Harumph!!

The week started off quite well.  The weather was good, washing was drying outside for the first time in ages and we'd managed to get things done in the garden.  By early Monday afternoon we were ready to have a walk around the lake at Trentham.  Just before we left home I went outside to bring the towels in off the line and stupidly left the back door open.  Next thing I knew one of the regular feline visitors to our garden, namely Midge, had got into the conservatory and was challenging one of our cats.  I scooped him up and took him outside - very gently I hasten to add - just as I was putting him down on the side lawn he turned his head and bit deep into my right hand.  Ouch! and Ouch! again. He went through the soft skin between my finger and thumb - I could see through the hole he'd made.  I washed it and applied Savlon and a plaster and off we went on our walk.  By the time we were halfway round my hand had swollen quite a bit and was hurting a lot.  As soon as we got home we rang the surgery and I was told to put a cold compress on it and to come to open surgery the next morning.  Next day my hand was red and tingling as well as swollen.  The doctor gave me a course of  strong antibiotics and I had to go back yesterday for a tetanus booster jab.  In the meantime, on Wednesday morning,  I had to go for an eye test and because I've had laser treatment on my right eye (I had a tear in the membranes at the back) I always have to have one of those tests where they put drops in your eyes to enlarge the pupils. So by yesterday evening I was so miserable with myself - sore swollen hand, aching arm after the jab and blurry eyes which bothered me in the light.

Today things don't seem quite as bad, my sight is restored, the swelling in my hand has gone down slightly and it isn't red anymore but my left arm still aches from the jab and I feel so useless and lethargic.  A day for taking it easy, I think! 

The Tapestry of Love

The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton, p/bk, pub Headline Review, 2010 - ISBN 978 0 7553 4557 1
In my post of 17th February -link- I promised to write a review of this book, kindly sent to me by its author Rosy Thornton, so finally here it is.  I've really enjoyed reading it and didn't want to rush getting to the final page savouring all the descriptions of the French countryside and towns, but, as the saying goes 'all good things must come to an end' and now I feel slightly bereft.

The heroine of the story is Catherine Parkstone, a divorced mother of two grown up children, who leaves her home in England to live in a small hamlet in the Cevennes region of France in a house called Les Fenils (the Haylofts).  The story is of Catherine's first year in her new home; the changing seasons, the landscape, the farming community in her small hamlet and beyond are all beautifully described.  As Catherine works in her garden, talks to her bees, walks in the mountains, works on her burgeoning soft furnishing business and creates her tapestries so life goes on around her.  This is a gentle, thoughtful book and just as Catherine sews her tapestries the author weaves around her the story of the rural community, the density of French bureaucracy, her feelings for her intriguing neighbour Patrick and her connections to her own family at home.   The threads of life, love and loss, of friendship and of  family commitments  intertwine within the glorious landscape and fascinating community around Les Fenils.  For those of you who like a happy ending rest assured there is one!

Rosy Thornton's website

Parrot's Drumble

This post should really be entitled 'A Very Wet Walk at Parrot's Drumble' for that's what it was!  We'd been meaning to find this place for ages so on Saturday we decided to drive out towards Talke Pits, just north of Newcastle-under-Lyme,  thinking that if it did start to rain again we could divert to the Freeport Shopping outlet which isn't very far away - just the other side of the industrial estate close by.

It was quite easy to find following the instructions on the Wildlife Trust's website.  You have to park on the road opposite the industrial estate and walk down a lane for about a quarter of a mile before you actually reach the site.  This lane, which lies between the back of the factories and farmland was very wet and very muddy so if you go you do need wellies or strong, waterproof boots. I was quite bothered by the litter lying along the factory side of the path - it looks as though people working there have their lunch and then throw the wrappings and bottles over the fence!  Grr - I hate litter and it doesn't hurt anyone to pack it up and take it home or to the nearest litter bin!  Apologies for the small rant.

Parrot's Drumble is classed as one of the Wildlife Trust's finest ancient woodland nature reserves.  Although none of the trees in here are that old there have been trees on this area of land for over 400 years.

The water in the Valley Brook  is the strangest colour!  It is, apparently, discoloured by the iron-oxide which leeches out from nearby ancient mine workings.

This is quite a small reserve with a circular route which brings you back onto the lane you started from. There is no way you can lose your bearings which I sometimes do in woods!  By the time we reached the cover of the trees it had begun to rain again - very heavily indeed.  You may see some rain spots on some of my photos.  Trees within the reserve are oak, ash, hazel, birch, rowan, willow and alder.  It is said that  in early spring the sound of the dawn chorus here is amazing

I love the name Parrot's Drumble and it has always intrigued me when I've read about the place in local newspapers and magazines.  The name comes from the land's previous owners the Parrot family and the local term for a stream running through a wooded valley - a drumble.

I think that we should have perhaps waited a while longer to visit this place as it is at its best in late spring as the ground under the trees is covered by dog's mercury, wood anemone, yellow archangel and something known locally as 'town hall clock'. 

