Be yourself

Be true to you...with a little help
make the connection
say what you feel
and smile, more

Word for 2011

My word of the year is TRY.
I give up too easily,
I don't start because I think I'll never finish,
This year if it looks interesting,
if it looks worthwhile,
if it's something I always wanted to do,
well, this year I'm going to TRY
and lets see how much more I can achieve

Thursday 11 November 2010

Why 'Magical Meadows'...?

Hello folks, how are you going?  Hope the week's going as you'd hoped;)

Edited to add - I'm so sorry for the fonty sillyness below.  Grrr.  Font gremlins.  Please bear with me, I'll try and clear it up soon, but not right now - or I'll miss my bus;)
Edited (much later) to add - let's try this again, and yes, I missed my bus anyway, sigh.

A couple of people have been asking why I chose to name this blog as I have.  I thought you might be curious too.  I know I often am when I'm a bloggy visitor.  Sometimes the answer appears self evident, sometimes it takes a couple of visits and the penny drops.  Sometimes, well, darned if I care -  just enjoy!

I set up this blog on the spur of the moment.  Been brewing in my mind for sometime.  Put on hold until I 'had time' to 'do it perfectly'.  But (a bit like bloggy lurking, flitting from link to link, you're not sure why or how you got where you got) there came a tipping point when I blinked and the deed was done - and so easy! (no 'cooling off period' ho ho) (and not perfect either, hey ho).

So, not a great deal of preparation (none!) on design or content.  And the title.............?

A bit like the character in a movie, a spy or somesuch (grrr, I can't think of a single example....) when caught in the wrong place/wrong time scenario and forced to give name, searches her surroundings and fabricates an alias from a neon sign, shop window, newspaper headline.  Still with me?

When blogspot asked for blog title I rolled my eyes, muttered curses, thought briefly 'I give up', and then realised my eyes had rested on a pile of mags and periodicals nearby.  You know what I'm talking about, 'How to live your dream in a (flippin' mind-numbingly expensive) Country Idyll', 743 7,430 ways to get organised and save time (yes I know - don't read articles like this!) a zillion tips to save money (likewise - don't waste money buying mags like this!).  Also, more usefully, our county's Wildlife Trust (do subscribe - save important habitats forever!), other conservation eco-mags, etc.etc.......

Resting on the top of this aspiring, inspiring and eclectic mix was a delightfully pretty paperback publication entitled "MAGical Meadows...and the Durham Magnesium Limestone".

Job done.  I claimed it at once.  Typed 'MagicalMeadows' into the relevant name/your/blog box clicked once and launched myself into the bloggysphere.

Ahh you say.  Lazy girl.  But let me tell you, there was good reason for my choice.  It wasn't only panic-buying!  It is where I live.

I love where I live.  The north-east.  It's an area discounted by many as boring, industrial, post-industrial, lacking character, lacking imagination.  Actually, it has everything.  Rich in history.  Spectacular scenary.  Wonderous wildlife.  Everything.  (well apart from some tasty vegan eateries and a branch of Wholefoods, but hey,  nowhere's perfect).

Pass through with a stranger's eyes, what would you see?  Take a look.  Small 'ex-mining' pit villages, hemmed between motorway, mainline railway, 'A' roads and backlanes.  Rows of back-to-back terraced streets, allotment gardens, churches and chapels.  Post-war (i.e.1950's) 'New Towns',  market squares, factory units, charity shops, community halls, quarries and mine-workings.  Supermarkets, shopping malls, pubs, clubs, war memorials and schools.  Sounds quaint? or grim? Both or neither, depends on your perspective I suppose.

But underpinning all - geology.  And linking all, on the surface - natural 'corridors'.

