Today’s guest picture comes from Jenni, my highland correspondent, and shows a flock of long tailed tits enjoying her peanuts. They are beautiful little birds and we are very envious as we would like to see them in our garden.
We had a generally sunny and cheerful day here today; cheerful that was as long as you weren’t exposed to the very strong wind which made it feel decidedly chilly.
After going to church to sing in the choir, there was a moment when I had time for either a short cycle ride or a walk before the trip to our Carlisle choir in the afternoon. The wind, gusting up to 40 mph made the decision for me and I went for a walk.
I didn’t have to waste any time watching birds in our garden because there were no birds to be seen, the wind proving too strong for them too perhaps.
If you could keep out of the worst of the wind though, it was a beautiful day for a stroll…
…and although all the gulls flew off as soon as I got near the Kilngreen, I did find two or three ducks lurking in the shelter of the river bank on the Ewes Water.
I crossed the sawmill bridge and walked up the hill past the Estate Offices. The road verge and walls here are home to a considerable number of hart’s-tongue ferns…
…and a grand display of dog tooth peltigera lichen. This crop was about two feet in width.
Three trees further up the hill have been artistically arranged by nature to make a pleasing combination.
And there was plenty of shelter as I walked along the track above the trees to let me enjoy the view of Whita without getting blown away.
A lot of trees have been felled along the track, leaving the pines still standing.
I followed the track until I came to the north lodge…
…and there I enjoyed a view up the Esk valley which has only been recently been made available to walkers by the felling of yet more trees.
Time was pressing a bit so I had to hurry home, stopping only for a view of an as yet unfelled wood…
…and making it just in time to have a slice of bread and honey before setting off to Carlisle.
The choir practice was well attended and we set about learning another of the songs that we will take to the choir competition in Manchester in March. We also went through one of the songs which I have been trying to get off by heart….more work required!
When we got home, Mrs Tootlepedal tried out a new recipe involving leeks, feta cheese and puy lentils. It made for an enjoyable meal.
We have been watching the television adaptation of Les Miserables and it has been an interesting but chastening experience for me. I read the book a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought that I would remember it well and be able to compare the book with the TV programme but it turns out that although I do recall a lot of the scenes and places from the story, many of which don’t figure in the musical version, I have also forgotten much more than I thought. As a result, I have confidently said to Mrs Tootlepedal on more than one occasion, “Well, that didn’t happen in the book,” only to find that it did.
No flying bird today but I did get the briefest glimpse of a robin. It was flying a second or two later.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
I read ‘Les Misérables’ a couple of years ago. It’s a very, very, very long book! I think the current television adaptation is superb.
He certainly didn’t object to detaining the reader for many pages while the plot takes a breather.
We had the same weather yesterday. Today was as cold but seemed warmer because there was no wind.
That fern is a joy to see. I wish we had them here. The dog lichen is bigger than any I’ve seen, It must love it there.
Once again the landscape views have to be my favorites.
There are several dog lichens of about the same size on that wall. As you say. conditions must be good.
Sorry about that nasty wind though glad you were able to take a photograph of those artistic trees, I loved it.
You had a fine walk considering the wind. We’ve had wind that can blow you off your feet.
I would stay at home if that was the case.
It must be lovely to have new views to admire; tree felling, when done mindfully, aint all bad 😊
The trees are felled regularly so after twenty years or so, we keep getting fresh views.
Excellent pictures of the ducks.
I agree about those artistic trees. What a lovely sight. As for film or TV adaptations of books…best to regard them as totally different forms. For most shows or movies based on books, “Inspired by” would be the best qualifier. 😉
Very true.
A fine day for walking, and many things to see. I especially love the hart’s tongue fern, and that black and white of the unfelled wood. That fern is a rather nice specimen.
The black and white came out well considering that I was hurrying home when I took it.
Lucky lady having all those pretty long tailed tits in her garden. Lucky you too taking a lovely walk with new vistas and ducks to enjoy. I’m enjoying ‘Les Misérables’ too!
It is well acted.
If there’s anything good about the lack of birds at the feeders it’s that you’re treating us to many more landscape images of the great scenery there!
I’ve been discovering some old movies on Youtube lately that I watched in my youth. One thing about getting older and not being able to remember as well is that they are often like new movies, as I seldom remember the films as well as I thought that I would.
I am like that with detective novels. I can read them many times. It saves money.
“The advantage of a bad memory is that you can enjoy many times the same thing for the first time.”
Absolutely.
I love the b/w shot of the wood!
I am going to try to take more b/w.