Gloves off

Today’s guest picture is another from my sister Mary’s recent visit to the Isabella Plantation in Richmond park

We couldn’t quite match Mary’s colourful scene in our garden today, but it was another warm and sunny day here when I had a walk around, with potential and actual flowers and plenty of birds too.

My favourites were the whirling beetles in the pond. They have taken going round in circles to new levels of intensity.

Dropscone came round for coffee, bringing his excellent scones with him. He is making slow progress back to fitness, and is able to walk up to the golf course from time to time, but he is still not expecting to be able to play this summer. Judging by his stories of golfing grief last year, tnot playing golf should make him a happier man, but it probably won’t.

When he left, I mowed the greenhouse grass and the veg garden paths . . .

. . . and dead headed some tulips.

Mrs Tootlepedal was busy in the garden too, and while she worked on, I went in and made some vegetable soup for lunch . . . and had a look at the birds while it was cooking.

After lunch, Mrs Tootlepedal went shopping and did some more gardening. Although it was warm and sunny, it was very windy, so I opted for a walk rather than a cycle ride. I started along the river . . .

. . . and having tried in vain to catch a martin in flight as I walked along the waterside, I noticed them heading for nesting sites in the wall as I crossed the town bridge.

It was a perfect day to buy an ice cream from the van on the Kilngreen to get added energy before heading up onto Whita Hill.

Because I didn’t need to wear gloves, it was much easier than it has been to take photographs with my phone, so on my walk along the hill and through the woods, I used both my camera and my phone. I have put the camera shots into this gallery . . .

. . . and the phone shots into this one.

The light wasn’t great when I started up the hill, but it had got a lot better when I had got back down to the woods towards the end of the walk. As you can see, it was a great day to be out and about, and I chose my route well so that the wind was behind me when I was in the open, and in my face only when I was well sheltered by trees and the valley bottom.

Bridges are on my mind because of the camera club theme this month.

You can see where Skippers Bridge was widened to cope with ‘modern’ traffic. It was built in 1693 and widened in 1807.

I went home from Skippers Bridge by way of the bluebells.

At just under six miles, it wasn’t a very long walk, but it was very good value.

In the evening, I picked up my fellow player Susan, and we drove to Carlisle to play with our recorder group. Generally the group was a bit tired this evening, so we didn’t play at our best, but we still managed to have an enjoyable time, and it was a good way to end a cheerful day.

The flying bird of the day is a sunny siskin.