Little pockets of wonder -  bird sanctuaries, ponds and streams, copses and woods, hills and moors, and meadows.  Here comes the sciensy techy bit ........ 
“MAGical Meadows are the wildflower-rich grasslands found on thin soils overlying Magnesian Limestone rock.  In the UK Magnesian Limestone is restricted to a narrow band which stretches northwards from Nottinghamshire into Durham and Tyne and Wear.  The geographical position of the Magnesian Limestone acts as an ecological bridge between the chalks and limestones of northern Britain.  As a result magnesian limestone grassland contains unique assemblages of both southern and northern calcareous (lime-loving) plants.  Many of these plants are close to or at the limit of their natural growing range including Bee Orchid (Ophrys aptifera), Bird’s-eye Primrose (Primula farinose) and perennial Flax (Linum perenne).
Completely unique to east Durham and Tyne and Wear is the magnesian limestone grassland community containing Blue Moor-grass and Small Scabious (Sesleria caerulea – Scabiosa columbaria).  This community is not found anywhere else in the world and is both nationally and internationally important.”
Described as rare, valuable and unique, this habitat has been exploited and industrialised for millenia.  Species have perished, lost forever, more still at risk.  Conservation is imperative.  The quarries and their surrounding lands are crucial, little oasis in a desert of industry, at risk of infill with waste and effluent.   
There is no more beautiful, breathtaking or peaceful habitat on a summer's day.
And it's where I live. 

So there you are, just in case you were wondering.  And even if you weren't;)

Thanks for visiting.

pamela x

P.s, love to know, how did you choose your bloggy home? 

P.p.s., underpinninglinking ..... hey - it's a patchwork thing!  Even more apt, for a crafty sort of lass wouldn't you say?!

(say hello to 'Radio Blanket circa 1994, thrifted yarns, made up as I went along, all on a circular needle).
Edited to add - the second edit worked, result;)
http://www.durhambiodiversity.org.uk/magicalmeadows.htm

http://www.northeastwildlife.co.uk/gallery/

15 comments:

  1. Here here!

    Blog names..I came up with lots of cool names only to find them taken already.

    back many years ago(eh hem)I had big ideals of doing lots of fairs and such like, so I liked the idea that if asked where you purchased my craftwares the person could say summerfete.

    The only fairs I got round to do were Christmas ones, where summerfete felt a little odd.
    I'm always trying out new names, selfsewn is the one for now, linking my sewing and my gardening.

    I had played around with names about The New Forest. I came up with Blue Forest (blue was my Grandmas fav colour).
    After much thought I decided it sounded to seedy, if you get my meaning! LOL

    Clare

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  2. Firstly can I say I love your blanket!!
    Good for you for being proud of where you come from, me too!! Coming from the North East of England you also have the added advantage of having one of the best regional accents in the UK (along with ours of course ;))
    My blog name?? Simple, favourite colour, favourite animal!!
    Vivienne x

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  3. Great post Pamela - I read it twice! I LOVE your story of how you came up with your name - I feel your pain about the font gremlins AND missing your bus! I am having font issues as well and for some reason once I publish, I cannot go back and edit - it did not do that at the beginning so I don't know what is wrong. For my blog name ... I just picked my business name - no originality there. But I chose my business name (Inside Out Design) because I am first an organizer at heart and so I like to design someone's house from the inside (of their closets, etc.) to the out (decorating). For me, what happens 'inside' is more important than the outside - a pretty package on the outside is just a facade if there is nothing great inside. And it is also a symbol of my faith in Jesus - that He cleanses me from the inside out - changing my heart first (what does He say, otherwise you are just a whitewashed pot?). So, for me, the name means a lot - interestingly, it is not all that original - I had NO idea I wasn't being completely original and clever but when I went to register at a furniture showroom there were already several designers with the same name (UGH!) and when I google'd it when I started blogging there are way too many! And weirdly there is someone with my exact name with a design business named Inside Out Design in NEW YORK (I am in California)... so when I started blogging I thought I should change my business name - get something more original - but I LIKE my name and it means a lot to me and you know, all my cards, and letterhead, and records and licenses ... so then I thought maybe I should change my real name! (No, just kidding) ... anyway that is my long story to why I chose my blog name ;)
    P.S. Your blanket is GORGEOUS! xo Sherri

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  4. P. S. I couldn't figure out why my photo wasn't on your followers... figured it out - I pushed the wrong button when I followed you. Okay now your have a nice clean square of followers!

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  5. And It's the best name you could have given this blog, Pam. It came to you, and that is the true way of all inspiration, letting our sub conscious take over for a change whilst letting go of the conscious mind. I will follow you with interest.

