Dry stone wall

Almost all of the front garden of this house in Dysart Avenue has been paved for parking so it is a relief that the front wall is lovely. A simple dry stone wall in this style would have been enough and making it into a planter for a hedge is even better.

Dysart Avenue is an absolute pig of a road to walk down because it is narrow, uneven and blocked at intervals by trees and street furniture, and it is finding things like this wall that make the walk bearable. 

Fallen trees in Ham Common Woods

There are many paths winding trough Ham Common Woods and while I go in there quite often I am sure there are paths that I have not walked for a year or more and so I can still be surprised. On a recent walk I made a point of avoiding my usual paths and was rewarded with fallen trees.

This one did not cause much of a problem and it looked quite statuesque in its fallen state so I was happy to see it.

 

This blockage was far more troublesome and I had to back-track.

This may have fallen quite recently as normally when this happens a new path is created around the obstruction by determined walkers but there was no such path here, and there may never be as there are so many other paths to choose from that changing track is much easier than forcing a way through.

Lovely garden

While too many people are replacing their front gardens with paving or fake grass there are still many gardens that spark enjoyment as I walk past. This example in Wates Estate, I forget exactly where, is a good one, the garden is small and all it takes is a few flowers along the borders to make something lovely.

Progress on Hunter's Pond

There is quite a bit to do to make Hunter's Pond (under the bridge between Ham House and Hammertons Ferry) a special habitat but it is taking shape. The low barrier is there to provide shelter from the tidal flows.

Platinum Jubilee Plaque

The Jubilee Plaque, on Petersham Road by the entrance to Deutsche Schule, has gone through a few changes over the year which are explained in the section at the bottom. The latest restoration was, fairly obviously, for the Platinum Jubilee this year.

I love the map partially because I love all maps and I love this one even more as it supports my theory that the nebulous Petesham extends little beyond this plaque.

Big tree missing

All the remains of this mature tree on Ham Common is a low mound of shredded wood. It seems to have been felled and removed very quickly as I am pretty sure that I had walked past that spot just a day or two previously and the gap was not there then.

1 Wiggins Cottages

Another in an occasional series of functional and decorative house number signs.

Wild flowers

I have posted a picture of the wild flowers on Ham Village Green before and make no excuses for doing so again.

These and the other improvements to Ham Village Green, e.g. trees, seats and art, highlight how Ham Common is being left behind, it should be the focal point for Ham but it lacks the facilities to do so.

The Good Wine Shop

The Good Wine Shop is, apparently, a shop though not a particularly local one so it is a little odd to see an advertisement for it on the front fence of the cricket club. Of course there is a good wine shop nearby, Taylor's, which is where I buy my wine.