John & Carol Pearce » Uncategorized http://johncarolpearce.com Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:44:41 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.3 Snow in Budleigh! http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/snow-in-budleigh/ http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/snow-in-budleigh/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:38:36 +0000 Carol http://johncarolpearce.com/?p=110 bystock pools11IMG_3109IMG_3124IMG_3110Most unusually, Budleigh has had snow this year. Very beautiful….
The cold winter in the UK has also meant that thousands of birds have been coming to the estuaries of the Exe and the Otter for food and shelter, so we have enjoyed spotting them (and trying to identify them!)
We put solar panels onto our roof this year and when the sun shines we make a lot of our electricity (and get paid for it!) Not, however, when they’re covered in snow…..

]]> http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/snow-in-budleigh/feed/ 1 Venice http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/venice/ http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/venice/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:38:20 +0000 Carol http://johncarolpearce.com/?p=107 st m sq 2masks 4waterfront (16)IMG_2556In November we took ourselves to Venice for a week. It was, of course, beautiful and we walked many miles exploring and getting lost among the canals and alleys.
On the Sunday we took part in an orienteering competition – a challenging experience which necesstitated dodging tourists and finding routes that led to bridges! John came in 6th in his class, and Carol 3rd in hers.

]]> http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/venice/feed/ 1 Our garden in Budleigh http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/our-garden-in-budleigh/ http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/our-garden-in-budleigh/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:38:01 +0000 Carol http://johncarolpearce.com/?p=104 27 Junefruit and veg (10)fruit and veg (4)IMG_2273We had quite a drought in Devon during the summer. But we enjoyed the produce from our new fruit and veg garden – which we created back in February.
In the autumn we created a nice paved sitting-out area, with a pergola which should provide a bit of shade once we’ve planted climbers to scramble all over it.

]]> http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/our-garden-in-budleigh/feed/ 0 Round the world to see the family – 3: Belize http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/round-the-world-to-see-the-family-3-belize/ http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/round-the-world-to-see-the-family-3-belize/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:37:43 +0000 Carol http://johncarolpearce.com/?p=102 099 Ambergris caye066 Ambergris caye017 Ambergris caye029 Ambergris caye055 Ambergris cayeAnd then to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. This little Caribbean town is colourful and friendly; the sea is warm and clear. Jex and Evie have been attending The Island Academy where they have been very happy. I did a scuba diving qualification so I could dive down to 60′ on the outside face of the coral reef – an amazing experience!

]]> http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/round-the-world-to-see-the-family-3-belize/feed/ 1 Round the world to see the family – 2: Guatemala http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/round-the-world-to-see-the-family-2-guatemala/ http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/round-the-world-to-see-the-family-2-guatemala/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:37:22 +0000 Carol http://johncarolpearce.com/?p=99 Tikal 045X and EP 024Lamani 27X and EP 053May 2010 saw us heading to Central America. A week in Guatemala was a great opportunity to see some of the Mayan sites which are being partially restored from their encroachment by the jungle.

]]> http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/round-the-world-to-see-the-family-2-guatemala/feed/ 0 Round the world to see the family – 1: India http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/round-the-world-to-see-the-family-1-india/ http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/round-the-world-to-see-the-family-1-india/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:37:03 +0000 Carol http://johncarolpearce.com/?p=97 me at tajindia may09 213bombay-nashik037india may09 018The 2 grannies went out to India to see Jex and Evie (and their parents!). We spent time in the heat of Nashik where Jayne was working for Sula Vineyards. Then took a train ride to Agra for the magical visit to the Taj Mahal, and an adventurous and exciting trip up to Manali in the Himalayas.

]]> http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/22/round-the-world-to-see-the-family-1-india/feed/ 1 The Antipodean trip http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/20/89/ http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/20/89/#comments Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:11:44 +0000 Carol http://johncarolpearce.com/?p=89 D Sound 53O 021O 040wine 07Sydney 12High time I added a few of our favourite photos from the last few months. They’re a mixture of our travels and our life here in Devon….
Let’s start with some memories of our trip to Australia and New Zealand last year…
We took part in the World Masters Games based in Sydney. The event included some ‘sprint’ orienteering in urban settings, including the Olympic Park; then there were longer courses out in the Blue Mountains which – with their cliffs and gum forests – presented some interesting navigational challenges!
The holiday also allowed us to meet up with friends in both Australia and New Zealand – and also included several vineyard as well as trips such as the one shown above down Doubtful Sound in the S Island of NZ.

]]> http://johncarolpearce.com/2010/12/20/89/feed/ 0 Training for Australia http://johncarolpearce.com/2009/09/23/training-for-australia/ http://johncarolpearce.com/2009/09/23/training-for-australia/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:02:06 +0000 Carol http://johncarolpearce.com/?p=40 We are heading out to Australia and New Zealand for the month of October, leaving the cats in the capable hands of 3 house sitters. The trip will be a combination of visiting friends, visiting vineyards and wineries, and taking part in orienteering events – including the World Masters Orienteering Championships in Sydney and the Blue Mountains. We have been training for the trip – one of us more energetically than the other!jurassic 10k 06This was the Jurassic Coast 10k run!jurassic 10k 14U3A Wine group 2 & I run a Wine Appreciation group!

]]> http://johncarolpearce.com/2009/09/23/training-for-australia/feed/ 0 Our place in France http://johncarolpearce.com/2009/09/23/our-place-in-france/ http://johncarolpearce.com/2009/09/23/our-place-in-france/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:00:42 +0000 Carol http://johncarolpearce.com/?p=45 We have an apartment in the village of La Clusaz in the Haute Savoie. This is a lovely corner of France – we go there in winter for skiing and in summer for walking and climbing. We spent a few days there in September  and did a good climb onthe mountain of La Tournette (between Annecy and Thones)                                                                               

shedjune09 17        shed 12

shed 13

]]> http://johncarolpearce.com/2009/09/23/our-place-in-france/feed/ 0 Summer at Budleigh http://johncarolpearce.com/2009/09/23/summer-at-budleigh/ http://johncarolpearce.com/2009/09/23/summer-at-budleigh/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:50:59 +0000 Carol http://johncarolpearce.com/?p=38 Had a very changeable summer here weather-wise, so we haven’t been on the beach as much as I thought we would. But we’ve enjoyed having lots of visitors and exploring the area around with them. Dartmoor is a real wilderness of course, but we are exploring it , climbing the tors and finding out about the archaeology. And then there’s the coastal path…. We’ve done various trips on boats, been to local vineyards, watched cricket, gorged on music concerts, seen otters, and collected fossils.

houndtor 2On Hound Tor

P1040921Fishing off Budleigh beach 

with D and A 1With friends on the coastal path

U3A recorder group 1Playing in the recorder group

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