    Are you in Northumberland by any chance? An area I've always wanted to visit x

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  6. oh, i'm so glad you accidentally found my blog and left a comment, so i am lucky enough to find yours! i loved this post, everything about it. and like you, i always wonder about a blog name's origin, so i start my relationship with yours already knowing the answer. :) i also really appreciate it when someone feels (and shares) a connection to their place - especially when it's a geologic and natural connection. i do feel that here in manhattan, but i feel it more deeply in texas, where i am originally from. i'm an 8th generation texan, so the limestone that's underneath a whisper of dirt is definitely part of my bones. nice to meet you!

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  7. Thanks
    - to you all for taking the time and trouble to leave your thoughts - so welcome and very interesting:)
    - Lobma and Lori, a special hello, lovely to see you here and share an interconnected moment in space and time!
    - only in Northumberland in the eyes of the Tourist Board ' the ancient and mysterious Kingdom of Northumbria stretches from Berwick in the north to York in the south blah blah...' which puts me slap in the middle. Actually in County Durham.

    Oh, and Radio Blanket basks in the warmth of friendly praise;)

    Hugs
    pamela x

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  8. Gosh - I've got several blogs - I guess I'm a bit of a blog-a-holic. :) I guess if you're going to have a vice, it may as well be this one!

    My "main" blog - http://knownbyname.wordpress.com - why? Well - long and drawn out - you can read about it here: http://knownbyname.wordpress.com/about/why-known-by-name/ - long story short... who doesn't want to be known by name? Right?

    My "knitting" blog - http://yarnfest.wordpress.com - started when a bunch of us at church decided we should direct our crafting somewhere with purpose - i.e., sort of a charity knitting group. It's taken off a bit! :)

    My "weight loss surgery" blog - http://livingthedslife.wordpress.com - just that - all about living life as a DS post-op and all that it entails.

    And then I've got a couple of group-specific blogs - for some groups that I lead.

    Seems like they will eventually kind of name themselves, given the chance. Much like yours did! :) Lovely to find you!

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  9. Wow Yarnfest you're a blogging legend for sure;) Thank you for all that I'll be over to take a lookie this evening!

    pamela x

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  10. Hello Pamela, thanks for visiting my blog and becoming a follower. I too love where I live, it is such an interesting place to spend time. I love thinking that I live in the Ancient Kingdom of Northumbria. I originally come from Sunderland, but really hate the way that the authorities there are hell bent on embracing everything new and modern at the cost of destroying so much of the history and past of the town. It has so much to be proud of and should be a major historical city, but all that has been swept away in a quest for bland modernity - oops rant over - but basically that is why escaped, but still live on the banks of the Wear.

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  11. Hello Simply Vintage, lovely to meet up with you in blogland;) I agree with you about Sunderland although I have to admit that although I'm familier with all towns and villages along the river through Weardale and county Durham, I've not spent much time at the other end as it reaches the sea. I tend to see Sunderland through binoculars from Hartlepool Headlands or Blackhall Rocks when we're out for windswept walks. Looks magnificent from there;)

    take care
    pamela x

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  12. Hi Pamela, thanks for visiting my blog and for your lovely comment. I've heard of similar situations about bats setting off fire alarms! You have a lovely blog and great writing style - love the story of how you came up with the name! My blog name came from the type of crafts I was making at the time and the fact that I was bound to blog about "other things". :) x

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  13. Nice name for a blog Pamela. The story behind the name...amazing!

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  14. Hi Pamela - thanks for your lovely messages, have caught up with you now. Try not to get too down over the house - if I'M doing my best to keep positive at the moment then you should at least try!

    My blog name is my alias for everything really. When I was studying French I liked the idiom "avoir la tete en l'air" for 'to have one's head in the clouds' - it suits me as not only am I very tall but also love a good daydream and procrastinate :)

    I love the North East - we're so lucky to be surrounded by National Parks.

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  15. I truly love your blog.. Excellent colors & theme. Did
    you develop this site yourself? Please reply back as I'm hoping to create my own personal site and would love to know where you got this from or exactly what the theme is named. Many thanks!

    Here is my web site :: MEDAL OF HONOR WARFIGHTER Aimbot

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Thanks for visiting, please feel welcome to leave your thoughts and comments, love pamela xxx