Into November

 Five things for Friday.

1. In the garden. 

Leaves and plenty of them from the Tulip tree all over the top lawn.  They have been raked up a couple of times so far and there are a lot more to come down.  Today there is a slight breeze blowing them about.

 

Our foxy visitor seems to have something wrong with its eye,  I'm not sure if this is permanent or if it will clear.  We have another fox that visits and that one has a slight limp.  Lets hope that clears up too.  Life is precarious for our urbn foxes. 

2. Lakeside Walks

Cormorant

 

Photos taken on a recent walk around Westport Lake.  There are not so many visitors now the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust has closed its visitor centre and cafe.  Such a shame, it was a lovely place for coffee overlooking the lake.  Many locals used it to meet friends and there was a good community spirit.  The city council are hoping to find someone to take over and are still maintaining the lakeside walks, car park and children's play area.

Muscovy duck and Runner duck

 

They are  always together and seem to be great pals.

3. Halloween

Lots of pumpkins and pumpkin carvings at Trentham gardens this week

 

4.  Autumn Colours

A quick walk at the Dorothy Clive gardens on Tuesday as it was quite damp and grey.  The wonderful colour in the trees and shrubs made up for the dismal day.

The tables in the cafe were decorated with fresh flowers and small squashes and gourds.

 

 

5. Recent reading

 

The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves.  The latest novel featuring DI Vera Stanhope.  One of my favourite series of books

 

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jaqueline Winspear,  the very last Maisie Dobbs novel. Another of my favourite series.

Bournville by Jonathan Coe, set in and around the Bournville area of Birmingham.  It's the story of Mary and takes her and her family from the second World War through notable times in our recent history right up to the Covid 19 epidemic.  

 

It's another grey day here but at least the slight drizzle we had yesterday has disappeared.  I think more leaf raking and gathering is in order for this afternoon.

Snowdogs at Buxton

We chose to visit Buxton on a beautiful day.  At first, as we travelled along the A53 past the Roaches and the Winking Man we were in mist and low cloud but as we descended into the town this cleared and half an hour later the sun was out giving a golden glow to everything.

We parked at the Pavilion and popped inside for a coffee and to pick up a map to tell us where the Snowdogs were.

Here we spotted the first Snowdog.

Elf, artist Amanda Quellin 

The Snowdogs are, of course, from the popular cartoon The Snowman and the Snowdog by Raymond Briggs.

The Snowdogs are a Wild in Art event, sponsored by Markovitz in aid of Blythe House Hospice.  There are twelve to find spread across the town outside various landmarks,  in parks and by the riverside.  The furthest out of town is at Poole's Cavern.

We took all morning to wander around the town.  The dogs were proving very popular.

The Heron below was popular too as it strutted proudly along the river. I think it was used to having an audience.

Below outside the Opera House

 

Classic by the Wild in Art Studio. 

On top of Monument Hill.

Boats on the lake in Pavilion Gardens.

 

All Twelve Snowdogs on display until 15th December.

We did find all of the Snowdogs, the last one up at Poole's Cavern probably my favourite.

 

Rosy Posy by Jessica Perrin.

 

We ate our lunch outside next to Rosy Posy, pieces of homemade pizza and the last two homemade date slices. 

  In my last post I promised a second post about Clumber Park, that will come but I wanted to show you the Snowdogs whilst the day was fresh in my memory.

 

I've added links to the places mentioned on our journey. 

Clumber Park

In the walled garden and glass house at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire it was all about Apples, Pumpkins and Squashes.

It was a lovely sunny afternoon

 The apples looked wonderful against the warm red brick walls.  There were many different varieties.

In the Apple store there were boxes full of them for sale but still many windfalls in the garden.

The walls and ceiling were full of bunches of dried flowers and grasses.

 

We missed the Apple day as we were there the day before.  I expect it was very popular.

 

 

In the garden the Auricula theatre had been filled with dried flowers and apples.

In the main entance to the glass house were lots of displays of pumpkins and squashes.

Plenty of places to sit, both inside and out.

 

It was warm enough to sit outside with an ice cream but we decided to head towards the cafe for an afternoon cup of tea.

On the way out of the walled garden I spotted a Medlar tree.

 

I've never tasted a Medlar, Have you?

 

After some refreshment in the cafe, where we reminisced about childhood visits, it was time to walk down to the lakeside through the autumnal trees before we moved on.  I'll be back with more in a second post.

A Definite Autumnal Feel

There is a definite feeling of Autumn in the air.  Chillier mornings, quickly darkening evenings, gorgeous skies, brisk winds tossing and turning fallen leaves, trees turning gold and bronze.

We walked in Trentham Gardens on Wednesday, as we set out around the lake there was damp in the air.  It took a while to clear and then the sun appeared for what seemed like the first time in ages.

The walk was mostly fungi spotting which is always a fun and interesting thing to do.

I'm not sure what they all are but I know that the red ones are Fly Agaric toadstools and the round ones are puff balls.  In the bottom photo the fungi looks a bit like poached eggs.

 

I recently received a most wonderful gift.  A dear friend often sends me links to the Guardian Country Diary, especially if the notes are about places we know or animals and birds we love.  They are always a joy to read.

 

A couple of days ago there was a knock at the door and the postwoman stood there with a parcel for me.  It was quite funny as the pharmacy delivery man was standing at the side of her with medication so two parcels together. One parcel far more appealing than the other.

 

Inside was a recently published book of the best of the Guardian's  Country Diary from 2018 to 2024.  It has an introduction by the wonderful Ian McMillan.  How to read  the book?  From beginning to end? Dip in? Or read with the seasons?  I decided on the latter and so my bookmark is in October.  Thank you, both of you, for you kindness.

 

The sun is out this morning highlighting the fact that windows need cleaning but at least I'll be able to put the towels outside to dry.