Hanging around

Today’s guest picture is  a shot of one of my sister Mary’s favourite haunts, the Queen Mary’s garden, Regent’s Park.

It was my morning duty to spend a couple of hours in the Information Hub in the High Street, giving out information to any local or visitor who might require it.  This was an opportunity to hit two targets with one arrow as it was also the day to hang the photographs for our camera club exhibition. Sandy kindly appeared to give me a lift up with the pictures and help with the hanging and we soon had a decent display on the walls.

After the pictures were hung, I had to hang about for another hour and a bit, not giving out any information although I did force anyone who came in for any reason to look at the pictures.  They were very grateful to have them drawn to their attention.

Mrs Tootlepedal had been at a church choir practice while I but as soon as I got back, she suggested a trip to cut some bracken to put on the top of her vegetable beds as winter protection.  As the sun had rather surprisingly come out, I went with her, camera in hand.

We were held up by some partridges….

…who seemed to think that they had the right of way.

We got to our chosen spot and Mrs Tootlepedal was soon hard at work.

I was acting as bracken donkey, carrying the bracken from cutter to car but in between trips, I looked about.

There was fresh looking fungi on and around tree stumps

And some fine turkey tails in this year’s shade, brown.

Some slime mould (I think) proved hard to shoot without my macro lens.

It is very small

Although it was sunny, the mist was never far away.

With the back of the car well filled, we headed for home.

I was starving so I went in for lunch while Mrs Tootlepedal laid the bracken on one of the vegetable beds.

After lunch, I had a quick look at the birds…

…and took a walk round the garden.

Not only good looking poppies but insects too.

Other flowers were trying their hardest.  I had to hold the rose up by hand to get the picture.

I should have gone for a pedal but the persistently damp weather has got to my breathing and I could only summon up enough energy for a walk.  The sun was still out when I set off round Gaskell’s and the Becks.  As always, the park wall was full of interest…

…and there were refreshments to be had along the way.

Amazingly late blackberries and very tasty too.

As I went along, the mist started to creep down the valley and soon the sun was blotted out.  It was warm and still though so walking was a pleasure and the views were fine

When I got into the woods, I remembered that Mrs Tootlepedal had told me of a waterfall a bit further up the Becks Burn from the bridge that we cross.  I went in search of it.

On my way, I passed an enormous fungus.

Dinner plate size.

I found the little cascade but it was in a dark spot in the woods and I would have had to stand in the middle of the stream with a tripod for a good shot.  As I had neither wellies nor a tripod, I took the best shot that I could as a reminder to myself to go back and try again later.

Certainly worth another visit

The fungus that had carpeted the wood on my last visit had largely gone but the strange white fingers were still sticking out of the ground in places and some large fungus by a stable had been there so long that it had mould on it.

In spite of the gathering mist, the track was quite colourful….

…but by the time that I got back to the town, things were looking pretty gloomy again.

Mrs Tootlepedal had just finished some hard gardening work when I got home and we were both pleased to sit down to a cup of tea.

In the early evening, my flute pupil Luke came and showed that he now has the ability to play quietly in a sustained style which is a useful step forward.

Then I went off to our monthly camera club meeting where we had the double pleasure of two new members and a raft of interesting pictures to look at.  Several members brought in more pictures for our exhibition so I will go up and hang them in the morning (before you ask…the pictures, not the members).

I managed to catch a flying bird of the day while the weak sun was out.