It is also known for its carpet of blue bells and you can already see evidence of this all over the woodland floor.  I think we will have to return in a couple of months to see them.

Edit Sat 5th March - I've added a link on the words 'town hall clock' for those people who asked what kind of plant it is.  

Photo Scavenger Hunt - February 2011

Here are my photos for the February Photo Scavenger Hunt.  It has been great fun finding them!  There are many more on Flickr via Kathy's blog Postcards from the P.P.  - link -  (which I can't seem to join without giving them a lot of  information) so I'll just leave mine here.  

In no particular order..............

Post Box

Post Box outside the Beresford Tea Rooms, Hartington, Derbyshire

A Round Faced Clock

Clock on the side of the old station building, now a bookshop and cafe, at Hassop, Derbyshire

Eyes

Chloe - no doubt thinking 'not that camera again'!!

Something Red

An old Dennis fire engine c. 1951 outside the fire station, Clay Cross, Derbyshire

A big lorry/truck

Travelling along the A515 between Buxton and Ashbourne - taken from The Tissington Trail near Parsley Hay.

A Bridge

The bridge at Haywood Junction in the village of Great Haywood, Staffordshire where the Trent and Mersey Canal meets the Staffordshire and Worcester canal.  The signpost indicates 'To the Trent', 'To Wolverhampton' and 'To the Potteries'!

A Park Bench

In Longton Park, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire  - spot the squirrel?

Something Heart-shaped
Found in one of the antique/ bric-a-brac barns at Dagfields, near Nantwich, Cheshire

A Musical Instrument

A Mandolin in one of the antique /bric-a-brac barns at Dagfields, near Nantwich, Cheshire

Your shoes
Bought in the sale at Pavers shop in December - not worn yet!

Something with Stripes

Small beach hut in the 'seaside' garden in Trentham Gardens, Staffordshire

Newspaper Headline

It's been ages since we indulged in a Saturday newspaper - I will probably take all weekend to read it!

(Edit 1/3/11 - I've now worked out how to upload to the Flickr group so my photos are there too!)

At Lathkill Dale

We had some free time on Friday so we set out not quite knowing where we were going but the car has its way of taking the road towards Frogall, Ipstones and out to Hartington.  From here it was anybody's guess as to where we would end up.  We did need to buy some bread making flour so decided to head towards Bakewell and Rowsley. 

We'd made a flask of coffee and some biscuits for elevenses so we decided to stop at the village of Over Haddon for a break and a short walk down into Lathkill Dale.

It was a very still, overcast day but the birds were singing in the trees as we wandered down to the  river.  We saw quite a few blackbirds, chaffinch and a robin or two as well as pheasants taking their morning stoll across the road.

The lichens and mosses on the walls and barn roof were so green against the grey of the stones and slates.  The River Lathkill rises just below the village of Monyash and flows through the valley towards Haddon Hall where it joins with the River Wye.  Every year for the past few years we have had great intentions of re-visiting Haddon Hall but have never made it.   The last time we visited we took Mum and Dad; sadly now both long gone.This year we intend to get there!  I think it is my favourite of Derbyshire's famous houses.  Hardwick Hall, which is close to the village we lived in when I was a child, comes a close second.

The river seemed quite full and was moving at quite a rate, swirling and eddying against the banks.  We saw a dipper bobbing up and down on stones in the river.   Sorry no birdy photos - my camera isn't good for close-ups.  There were lots of lovely snowdrops growing on the river bank.

After a gentle stroll it was time to head back up the hill to the car park and continue our journey towards Bakewell and Rowsley where we bought bags of flour at Caudwell's mill.  More of this journey later!

The Essex Bridge

The last part of last week's adventure lead us back to the River Trent and a wonderful piece of historical architecture. The Essex Bridge is a Grade One listed pack horse bridge which spans the River Trent at the village of Great Haywood in Staffordshire.

The bridge links the village with the nearby Shugborough Estate home of the late photographer Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield.  This estate is now owned by the National Trust and this year the trust are opening up the private apartments of the Earl of Lichfield - there is an interesting - blog - about the work being done.

The bridge was built during the reign of Elizabeth I by the then Earl of Essex so that the Queen could enjoy hunting in the woodlands surrounding the village when visiting the Shugborough estate.

The bridge originally had forty spans or arches; just fourteen of those survive today.

Just before we photographed the bridge there was a torrential downpour of rain but it soon cleared and the bridge became very busy with families passing backwards and forwards across it.

I remembered crossing this bridge from the Shugborough estate when we visited a few years ago and thought it would be a super bridge to photograph for this month's Scavenger Hunt but then, having found another unusual bridge, I decided that the Essex Bridge deserved a post of its own.

Things to Do

Today is a dull grey day and there have been plenty of those lately but they have been interspersed with some lovely days. Days that feel tantalisingly spring like but they also leave you with a false sense of security as far as the weather is concerned. We could yet have more bad weather before it really feels like spring and no doubt we will!

