Fox and Fungi

It's a dreary, wet and windy day today. Not a day to be out and about, no chance of a longer walk.  The garden is very wet and the grass squelchy underfoot. Many garden jobs have had to be abandoned until hopefully dryer, brighter weather returns.

A very wet female fox visited this morning. Apologies for the photos they were taken through rain spattered windows.

She looks quite sorry for herself.  This weather must be awful for the foxes, I hope their den hasn't flooded and is still cosy and warm. 

 On a recent walk around the lake at Trentham we spotted lots of fungi.

I know the ones above and below are Shaggy Ink Caps

  but I'm not sure of any others.

The ones above were interesting and seemed to be spread around where there had perhaps been a large tree where the ground was now grassed over.

There were masses of these all over the grassed area in between the flat ones above and the ink caps.

I was fascinated by the shapes they made.

Lots of holly berries bright red against the dark green leaves.

Lords and Ladies or Cuckoo Pint.

There were still lots of cheerful, bright yellow Rudbekia flowers lining the paths.

It's a day for snuggling down with a good book.

The two on the right have been read and enjoyed the one on the left was collected from the library this morning so I'm looking forward to starting that one later this evening.

I wrote this post yesterday but for some reason it didn't publish so I have tried again today.  On a better note the rain seems to have stopped for the moment but the garden is still very wet.

Angel and Moon in Derby

Yesterday we visited Derby to meet and have lunch with friends and also to visit the Cathedral where there were two things on display that I've wanted to see for while.

Outside the Cathedral is The Knife Angel

whilst inside The Museum of the Moon can be found.

The Knife Angel is a twenty seven foot sculpture made from over one hundred thousand bladed weapons.

The knives and other weapons used have come from  Police Forces all over the country who have had them handed in during surrender schemes and weapon amnesties.

In 2014 a campaign called 'Save a Life, surrender your knife' was started in reaction to the rise in knife crime across the country.  Clive Knowles the Chairman of the British Ironworks Centre at Oswestry in Shropshire wanted to find a way, through art, to highlight this campaign.

The weapons were collected, cleaned and blunted.  People who had suffered from knife crime were invited to come and engrave personal messages on the blades before they were finally put into place to create the angel.  The statue is a symbol of the pain of loss that the friends and families of victims of knife crime feel and the futility of these crimes.

The Angel can be seen until 30th October.

The Museum of the Moon is on display in the Cathedral until 6th October.

It is a stunning installation which combines both sound and light to bring insight into one of our closest neighbours in the solar system.

The art work is by artist Luke Jerram and the sounds and music by composer Dan Jones.  The moon measures seven metres in diameter and once inflated weighs about forty kilos.

It is made from fire resistant white fabric and has images from NASA printed on its surface.  It is kept inflated by a small fan embedded in its north pole.

It was stunning and we spent ages just looking upwards and I think I managed to photograph it from all sides.

After we left the Cathedral we headed to the Derby Museum and Art Gallery for lunch.  Afterwards we saw a wonderful exhibition of Japanese Art including watercolours and prints from the museum's collections.

The paintings of fish, birds and animals were exquisite.  No photos of the paintings I'm afraid.

Origami birds across the floor of the gallery. I think there have been Origami workshops held in the gallery during the exhibition.

Into October

I can't believe that October is here already. 

 Yesterday started with heavy rain and the collard doves were paddling around the bird feeders waiting for their breakfast.

 We are still getting produce from the garden and greenhouse

Courgettes and tomatoes are coming to an end now but aubergines which we didn't expect to grow have belatedly produced five fruits.

 We usually don't do well with aubergines but every year plant them with hope. It has been a strange year with the weather so lets hope they grow a bit more before the predicted colder weather arrives.

We've sown rocket, spinach and lettuce seeds in pots in the conservatory.  The rocket is the first to germinate.

Meanwhile on our not quite daily walks (more like three times a week) there are plenty of  signs of Autumn to be found.

Berries and rose hips at Wolesley Nature Reserve.

Lords and Ladies at Trentham Estate

Sweet Chestnuts at Trentham Estate

Shaggy Ink Cap mushrooms at Westport Lake Nature Reserve.

Horse Chestnut leaves and 

a couple of conkers from the tree at the top of next door's garden plus a few little windfall pears.

