Thursday, October 05, 2017

A Lakeside Walk and Homemade Soup

This morning even though it was quite windy we headed out for our usual walk around the lake at Trentham Gardens.  We hadn't been for a walk around the lakeside for a couple of weeks and were quite surprised at the changes and additions we found along the way.

 We were looking for signs of autumn and certainly found them.  The leaves on the Tulip Trees along the paths near the lake were far more advanced into their autumn colours than ours at home which is still quite green with just a few slightly yellow leaves.

We thought we might find some fungi but didn't expect to find these Fly Agaric toadstools.  There were loads of them across the grass, some opened others just appearing from the ground.  

As we walked around we noticed quite a few new sculptures had been installed.


 I think these are supposed to be Brown Trout which are found nearby in the River Trent.


Deer.  We don't see the wild deer herd dashing thought the undergrowth anymore, although I think can still be spotted up in the woods.

  Owl


Two horses' heads on plinths

 Below another owl


 I bet he or she stands out in the dark.


Pheasants

 Hare - this one had just been placed ready for installing - it was sitting on a black plastic bag and fenced in by red and white tape.

Frog, a lady standing nearby called him Jeremy Fisher which made me smile.


We saw lots of other seasonal fungi, leaves and plants along the way.   


There were lots of water birds on the lake.  Cormorant, Grebe,
Heron and Swans both black and white, lots of Canada geese, Coots, Mallards and Moorhens too.


After a wonderful breezy walk in both bright sunshine and the occasional bout of drizzle we returned home to warm up some homemade soup.  Leek and potato with homemade bread.  I love these bright, autumnal October mornings.  I'm also glad we went out this morning because as I type this the wind has really picked up and the rain is battering the windows.  Such a day of contrasts.

30 comments:

  1. The sculptures are lovely and fit in with the landscape so well. It's hard to pick a favourite, but the deer coming out of the woods are at the top of my list. Going out for a long walk and coming home to soup and bread equals a great day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love autumn walks followed by warm soup - the deer were wonderful:)

      Delete
  2. Wonderful photos and signs of autumn captured well. Greetings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Greeting to you too, thanks for your comments:)

      Delete
  3. Sounds like a wonderful day. A walk in a beautiful place and delicious soup on your return. Perfect :). B x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, it was a perfect autumn morning:)

      Delete
  4. Wonderful photos Rosie, particularly the one of the fungi. What a surprise to see all the sculptures, a great setting for them. 😊

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were amazed to see so many of the fly agarics, the other fungi is just beginning to show itself. It was great to find the new sculptures:)

      Delete
  5. This is such a beautiful place, I would love to go. Your photos are stunning I like all the sculptures.
    Amanda xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a great place for walking and in all seasons too, it was great to see the new sculptures:)

      Delete
  6. REally Beautiful photos and I love the leaves on the tulip trees. Don't Think I've ever seen it for real! Many different animals too. We uses to have deers here in our garden. They are Lovely to Watch, but I don't like when they eat my tulips in the spring. Now I haven't seen the dear animals for awhile. Hopefully they still live.
    Have a great evening.
    Love Elzie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Elzie glad you enjoyed the photos. We bought our tulip tree and planted it when we first came to our home 20 years ago and it is very tall now. Lovely to have deer in your garden but I wouldn't like it if they ate my tulips either, we get foxes in our garden but happily they don't eat the flowers:)

      Delete
  7. You took us on a wonderful stroll, I loved the sculptures. The deer particularly were a joy along with the Owl. I love this time of year soup and homemade bread, you can't beat it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a good time of year for comfort food and soup is always very comforting. It was great to see the sculptures especially the deer and the hare:)

      Delete
  8. What a lovely walk with beautiful photos. The sculptures are wonderful I especially like the deer one - it has such a sense of movement :) Lovely to see the Fly Agaric - for some reason I rarely see them round her. Your soup looks wonderful - nothing nicer than a bowl of homemade soup and tasty home-baked bread :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. There was such a lot of fly agaric in the grassy areas of the garden, growing in lines and rings, never seen as many before and never seen them at Trentham before. The deer sculptures looked from a distance like the real thing. I made the soup from a Nigel Slater recipe, it had parmesan cheese in it as well:)

      Delete
  9. Lovely post Rosie, your photos are beautiful, fabulous sculptures that look so right in the gardens. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Elizabeth, glad you enjoyed the photos. thank you for visiting and leaving a comment:)

      Delete
  10. What a beautiful walk, loves the signs of fall and keep hoping to see some here. The all the critters, particularly the hare and the frog. Love leek and potato soup.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leek and potato soup was a Nigel Slater recipe with parmesan cheese in it too. I'm partial to hares and the frog was cute we nearly missed seeing him but someone spotted us taking a photo of the hare and told us about the frog:)

      Delete
  11. What a beautiful area to enjoy an autumn walk. Love those little toadstools. I like the way the sculptures all blend in with the landscape, and the deer bounding out of the woods look quite dramatic! Your soup and bread meal looks delicious ;)
    Wendy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Wendy - it was great to see the todstools and the sculptures too. the soup was delicious:)

      Delete
  12. What lovely and appropriate sculptures. My favourite is the hare, but the deer are lovely too. The soup looks delicious!
    Best wishes
    Ellie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Ellie and thanks for visting. Deer and hare were my favourites as I love hares and the deer looked so real from a distance:)

      Delete
  13. I love your posts on Trentham Park Rosie. It really does look like a lovely place to visit. The hare is a great addition and looks very much at home in the long grass. Leek and potato soup must have been so welcoming when you reached home. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Simone, there always seems to be something inspiring or photogenic there, I thought the hare was well placed, the deer too. The soup was lovely to come home to:)

      Delete
  14. What a lovely walk, lots of interesting things to photograph! I'm really missing having the free time to get out for walks this autumn... so much to do on the house - I will make up for it next autumn! Your soup looks good too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You must miss your walks Louise, I hope the house will soon be ready and somewhere you can return to after all those walks you wil take in a few months time:)

      Delete
  15. I love the Autumn too,that looks a great walk and now I will have to make soup!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, soup yes it's the best time of year for it:)

      Delete