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Tim Manwaring

@timmanwaring.bsky.social
650 followers 1.9K following 809 posts

Social account. Mainly photos and hope. Garden Centre Receptionist of the Year 1996. Driver Trainer, Forest of Bowland.

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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
When the chap who has come to clear the wasps' nest from your attic exclaims "wow, that's friggin' huge", you begin to wonder whether nuking it from orbit may be the only way... (We've tried to ignore this for two years, but they were finding their way into the youngest's (wasp phobic) room daily.)
A photo of another phone, with a picture of a roofspace with old insulation between the woodwork, slates, and a wasps' nest larger than a football attached to them.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Rainbows. #my400.
Rainbow over the hill, field and trees in foreground, leaves framing.Rainbow (hint of a double) over the garden with overgrown lawn and lots of leafy shrubs and trees.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Morning. #my400
Two sheep, one black, one white, in the field at the end of the garden. Fence line and trees beyond are hazy from mist. A watery sun has just risen above the river and hills are hinted at. Blue skies above and everything is framed by the last of the leaves on the wild cherry tree.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Picklin'.
5 assorted jars of pickles. Red cabbage, and a variety of gherkin sizes.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Misty morning hop to work today.
A road leads through the moor and past a tree to the left. To the right, an old barn with a hole in its roof stands empty. The hills beyond are hazy, and the sunrise glows yellow from behind peach clouds.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Bit of a misty morning hound wander today. #my400
Green sheep field, old manor house and trees fading into mist.Tree, in fence line, mist.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The 'Grip' statue of a lifesized artists' mannikin in bronze(?), looking over Saddell bay to Arran. Small sailing yacht in the distance. Blue skies.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
We can only afford the shed around the corner!
A window view with printed curtains, rocky foreshore and gloomy sea view from Cul na Shea at Saddell bay landmark trust.co.uk.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Trees, with buzzard(?). #my400
Grazing field in foreground, with a large bank of broadleaf trees taking up half the frame. Blue sky, with a single buzzard(?) above.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The day job. #my400
One of the Bowland Peatland Partnership trucks in the far end of one of the Forest of Bowland's harder to reach valleys. Track, grass, hills and moorland. Very cloudy sky above.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Forgot to add this.
Elevation map of route. 51 mins, 7.5 miles. Up 764ft, down 984ft.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
It's getting late. (I've made jam, chutney and beer with the plums from this tree. I'm not sure how to harvest butterflies.)
Red Admiral butterfly on a rotting plum still hanging from the tree. Green shed out of focus behind.Same butterfly and plum. This time the plum is in focus.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
bUT i b0uGhT A Bo0K! (^your statement also feels like a truism for much of the world beyond umbellifers right now, tbh)
A green covered paperback on an orange footstool: Umbellifers of the British Isles, by TG Tutin, BSBI Handbook No2.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I agree that the logo is both simple and beautiful, as well as effective, but is it a swallow ascending, or a goose descending?!
Artwork of a swallow in flight.Photograph of a goose in flight.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Morning.
Gherkins. Pickling in a jar with a fennel frond, peppercorns, and coriander and mustard seeds. There's a garlic clove in there somewhere too.Ginger beer, which I'm hoping will naturally ferment. If it doesn't, I'll chuck some yeast in. Red bits are chilli flakes. I had spare ginger after making the plum and ginger ale and plum jam from the very generous plum tree in the garden, so there was only one thing to do...
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Thought I'd get a bit technological with my eclipse photo!
View of fields and hills below the outline of cardboard eclipse glasses, with a tiny orange crescent visible through them.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Arran.
Grey sea. Tiny sailing boat. Big grey island and sky.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
KJ's Sandwich Cafe.
A workshop at a council depot.sign above the open door says "KJ's Sandwich Cafe", but the more official looking sign on the door says "Street Lighting Workshop". There is a give way sign laying on its side in the window,next to a "Pay at machine across road" parking sign. A large red sign on the wall requests that we "do not leave any rubbish or spent lamps in or out side workshop" under which someone has ironically placed an old fashioned black bin, with the number 4 stencilled on it. Red brick, sky scowling.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Poppy. #my400
An open poppy flower. I think it may be 'Patty's Plum'. It looks almost grey, like a goth flower, but there are hints of purple also.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
www.carsized.com/en/ is great for relatively recent comparisons. Here (left) is the car our family of 3+dog did a 700mile round trip to visit family for a week Vs a Ford Explorer, when our family car (right) conked out!
