Twenty

 On Monday 14th March 2005, I hit the publish button on my first ever post on this blog.  Twenty years have passed and I'm still writing posts although not as frequently as I did back then.  Also today there are far more photos than words as digital photography has made it so much easier to add them to a post.

My first post was called 'Dab Chicks Galore' and was about our seeing them during a walk along the Cromford Canal.  Recently we walked along the canal looking for Dab Chicks or Little Grebes but we didn't find any.  Is this a sign of the times?  

The canal was covered in places by a blueish green algae, although we saw a few Mallards and Canada Geese and the occasional Moorhen and Coot.

It was quite cold as we walked along with a slight mizzle in the air.  Above is the area near the Wharf shed where the Dab Chicks used to congregate.

Above High Peak Junction

Leawood Pump House

Aqueduct Cottage

I am so grateful for all those people who visit here and read my ramblings, especially to all those who leave comments.  Some of you have been visiting for a long time, some more recently.  Thank you. Lots of bloggers have now stopped writing for one reason or another.  I'm still in touch with two or three bloggers via face book and other media even though they no longer have blogs anymore.  I've been lucky to meet up with a few of them over the years. Others have just disappeared or moved on.  Some are no longer with us.

I had toyed with the idea of not writing here anymore once I'd reached the anniversary but amazingly I still enjoy blogging so I will continue for a little while longer.   

All for now.  Take care.

Recently

I've not written a post for a while.  To be honest I haven't felt like it what with one thing and another.  I thought I'd do a sequence of photos taken since my last post.  Not many words I'm afraid as I don't have them at the moment.

One of the young foxes visited before dark and posed for photos.

We stoped to walk at the JCB lake on our way to Ashbourne.

There were lots of Barnacle Geese

We bought a Helenium plant from the local garden centre.

It's called Mardi Gras.  I've wanted one for ages. I hope when it goes into the garden it spreads.

Paul made bread loaves. 

 

We walked along the riverside in Bakewell on our way back from a funeral.

Not many people around, it's usually very busy.

 

It's a wonder the bridge over to the cattle market doesn't collapse under the weight of those locks.

 

Lastly, in the garden, the sunfower is growing tall.  We set four seeds in pots earlier this year, only one germinated.  I'm waiting to see what colour it will be as the seed packet held a mixture of seeds.  The wildlife will love it, I'm sure.

 

Added August 17th

 

A couple of days after I'd written this post the sunflower started to open up - this is the colour and it has grown a few more inches too.