Tuesday, May 17, 2022

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.


 

Sunday, May 01, 2022

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.