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Dr Helen Wilson
@NellytheWillow@mastodon.social
mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06All things Devon & Cornwall, especially Dartmoor. Self-published and award-winning biographer of the Pinwill sisters, Arts & Crafts woodcarvers of Devon and Cornwall. Previous life as a field botanist. BSc and PhD in Environmental Science, then University lecturer. Now retired.
#PinwillSisters #ArtsAndCrafts #WomenInHistory #Devon #Dartmoor #Cornwall #Woodcarving #Churches #StandingStoneSunday #Archaeology #Succulents #Lithops #SheepOfMastodon #Frogs #Fungi #Birds #Bugs #Insects #Entomology
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Joined January 26, 2025
Website:
Profile picture:
Bronze door handle designed by Henry Wilson on West Door of St Germans Priory, Cornwall
Header picture:
Woodcarving with Passion Flowers by the Pinwill Sisters at Ermington church, Devon
Location:
Plymouth, Devon, UK
#DoorsDay #DoorThursday #Devon #Exeter
Entrance archway to 10-11 Cathedral Close, Exeter, Devon, remodelled C17, arms of Bishop Cotton d.1621 above.
Boosted by @trending@homestead.social
Headstones are fascinating! These from Marwood and Hatherleigh in Devon and Madron in Cornwall.
#LichenSubscribe #Graveyard
Talland, Cornwall
Carved pieces of slate makes for cheap, effective and rather attractive ventilation. Dated 1834.
#FensterFreitag #Cornwall #Churches
Boosted by @hypebot@tacocat.space
#Gardening #BloomScrolling
The House Leek (Sempervivum) has surprisingly beautiful flowers, and an interesting and attractive structure:
'Their hermaphrodite flowers have first a male stage. Then the stamens curve themselves and spread away from the carpels at the center of the flower, so self-pollination is rather difficult' [Wikipedia]
In the greenhouse...
Notocactus claviceps. Another beauty and one that doesn't always flower for me. This species is found from Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) down to Argentina (Misiones).
#Cacti #BloomScrolling
Ruins of Netley Abbey, Hampshire
A room at the south end of the east range with amazing stone vaulting, built during mid C13. It may have been an infirmary or dormitory.
More bales...
Below Scratchbury Hill, near Warminster, Wiltshire
My brother Jim has been a passionate photographer for many years. This is one of his images from 2004 with his best-ever dog Sixpence.
#Wiltshire #DogsOfMastodon
Boosted by @trending@homestead.social
Replying to
@Vibracobra23@social.vivaldi.net On the right hand side, you can see all the Pinwill-carved saints above the choir stalls.
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@Vibracobra23@social.vivaldi.net Yes, they're not that visible unless you know they're there. There are a few cards that show them a bit better. My favourite is by Penpol Picture Cards by Frank Grattan of Mullion. It's a good real photo card and wonderfully local too.
Neoporteria gibbosa - a plant I've had for 14 years and this is the first time it's flowered. Such a beauty!
When both flowers are fully out, I'll try to take a better photo but I'm so thrilled the first flower is almost there.
#WildflowerWednesday
Sea Bindweed (Calystegia/Convulvulus soldanella) is surely the prettiest of the bindweeds. Found at Braunton Burrows sand dune system, part of the North Devon Biosphere Reserve, and surrounded by Marram Grass (Ammophila arenaria).
Replying to
@golgaloth@writing.exchange This got me excited until I got to the end and found it's not the original Tamar Valley between Cornwall and Devon where I live in the UK.
Hope you sell lots of books though!
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@victorianweb@mastodonapp.uk Fabulous!
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@Chawanya@norden.social They are! Poetic geology.
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@BathNature@ecoevo.social Thank you!
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@victorianweb That's just gorgeous!
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@garrowed@mastodon.world Me too! Wandering around Bristol looking for nothing in particular. The tower is particularly good.
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@CiaraNi Thank you! These South Africa images I've been posting lately are from 2007 and I'm really surprised they've come out as well as they have. I wasn't so into photography then.
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@CiaraNi Yes, it really caught my eye!
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@superflippy Yes, I think you're right. It's complex yet calming at the same time.
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@mandy Thank you very much! It's a rather dreamy place to visit.
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@wimi@social.spejset.org Yes, that happens here too but the ecclesiastical insurers say there's more risk of damage and theft if churches are locked.
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@wimi@social.spejset.org Strange that. In the rural areas there's less fear of vandalism than in the urban churches.
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@wimi@social.spejset.org Lovely lettering though, and the symbol (a lamp ?) is a nice touch. They're all interesting. I'll post more of mine later,
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@wimi@social.spejset.org I've just posted one of my church photos.
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@wimi@social.spejset.org Yes, very much so. It can be sad but so interesting.
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@wimi@social.spejset.org Me too! Peaceful places.
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@wimi@social.spejset.org In my area there are lots of gravestones in slate, a stone that lends itself to fine carving. These are a good example, partly because the stonecarver has made a couple of mistakes that just makes it all more human. But the angel faces are a treat as well.
Replying to
@wimi@social.spejset.org That's a great project. We have the same problem here of locked churches. Many rural ones are open but not urban ones. As you can see from my bio I have a long-standing church project that after many years still engages me. Recently, I've moved a bit from interiors to exteriors and the fascinating stories that can be found through gravestones. I don't post much on it all though, but I may do in the future.
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@wimi@social.spejset.org Fine by me!
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@mrc Mainly because a blue tit has a blue head and the great tit has a black head.
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@wimi@social.spejset.org Do you photograph them as well?
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@garrowed@mastodon.world It's fascinating - a wonderful ruin in the middle of the city.
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@cjgyt It's a wonderful place.
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@helenclayton It's a really enchanting place if you ever get the chance to go there.