Sunday 28 June 2015

Out and About


Sorry, I have been missing from Blogland for a couple of weeks. We have been out and about but life has been busy and I haven't had much time for either writing my blog or reading blogs. I will endeavour to catch up this week although I am working three days this week so time might just run away with me again.


So what have we been up to?


We made a quick afternoon walk to Anton Lakes one very hot sticky afternoon. Here are a few photos that I took on that day.











We have also made a couple of evening visits to Rooksbury Mill, this seems to be a good time to see water voles and patience certainly paid off as we spotted one in the long grass at the side of the river and waited around on the bridge until he eventually came out and showed himself properly. I am really pleased with these photos.









The evening light was perfect for photography.








Time for walking has been in short supply over the last fortnight but we did fit in a morning walk in a location that must have become familiar to you recently. Yes, we were in St. Mary Bourne again on a lovely sunny day.







How about this field full of ox-eye daisies, simply stunning. The photos don't show its true beauty.









The lake was looking as tranquil as ever on this hot sunny day ...







and the roses growing over the thatched cottage walls were at their very best ...









as was this beauty growing in this garden.





This weekend was our usual monthly craft get-together at my friend Colly's house in Long Eaton. We decided to take an extra night in a hotel and go to Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve (just outside Coventry) on the Friday. It was here five years ago that I took this photograph of a dragonfly which I am really proud of. We have been wanting to return ever since. 




This time we didn't see many dragonflies but what a brilliant day we had. The highlight was seeing a kingfisher for more than a usual brief second and be able to photograph it. A longer lens would have been great but I am more than pleased with what I achieved. Here are a selection of photos that I took at this brilliant location.

























We reluctantly left Brandon mid-afternoon as we had to make our way to our hotel near Derby in time to check in and shower and change before making our way to the Dog and Duck in Shardlow where we met up with some dear friends and their grandson for a lovely meal before returning to their house for coffee. A perfect end to a great day.


On Saturday I met up with more friends at Long Eaton for our crafty get-together and spent a happy day crocheting and nattering while DH visited a local nature reserve at Attenborough for yet more wildlife photography.


We made a quick visit to Dunelm Mill before leaving Derby this morning as I needed a cushion pad for a new cushion I have crocheted and we treated ourselves to a new duvet set before heading for the M1 to drive back down south. On arriving home we spotted this moth on a cyclamen leaf, we have since discovered it is a scarlet tiger moth. 




It somehow seemed a fitting end to a weekend filled with spotting and photographing all kinds of wildlife.

7 comments:

  1. Wow, Jan! You have really surpassed yourself with this batch of photos! I love the water vole, the field of daisies, the birds, orchids, hogweed ... brilliant :) I too am finding it difficult to blog and read blogs at the moment and am hoping that things will settle down soon. Good to see that you're getting out and about at this lovely time of year :)
    Cathy x

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  2. What fabulous photos, I really enjoyed them. Fancy getting a photo of a kingfisher, they are always off and gone by the time I see them, maybe I'll capture one one day. :-)

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  3. Lovely to catch up on your news, you have been to some really beautiful places and seen some amazing things. Your photos are fabulous!! xx

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  4. Love the pics Jan, and enjoyed our meal too. Hope we can do it again soon. Who knows we may actually get back to your part of the world one of these days.

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  5. Oh, such wonderful photos, Jan! I especially loved the roses spilling over the thatched roof cottage and the quartet of birds--you really have "an eye" for a good shot :)

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  6. Absolutely fantastic photos - I love the water vole and the field of ox-eye daisies is stunning!

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  7. Fantastic photos Jan and I watch you on your walks, the Km that you cover hopefully I may be able to do this in time. The water vole and the kingfisher are really beautiful. You ought to think of entering the Country File calendar competition the details are on their website, I am sure you would stand an excellent chance of winning. Give it some thought? Thank you again Chris xx

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