More ruins

More from the run-down cottage and outbuildings you saw yesterday.  Always a good hunting-ground for snaps, old places are.  Unfortunately the owner had put a big chain around the gates, so there was no getting up close and dirty, so to speak.  But that's probably a good thing - I think I'd be a bit of a liability poking around a place like this.

Nature taking over

Isn't it amazing how quickly nature takes over?  No matter how much work humans put in to making things look permanent it doesn't take long for decay to set in.  I'm sure that when this little house was occupied it was well cared for and probably had a nice wee garden out front.  Now I like a walk round a garden as much as the next person, but I just can't bring myself to get too carried away with the whole gardening thing.  Leave the best tended garden alone for a month or two and it will look very different.  I like gardens to be low-maintenance and prefer a wild look about them.  It's more natural (in my eyes) than a garden which has been fussed over and is full of weird and wonderful colours which aren't found in the local countryside.  But that's just me - give me Cow Parsley over a Carthusian Pink anyday.

Lovely stonework

I like the walls in this old building.  Not much sign of cement, the stones are just placed on top of each other.  And look how thick the walls are.  The house I grew up in (and where Mother still lives) has similar walls.  Inside they are plastered and outside is rendered and dashed, so it all looks fine, but completely impossible to drill a hole into when hanging a heavy picture or mirror.  The house has stood for over 100 years, so the old stone walls have held up well - no mean feat given the winter storms we have in these parts.