaret and such a great idea. Loved the story and the photos - really enjoyed. Thank you.

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  33. The cobweb shot and the green valley one are my favorites, but they are all good.

    Thank you for alerting me about my link. I deleted it and re did it and checked and it now leads back to my site.

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  34. What a lovely Scavenger Hunt story! Loved the narrative of the awesome photos! The children are all such handsome and lovely kids!

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  35. Hello Margaret. A thoughly enjoyable read and great images.You certainly rose to the challenge, and produced some wonderful creative writing. and as i it turns out you are not only a good photographer but a wonderful story teller. Good job!:)

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  36. Very clever Margaret. I really enjoyed the story and the photos. You have certainly set a very high bar. BTW, I agree your grand daughter does look very like mine.

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  37. Brilliant Margaret - a lovely story and the kids look like they're having so much fun
    It's very handy for us living in Down for this challenge this month :)
    Fair play to you for getting that photo of the ring in the bull's nose too.
    Fil @ Fil’s Place - Old songs and Memories

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  38. Really enjoyed your story Margaret! Such a great idea, and quite a challenge. Fabulous photos too - love the one of Daisy jumping, great bird shots and fantastic food! Those cupcakes are perfect and don't think I've ever seen a custard cream look so good! We're just back from Northern Ireland seeing family, so, lovely seeing familiar countryside :)

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  39. What a lovely idea Margaret! Loved your cobweb photo and Daisy in mid air.

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  40. This was fabulous, Margaret! And so creative! I thoroughly enjoyed the story about the two sets of cousins ~ How cute are they! It's always fun to see what people do! Thank you for sharing!

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