Tuesday, February 09, 2016

Out and About

We woke up to a dry morning after yesterday's rain - Hurrah!  Still can't get into the garden though as most of it is sodden and some of it under water.

 There are one or two signs of life in the garden.  The first signs of rhubarb and some catkins on the hazel tree.

We decided that, as the sun was shining and the rain had disappeared, we'd walk around Westport Lake

 A pair of Great Crested Grebes

 Black Swan
 
 More Grebes - there are two there and they had been displaying but I didn't catch them in time for a photo.

Canada Geese and Rock Doves or 'town hall' pigeons as my neighbour calls them.

We walked around both lakes then had coffee at the visitor centre before walking along the canal.

 This is the Trent and Mersey Canal at Westport. We have walked up this towpath as far as the Harecastle Tunnel at Kidsgrove but today we just ambled along for a shorter walk.


The light and reflections were wonderful 


Back home, it being Shrove Tuesday today, we had a late lunch of pancakes served with orange juice.  Delicious.

18 comments:

  1. We had ready-made 'pancakes' for breakfast, but they aren't the same. I might have to do some cooking tonight!

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  2. What a beautiful area you have to walk in, pancakes are always good.

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    1. The pancakes were delicious I expect because we don't have them at other times of the year:)

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  3. Glad that you had a dry day. We did too for the most part - only a little rain - I am so glad!! Pancakes for dinner tonight here, yum! xx

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    1. Wasn't it good to have a dry day? Hope you enjoyed your pancakes:)

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  4. It must have been great to get out for a walk in the sunshine! I was at school from 8.30 to 5.30 today, sadly! I like my pancakes with orange juice too - when I was at school, we'd make pancakes each year and were always offered sliced oranges or lemons to squeeze on to them. I generally had a bit of both, but as an adult I tend to just use orange. I rarely have pancakes on pancake day any more though!

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    1. Hope the sunshine stays around for you for next week! I love orange juice on pancakes when I was a child my mum made them and we always had jam on them:)

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  5. The light and reflections were also perfectly captured. Well done for making the most of the sunshine - and for cooking perfect pancakes. We missed out on the pancakes yesterday, first time ever, I think. x

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    1. I don't always remember the pancakes but had it in my head for the day and it was nice to make them when we got home from the walk:)

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  6. Hi oh your post takes me back to my childhood I grew up in Stoke on Trent and an Aunt my mums sister lived in Kidsgrove, well she still does actually she's now 87 We used to go for walks around Westport lake and throw sticks in the lake for my uncles dog who would jump in and retrieve the sticks tirelessly. I've not been there for years although I was up in stoke last week visiting my mum. I think next time I go I will go and revist a childhood memory. Thank you for your fab pics.

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    1. Hello and welcome thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. I'm not local only lived in the city for about 19 years but so much has changed since we first came here. Westport Lake is now run by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and it has changed quite a bit and there is a lovely visitor centre overlooking the lake now:)

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  7. The rhubarb looks very advanced! I like the tossing the pancake shot! x

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    1. Yes, I wonder if it gets cold again it will affect the rhubarb although it is generally quite hardy:)

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  8. Wow, your yard really is submerged! I hope everything dries up in time for seed planting. You have a pretty area for walking, and I think it would be so nice to walk along a canal like that. I love the boats and the birds. Your pancakes look yummy.
    Wendy

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    1. Even though we have had a couple of dry days the garden is still very wet. There are two canals in this area along which we can walk so we are very lucky:)

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