Walk To Fishing Ponds

 This mornings wander round the fishing ponds and orchard near the River Dane.  Quite a commotion as we neared the largest pond - seems a couple of geese were circling above being taunted by some noisy gulls.  They landed in the pond only to be chased hither and zither around the pond by a lone male goose who wanted the pond for himself.  Eventually after much kerfuffle they flew off to find peace elsewhere. the lone goose seemed pleased and swam about with a smile on his beak.  The recent swans were nowhere to be seen.  A heron made a brief appearence and flew off.  Quite nippy and it looks like rain.  Such a change from the good weather of recent days.

Doodle A Day

 

Boot Sale

 Sadly the first boot sale of the year at Blakemere was very disappointing due to decision of most people ( mostly stall holders ) not to wear a mask - so getting near the stuff for sale was quite tricky - especially boxes of DVD's and CD's etc. that I usually make a bee line to.  Hearing sneezing and coughing made me realise how many germs were being spread.  So mostly looked and didnt buy.  Hazel found 4 stalls with masked vendors so bought from them exclusively - a bag of old wooden clothes pegs and a gingham quilt .  Needless to say we didnt stay long. 

Misty Fishing Ponds

 Very frosty but sunny morning.  We were down the fishing ponds and River Dane at 7am and saw a heron in the distance.  He was a bit shy though so couldn't get too close.  Some swans flew over making a weird whooping noise with their wings.  Met only one dog walker.  Had the whole place to ourselves.  Amazing mist over the larget pond - a few ducks and moorhens . The swan we saw building  a nest wasn't their sadly.  Hopefully it will return but it seemed odd place to build a nest so close to the path.

Carey Park

 Another early morning walk to town and then Carey Park and the River Weaver.  Surprisingly quiet with just a few walkers and joggers. Most people seem to exercise by walking round Tescos or Asda!

Marsden

 Nice couple of days in sunny South Yorkshire visiting our old poorly chum Dave.  Tried to help by clearing piles of newspapers and magazines.  Dave is a bit of a hoarder.  he wasn't keen to see his "archive" being disturbed. We found time for a little wander and picnic on a bench by the old canal that goes to Huddersfield.  Found some sculptures and stone walls etc.  Very hill around there - we managed to climb a small hill but the bigger one's were too intimidating.  Stopped off at Glossop on the way for provisions and M&S  toilets.  Stretched our legs but didn't fancy the shops although some were open now.  Same on the way home.  The new route around the hills was a lot less scary than the old route over the moors but not quite so picturesque.

Walk To Orchard and Fishing Ponds

 Nice walk down to the fishing ponds and the secret orchard which isn't much of a secret anymore since they landscaped it and pruned all the trees right back.  Amazed at how the new growth is coming despite the bamboo arch just buried sticks!  Saw a heron from a distance. It was very shy so flew off the minute we moved closer towards it.  This camera is handy for snaps but has no lens to speak of!  Very cold for this time of year. There was frost on the car windows at 6 this morning.

More Doodling Fun!

 

Chilly April Walk

 When someof the country was covered in a fine dusting of April snow we got off lightly with a chill wind and some frosty looking blossom.  A short walk around the local park and then down the back path to the post office to mail a packet.  Brrrr!  Glad to get back in the warm!

Easter Sunday 2021

 Nice easter Sunday walk down to the River Dane and the fishing ponds.  Very misty to start but soon the sun came through and it warmed up.  Saw a heron taking off from the largest fishing pond.  Took  a photo but just got  a grey misty square of reeds!   Hazel's shot with her ipad was slightly better - at least you could see the heron - a faint blurry smudge in the distance!  No chocky eggs but we were given some bars of Kit Kat, Crunchie, etc. to scoff at our leisure.  Had a nice chat with Archie on the phone.  He and Meriel had some sushi with the EASTER treat money we sent him.   Sounds nicer than our sloppy Welsh Rarebit ( forgot to toast one side of bread!) 

Miniatures 2020

 Good to see this project grow from small beginnings to become the wonderful thing it is now - a double CD set with a 68 page booklet sprinkled liberally with my collages!   Hazel has even got a track on it!   here we are rubbing shoulders with the likes of  Billy Bragg,  Toyah, Wavis O'Shave, The Ukulele Orchestra of GB,  Alternative TV, Peter Blegvad and many more .  124 tracks in all.  Read more about it HERE.

Hazel Has Her 1st Vaccine Jab

 No photos of the Morrisons car park and "pharmacy" tents in which Hazel had her 1st. Astra Seneca jab yesterday but it wasn't very pretty!  Here's some shots from a recent walk over the  corn stubble and the local River Dane Orchard hedge etc.  Hazel said it didn't hurt a bit but last night had terrible shivery and flu like symptoms that a lot of people seem to have after their 1st vaccine jab.  I guess I was lucky just having a sore arm for a couple of days.  Some paracetamol seems to have done the trick though and her online tutorials are going ahead.  A bit cooler this morning after yesterdays  heatwave.  I walked down to the post office and on my way dropped off my prescription form into the window of the group practice. The dustbinmen have been up to their old tricks again and pushed next doors bin on it's side amonsgt some scattered detritus .  No Xmas box for them this year!

Back Garden Carnage

 We ate our breakfast and sat horrified and astounded at sight that met our eyes the other morning.  This sparrowhawk came from nowhere and had his breakfast in our tree amongst the bird feeders!  Poor little sparrow didn't stand much chance.