Water water everywhere

January 23, 2021

It has been so wet for so many weeks that the level of the local lakes are so high they have literally spilled over and are rushing into the river Nene.

We have been lucky here in this last period of rain that the flooding hasn’t affected houses as it did just after Christmas.

The footpath was straight across the centre of this quite fast flowing river of flood water.’

The rise in the level of the lakes has brought the swans and other water birds closer to the path as we walk round.

The woods have literally turned into swamps.

I noticed today that the herons are in the heronry on nests . The great egret flew over us landing on the far bank. There are large numbers of water birds on the lakes . The cormorants have increased in numbers and are always great to watch as the dive or sit drying their wings. I’ve also noticed the large numbers of squirrels running and leaping amongst the trees over the last few weeks.

At this time of year the Moss and the lichen are the high spots of colour . A recent walk at Oundle ( which also had plenty of flooding) had plenty of emerald green moss on the bridge. A high spot of colour on a really dull day.

The heron above was stalking the flooded playing fields at Oundle and seemed to be feasting on something.

At this time of year it is often the seed heads and structures from last year that catch your eye . On cold days they look really interesting.

These were taken on a cold frosty morning walk just after Christmas.

Looking forward to the days changing and the spring beginning. More exploring needed , looking forward to it.

Felmersham after the rain

October 29, 2020

Felmersham Sits on the banks of the river Ouse and has a lovely bridge which in the summer is a spot for paddling, swimming and canoeing. After the rain the river was fast and high and was running a muddy brown colour.

We have often put our canoe in here and paddled up through tall reed beds full of lovely wildlife , dragonflies and kingfishers and people tell me otters( not seen one yet)

We walked along the raised up pavements ( lots of flooding in the winter) to a wildlife trust area of gravel pits that were dug in the 1940’s. They are a long string of lakes ranging from very large to pond size and are really interesting.

There are still plenty of leaves on the trees but the colours are changing daily and the flowers are fading. On this walk there was a lot of mud to negotiate after days of rain.

The fields have been ploughed and looked a lovely colour in the morning sun.

Back along the raised pavement and across the bridge. I though the mosses were really lovely on the bridge.

A nice walk early in the morning after the rain which had been keeping us in the house for days.

London Surprises

October 23, 2020

We were in London on Thursday around the Paddington area. We were surprised by the canals and the area known as little Venice. The Grand union canal flows into this area. The weather was good and it did not look as if we were standing in the middle of a busy capital city !

The amount of water and wildlife really took us by surprise. There were cormorants diving in the canal.

There were lots of water birds and they all seemed very confident and obviously used to people feeding them. A group of coots followed us along the bank.

This was definitely an interesting place to explore

Floating leaves

October 20, 2020

A damp walk this morning, full of colour from fallen leaves. The leaves were collecting on the lake edge and looked lovely.

On closer inspection they are a real variety of colours and look like a wallpaper or fabric.

They collected between the trees which were moss covered. The colours were bright and vibrant on a very dull and damp morning.

Further along the path the trees change so the lake edge was decorated differently.

The mosses are more noticeable now as the flowers fade and the branches lose their leaves.

I noticed lots of people collecting a few coloured leaves on their walks, they are so lovely at the moment.

Looking forward to more colours as autumn moves on.

Colour sensations at Batsford

October 19, 2020

Batsford is a favourite place of mine. Whenever you visit this arboretum you discover something new. At the weekend colour was the main event.

There are a large number of Japanese maples at the arboretum some of them large and extremely beautiful at the moment.

I like the shape of some of the trunks and branches that are twisted and curled.

The large beech trees and sweet chestnuts are spectacular and the leaves are changing colour and falling , making their structure even more impressive.

There is so much to see, trees, shrubs and flowers still out . Plenty of birds and squirrels as well.

Amazing colours,a great place to explore again and again. They also make fantastic cake . We sat on the terrace with coffee and cake enjoying the wonderful views !

Autumn walks ( damp)

October 12, 2020

Most days for the past couple of weeks have included rain. There has been misty, drizzle and down pour varieties . The outcome has been very damp walking. The lakes are high and the river is running fast. The light has been mainly dull but there are some bright colours in the changing leaves and berries.

There have been plenty of slugs and snails taking full advantage of the damp weather and my ducks who live in our garden have been enjoying the rain so much they seem to rain bathe !

The colours are gradually changing and looking lovely especially in the early morning or the evening sun.

The garden still has some colour but it feels as now is time to prepare for winter and trim and set for next year. It has been a fantastic year of gardening. Time to plan for 2021.

A couple of days ago a goldfinch flew into the french windows. It looked dead but after a warm up and ten minutes sitting in my hand happily flew off with its flock. An amazing close encounter with a beautiful tiny creature.

Hoping for less rain in the coming weeks to spend more time out exploring as Autumn move on.

Amazing acorns

September 28, 2020

There are so many acorns this year, more than I can ever remember. The trees are heavy with them and they look like bunches of grapes from a distance.

There are so many acorns that a trip to Delapre Abbey in Northampton was full of crunch ever time we walked under the trees. There are carpets of acorns on the ground.

Autumn is taking hold with a cool start to the day and blue skies full of colourful leaves and fruits.

A trip around the globe ( at Kew)

August 26, 2020

A visit to Kew Gardens is a world tour of plants . We started at the temperate house and moved on to the steamy palm house. The princess of Wales house moves through arid zones and back into lush vegetation.

The areas outside the glasshouses are full of brilliant discoveries . I found my favourite Indian bean tree

The Alpine house sits in a huge rockery area and is an interesting shape and full of beautiful colourful and delicate flowers.

The cacti are fascinating in the Princess of Wales glasshouse.

We visited the hive sculpture for the first time. This is based on bees and their hive and has lights and sound. The sound is generated by the movements of bees in a real hive. This was brilliant , at night it glows. I would love to visit again and see this.

We had a full day at Kew but really only scratched the surface . It has largest plant collection in the world. Here is a selection of discoveries . We will be visiting again soon.

A wander at the lake and meadow

July 28, 2020

Yesterday the weather was cool and wet, the rain was heavy and lasted throughout the day. Sunday was better and we did have a walk across the meadow along the lakes in Rushden.

There were very few damselflies and dragonflies today, normally we see large numbers. The weather was cool and changeable and this may have been why. The number of insects generally seems lower this year on this walk. we made a point of looking closely to discover insects today. Rewarded with beetles and bees as well as cinnabar moth caterpillars.

The teasels were a magnet to bees and they were great to watch as they moved across the dusty pink flowers .

There were a few butterflies flitting about especially around the brambles. Gatekeepers and speckled woods and one peacock butterfly .

The swans were resting and preening with their cygnets which are large now. They were in a family group behind some trees in the lake. Hard to photograph through the growth.

Ducks were swimming in groups with their large ducklings and plenty of coots and grebes and diving cormorants. There seem to be far fewer fish when looking down into the lake from the boardwalk this summer.

The highland cattle are grazing on the meadow area and are always lovely to see. This short walk always has lots to discover .