This morning was completely different to yesterday - the sun is out and there is no rain.   I took this photo out of the bedroom window of the sun appearing through the trees in the little wooded area behind the holly hedge at the top of the garden.  It is where the foxes live in their den and possibly where the badgers live too.

Tomorrow we are off to Derby to meet with friends from Nottingham.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the next belt of bad weather stays away until we get home again.

Five at Deganwy

On the way home from our break in Wales we dropped into the little town of Deganwy whilst on our way to RSPB Conwy.

As it is Friday here are five things we learnt about the town whilst we were there.

1.  The town is on the Creuddyn Peninsula at the side of the Conwy Estuary, not far from Llandudno and Rhos-on-Sea with views across to Conwy and out towards Angelsey.

2.  We parked on the station car park.  The trains running on this line are the main line train to Manchester and the smaller Conwy Valley Line which calls at places like Llanrwst, Betws-y-coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog.  Shelters have replaced the original station building which was built in 1866. From about 1876 Deganwy became a popular seaside attraction.

3.  Visitors came off the trains at the station and joined  paddle steamers which ferried them down to the popular spa of Trefriw sailing across the river from Deganwy to Conwy before reaching their destination.

4.  The Edwardian Beach Shelter along the promenade was built in 1904 and was damaged by a a severe storm in 2014.  Local residents set up the Beach Shelter Restoration Team and with help from local councils the Heritage Lottery Fund and HAFOD it was restored in 2017.  The promenade on which the shelter stands is part of the Wales Coastal Path and the National Cycle Network.

5.  One of Deganwy's noted personalities is Commander Harold Lowe who was 5th Officer on board RMS Titanic.  He assisted in launching several lifeboats before taking charge of lifeboat number fourteen.  He collected three other lifeboats and formed a raft, then he returned to the wreckage looking for survivors.  He found four of them and headed back towards RMS Carpathia stopping to help another lifeboat which was in trouble and he towed it to safety.

At Beaumaris Castle

Returning to Wales and our short break a couple of weeks ago.  We visited the little town of Beaumaris on our first full day on Anglesey.

It was raining and quite windy as we parked on a muddy field not far from the castle.  It was about 9.30a.m. and the castle was due to open then but we had a little walk along the front first.

I spotted some Eider ducks in the water.

Our first view of the castle from the car park.

 A view of the castle from the little public park at the side of it.

 Beaumaris Castle is known as 'the greatest castle never built'.  It was the last of the 'iron ring' of castles built in Wales by King Edward I and is considered his unfinished masterpiece, built with the help of his architect  James of St George.  

 The castle is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Lack of money caused work to cease on the building and its unique squat shape tells its own tale of a dream castle of perfect symmetry which never quite materialised.

We had a little wander around the lovely buildings opposite and into a little square before making our way to the castle gates.

At this time it was still wet underfoot and damp in the air but the heavy rain had stopped.

 We entered the castle and apart from a couple of other people we had it mostly to ourselves for a good half hour.

 The lady above was sweeping up conkers, which had fallen from the horse chestnut tree, so that people didn't slip or turn an ankle on one.  She also told us that she knows of several people who collect the conkers to place around the house at 'spider time' apparently the spiders don't like the smell.

 We watched a little film about the history of the castle and by the time we came out and went up onto the walls grey skies had disappeared and the sun was shining brightly.

 The town looked lovely in the sunshine.

Along the inside of one of the wall passages was the chapel.  Above it was a room which overlooked it.  This is where the King could watch the services in private.

In several corners there were sculptures to be discovered.  I must admit I had a play with this one and enjoyed making it sound through the empty 'rooms' of the castle.

It was getting warmer.  Raincoats came off and sun hats put on.

The views from the castle walls were spectacular.

More photos above of the castle interior.

 From the castle we wandered back into the town.

Across the road from the castle we found Castle Gardens.

A delightful little haven of peace and quiet away from the main street which had become rather busy whilst we were in the castle.

Containing lovely plants and flowers, metal and wood garden sculptures and a gorgeous resident cat.

We rather liked this woodpecker.

and the puffins too.

Below some more photos of the town

I'd like to return one day as there was plenty more to discover but it was time to move on further up the coast.