Image comparing the size of a 2013 Chevrolet Spark to a Ford Explorer.Picture comparing the size of a 2007 Vauxhall (Opel) Astra estate with the same Ford Explorer. Both cars look like kids go karts in the comparisons.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Peony.
Close up of the centre of a peony flower. Yellow centre, white petals with a hint of pink blush.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Bee bum.
Wide angle close up view of a pink foxglove with a bee just heading into one of the flowers. Sweet pea stands strung up behind, with a backdrop of cherry tree.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
I was working at Salts when he faxed "Tennis" over (I think it was this one). Behind the scenes there were several boxes of copies of it which maybe weren't quite right - I still kick myself for not grabbing one.
A photo of the David Hockney faxed artwork "Tennis" - a black and white abstract piece made up of 140+ individual sheets of A4 paper, which I think was faxed from the US to Salts Mill, Saltaire in Yorkshire.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
I like the way the hedge snakes away and, somewhere, becomes a dry stone wall. As this path follows the river I assume the hedge is on the flood plane, and the dry stone starts once the risk is past. #my400
View from a shady tree lined path, over a barbed wire fence to fields and a barn beyond. Blue sky, white clouds.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
I'm kicking myself as I didn't check what tree this was. However, all of these webs were at the ends of branches, which (a quick search) would suggest fall web-worm, just at the wrong time of year. Anyone know what is going on here?
Large caterpillar web bundling leaves and flower stems at the end of a branch. Presumably fall web-worm, but it seems rather early for that....
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
It's the colours that do it for me this time of year. #my400
Woodland edge, bright lime leaves in sun,with pines behind. Blue skies with whispy white cloud.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Bee humming cherry. #my400
Large cherry tree, laden with white blossom. Raised beds in front, hill and sky beyond. Sunny day.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
"How dare you. I'm bloody lovely."
One of the poodles. A black (ish) one, with clipped ears, and grass around his mouth, looking rather pissed off (though this is an anthropomorphisation, as he really wasn't - he's a big, thick, former show boy). Strangely, the more poodle-esque one (smaller, fluffier, with big ears, tail and ankle poms) will at first try to lick you to death and piss on your shoes, but if angered will let you know in no uncertain terms that she will, without hesitation, rip your face off if you do "that" again.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Reminds me of this flowchart about children's toys:
Flowchart, titled: How to tell if a toy is for boys or girls: a guide. The top circle has the question "Do you operate this toy with your genitalia?", the yes line leads to "This toy is not for children.", the no line leads to "This toy is for either girls or boys.".
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Easter pickle club eggs.
Photo of a plate with a toasted sandwich cut diagonally, with the four quarters of a pickled egg arranged above it. The outside of the egg is bright pink, fading back to white nearer the yolk.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
It'll be fine. Even if it's not been frozen, you'll get something interesting from it. Panchromatic film gets Hypersensitive when it's left on the shelf ;) (Yours looks like it was almost the last run, as it was discontinued in '76, mine was earlier and left in a shed for 50 years!)
A pair of dodgy b&w Photos, one of a street, one of a house. The negatives have some damage to the lower edge. The film border says 'Hypersensitive Panchromatic' which was the original designation for Ilford's HP film range. This was HP4.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
It's a good job I labelled everything last autumn, isn't it?
A square grey pot, with the hollow stems of some kind of perennial I potted up from bare roots last autumn. A weed is growing through it. The white plastic label was written with a Sharpie, but has degraded to the point where it's just a load of dots, leading to the head gardener asking 'why did you label these in fucking Braille?'.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Still morning. (Slightly later.) #my400
Colour photo of fields covered in morning dew.  A post and wire fenceline crosses the foreground. Winter trees line the unseen small river at the bottom of the valley. Haze softens the fields and the hill beyond. The sun is rendered as a fuzzy white orb on the left, just above the horizon. A clear sky fades from blue to a Farrow & Ball grey; an idiosyncrasy of the phone camera. Clouds swipe lines, like a child's chalk marks on paper.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Morning. #my400
Photo of the back garden and hill beyond, just before sunrise. Garden is in shade, ponds reflecting the pale sky, and the trees are still in their winter attire. A light mist hangs over the valley beyond, casting the hill in pastel, with a pale golden outline. Thin pale orange clouds above peter out to a clear dilute blue.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
I know it *looks* like the glue wagon, but they just haven't repainted it yet...
