Scenes from earlier this week

We managed to grab a couple of days away for Paul's birthday.  I coped with the journey and the walking which was good as I wanted to test what I could and couldn't do.

 

 

Sutton on Sea - yes I did take off my shoes and paddle, avoiding the many jellyfish stranded on the damp sand.  It rained, we got wet, we laughed and shared a late lunch of a bag of chips in the car.

Gunby Hall Gardens (NT)

 

The summer bedding was wonderful.  We had tea and cake as an afternoon treat.

Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirby

The Avro Lancaster NX611 'Just Jane' taxied around the airfield for about 30 minutes.

Bolingbroke Castle at Old Bolingbroke,  The remains of the castle include part of the moat.  It was a hexagonal castle, built in the 13th century. 

 

The castle was inherited through marriage by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.  He and his first wife Blanche lived at the castle in the 1360s and their son Henry, later King Henry IV, was born there in 1367. The castle was besieged and destroyed in 1643 by Parliamentarian troops during the Civil War.  Parts of the church below were also destroyed at this time.

 

St Peter and St Paul, Old Bolingbroke 

 

I would have liked to have visited a friend who lives further south in Lincolnshire but there just wasn't time on this very short trip.  Next time, if you are reading this.

 

It was good to be somewhere else for a while before I find out what the next stage of my treatment may be. 

 

All for now.

Grass

 The grass in the parts of the garden we are leaving unmown is getting quite tall.

It was interesting to see how many different varieties there were.

I picked a blade of each different grass.

 

Paul knew quite a few of the different grasses from when he used to take students on Biology field trips. Others we found in a reference book

We found Rye Grass, Oatgrass, Yorkshire fog, wavy hair grass, agrostis, fox tail, cat's tail and common oat grass.

Also in the garden we have some lovely produce and flowers to bring indoors.

 

The sweetpeas have been wonderful this year and after a slow start both strawberries and tomatoes are now ripening.

All for now.  Take care.
 

Meadow Flowers

Yesterday we took a short walk in the meadow at RSPB Coombes Valley.  The sun was warm on our backs, the birds sang as we made our way along the designated path.  Little black moths flittered around the grasses and bees were buzzing around the flowers.  It was a delightful half an hour.

I'm not very good at identifying all the different wildflowers but together they looked wonderful. 

Below are some of the flowers in the meadow.  I think I've identified them but I know there are people out there who know more than me so please tell me if I am wrong.
 

Oxeye Daisy.  It has lots of names like Dog Daisy, Moon Daisy and Moon Penny.

Butterfly Orchid

Common Spotted Orchid

Butterfly Orchid

Ribwort Plantain

Birds Foot Trefoil also known as eggs and bacon or fingers and thumb.

Red Clover

One of the little black moths, I'd like to know what they are called.

The meadow is called Valley View.

 All for now.  Take care.

 

Having a go

Dipping my toes in the water of blogging again.  My breathing seems to be getting slightly better after a down turn last week.  The daily blood thinning injections seem finally to have begun clearing the blood clots in my lungs.  It has seemed a struggle at times but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I've been reading and enjoying your blog posts which have taken me to many wonderful places including Herefordshire, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Skye as well as many other places of interest.  You will no doubt recognise yourself from these places.  I've also seen inside some lovely gardens too.

Our garden here has been a Godsend whilst I've been unable to travel far.   I've added some photos of flowers below.  I will get back to commenting on your blogs again very soon.  

Unfortunately there are a couple of blogs I still can't leave a comment on.  I've no idea why.

All for now.  Take Care.

Still Here

 I've just got home from five days in hospital.  Still feeling very fragile so I won't be blogging for a while. I'm reading your posts but forgive me for not making comments for a while too.  I hope to be back as soon as I can.

Meanwhile here is a collage of photos taken in the garden over a week ago.  Of course by the time I got home all had changed.

 

Cuckoo, Bluebells and Little Ringed Plover

It seems ages since I wrote a post.  I've been around and about not going far until I feel better.  I've been trying to walk more throughout this week and whilst out and about on Friday I bought a step tracker.  Not an expensive one but it does link to a device so I can see progress.  

Whilst out walking last Sunday across nearby Fenton Fields. We heard Skylarks and then, joy of joys, I heard a sound from my childhood, the call of a Cuckoo.  We stood still and listened and heard it again. Just two calls.  I was used to hearing them over the village woods, where, as children, we played on the stone walls of the old sheep dip by the brook and scared ourselves into screams and giggles by peering in the cobwebby windows of the old, derelict gamekeeper's cottage.  By the 1950s the gamekeeper had taken up residence in the old station house as the local line had closed, way before the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, and the tunnel had been filled in for safety reasons.  I seemed to have drifted a little.

  On Saturday we walked in Biddulph Grange Gardens (National Trust).  On Thursday we walked in Hem Heath Woods (Staffordshire Wildlife Trust) to see if there were bluebells and on Friday we walked at Tittesworth Reservoir (Severn-Trent Water).  

Below are some photos of things that caught my eye.

Cat, tulips and blossom at Biddulph Grange Gardens.

Bluebells at Hem Heath Woods

I think they will probably be at their best next week so we will go back.  It's so hard to capture the intensity of blue as they carpet the forest floor.

At  Tittesworth Reservoir we spotted some lovely wildlife.  We walked down to the stream with views of The Roaches.  Later we crossed the road and visited one of the bird hides, it was new and  empty so we had it to ourselves for quite some time.

 It was delightfull to see the Little Ringed Plovers, I've never seen them before.  We watched them for ages. 

 

Nice to see a bunny too.  This photo was taken by Paul as I wasn't quick enough to take its photo before it ran off.

 

 

I've been enjoyng reading lately.  Three books from the library.  It's so good to be able to browse the shelves again. One down two to go.

 

 All for now.