We managed a bit more work in the garden this morning; so much damage has been done to many of the plants and shrubs and it seems we may have lost more than we realised.  The willow we thought we'd lost last year has to be taken down as it really is dead.  In the same patch of garden are the ceanothus and tamarisk trees.  I mentioned in an earlier post that the ceanothus looked as if it hadn't survived the cold weather of late last year but now it looks as if the tamarisk tree may have suffered too!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for both of them!  Encouragingly there are a few green leaves showing now on the ceanothus but the tamarisk is ominously brown.

I was recently sent a novel by the author -Rosy Thornton - who had been reading my blog and noticed that I had read one of her books last year. The book I read last year - 'Hearts and Minds' - was set in a women's college in Cambridge.  'The Tapestry of Love'  is set in the Cévennes region of France.  I've read a couple of chapters so far and I'm already hooked by the character of the heroine and the wonderful descriptions of the landscape and people.  I'll write a proper review later when I've finished reading. 

I've been knitting in the evenings whilst watching television - when there is something worthwhile to watch!  I must admit I'm hooked on the Danish thriller 'The Killing' on BBC4 on Saturday evenings.  I was sad to say farewell to 'Larkrise to Candleford' on Sunday evenings but am looking forward to it being replaced by  'South Riding' from the novel by Winifred Holtby; you will see it is on my favourite books list.  I'm also enjoying 'A History of Ancient Britain' with Neil Oliver, 'Life in a Cottage Garden' with Carol Klein and 'Britain by Bike' with Clare Balding.

I've mastered the ten rows of pattern -  nine rows of straight knitting and then the decreasing row which will give the cardigan its swing or flare at the back.

I'll be back shortly with the second part of last Saturday's adventure!  This outing was to take photos for February's Photo Scavenger Hunt.  I still have four more subjects to find and one of them is quite a problem but I have a couple of ideas on where to find what I'm looking for this weekend!

Two Short Walks

On Saturday we had a stroll around the grounds at the headquarters of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust at Wolseley Bridge.  When we first moved to Staffordshire these were known as Wolseley Gardens and were in a state of decline and about to close. They were the formal gardens of Wolseley Hall which was destroyed by fire in the mid 1950s.  They finally closed in 1996 and since 2003 have been maintained by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust as a wildlife and conservation area. They are free to walk around and well worth a visit. 

There was a lot of activity on the main lakes.  We had watched two skeins of geese fly over in a V shape formation as we drew up in the garden centre car park.  There is also a car park in the grounds near the visitor centre but we wanted to walk around the garden centre afterwards so walked  from there - it isn't far.

The geese had landed on the lakes and were making a great deal of noise - I guess it is the time of year!

After our walk we went into the visitor centre, the Wolseley Centre,  for a cup of coffee.  As we were sitting at a table in the education room we did one of the quizzes left on the table.  There were twelve 'old English' names for common birds and you had to guess what they were.  We managed to get eight of them correct!  We had fun doing it and chatting to the man on duty who had put the quiz together.  Here is a little example from the quiz:- three well known garden birds -  House Sparrow, Song Thrush, Blue Tit and three old English names to match to them  Mavis, Jackie Bluecap, Spug - which belong together?

The river Trent runs alongside and there are boardwalks to walk along between the river and the lakes.  

There are still features left from when Wolseley Gardens were the formal landscape gardens of the Wolseley Estate.

There were snowdrops dotted here and there under the trees.  We had a wander around the Wyevale Garden Centre and then drove off towards Milford and a picnic site with woodland walks.  

I can see a face in the tree in the photo below, can you?

After a walk through the woods it was time to go back to the car for our lunch before driving on towards our main goal of the day; but I'll save that  for another post.

A bit of a Colour Theme

Today was a pottering about and shopping type of day.  Books back to the library, stamps from the post office, coffee at the Museum and some super purchases.

Primroses from a nearby garden centre just 79p each.  Bowls £1 each in the sale at JTF.

Bargain!  On to the wool shop;  I've been longing to start knitting again for ages so today I bought wool - I began to see a colour theme going on.

So to balance the tendency towards lavender I also bought the primroses below!

Right, I'm off to cast on some stitches!

A Short Walk

After three days of wind and rain it was wonderful to wake up to a dry, crisp morning and clear skies. 

We decided that  after a few days indoors, apart from some necessary food shopping, some exercise was required so set we out for Hartington to walk along the Tissington Trail to Parsley Hay.

It is a walk we've done many times before.  If you remember some of my posts from about three years ago we walked both the Tissington Trail and the High PeakTrail in sections until both had been completed.

It was a most beautiful morning!  A morning of light and shade.

A morning of sunshine and shadows.

The sun was warm on our backs, the sky was so blue and the air crystal clear.  Chaffinch and Robins were singing in the trees and crows cawing as they flew sedately over the fields. It was a morning to savour!  According to the weather forecast for the next few days the wind and rain will be back again.