Image from the cartoon version of animal farm, where Boxer is taken away by the glue wagon.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Spot the wol.
Photo of the garden, pre-dawn, with an owl in it. Row of scraggy pot plants, decking, lawn and trees, with the hill behind. Sky broods.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Lens flare on a sunny dog walk. #my400
Vehicle tracks lead to a gate between to stands of trees. The sun is in a blue sky with just a few whisps of cloud. Lens flare provides a stripe of pink at the top left, a green aperture  blob bottom right, with a small rainbow stripe and green dot just above.An old iron sided bridge, with a concrete base leads to grassy fields beyond, and a hill capped with snow below a blue sky with light cloud streaks. Purple/pink blobs fan out above the sun like petals of a child's drawing of a flower, with hints of green in the foreground.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Out the back. #my400
View across wintery fields, a post and wire fence cross the grassy field in the foreground, dry stone walls and treelines behind. Beyond, the hill is topped with snow, sky is cloudy and threatens more snow.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
The official one doesn't have the second pile of muck but does, notoriously, look a bit like someone struggling to open an umbrella.
The official UK roadworks sign. Red triangle, with a chap seemingly shovelling a pile of dirt. Text reads: "This sign, indicating road works or an obstruction in the carriageway ahead, may be used for any type of works, ranging from large construction schemes to minor maintenance."
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
This does seem an apt use of a very old one...
The old meme of a verification test showing a grid over a photo of a snowy forest, with the words 'Select all images with Finnish snipers'. All of the squares have been selected, despite no snipers being visible.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Today I learnt that you can substitute cream soda for eggs in cake mixes, and they turn out fine.
3 cupcakes sitting on their red silicone muffin tray. Vanilla icing applied very messily and sprinkles.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
My phone thinks it's daytime. This is moonlight. Take care if you're driving tomorrow morning.
View from my bedroom window at 22:15 tonight. Trees with snow on the hills beyond. Looks like a dull day, but it's actually moonlight, which has tricked my phone into a warm daytime colour palette rather than a cold blue.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Occasionally, it's good to get out into the fresh air. I'd suggest that everyone who possibly can, should.
A photo of an old stone bridge; the kind which populate the b-roads of Yorkshire and Lancashire. Taken from the riverbank on the shady side, with low golden sun hitting the arches underneath. Winter trees behind and still water reflecting beneath.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
It's a bit chill out. #my400
A photo of a cold, wet gate, with churned up tracks leading away into the distance, small trees either side.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Yesterday. #my400
Early morning fields, track beside a fence leads to a stand if trees and a gate. Hazy hill beyond, with the sun trying to break through the clouds.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
It's not a bad wee wander with the hounds. #my400
Field with sheep, with the wall curving around the copse of deciduous trees. A couple of trees on the horizon, with blue sky above and just a couple of thin clouds.Backlit winter trees beside the path,leading to the gate to another sheep field. Mainly blue skies again.The view across the estate back to the village. A copse surrounds the duck pond,and another which shelters pheasant. A line of old oaks follows an old way on the left their shadows long across the field. The hills of the trough beyond are topped with light cloud, beneath more blue sky.The field by the bridge, with its square bield. More sheep. More blue sky and low sun pushing through incoming white clouds.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
The hill. #my400
Fields, fences, dry stone walls, winter trees and a few sheep. The hill beyond, outlined with  the orange sunrise.
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Tim Manwaring @timmanwaring.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Morning. #my400
Back garden. Lawn is frosty, pond icy, trees bare. Hill beyond looks wintry, with a pinky orangey glow from sunrise through clouds beyond. Blue sky above.
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