Faeries

At Trentham Gardens there are a collection of wire woven fairy sculptures. They are dotted here, there and everywhere. Each time we visit we see new ones. One was even dipping down into the lake for a drink. There seems to be a warrior queen on one plinth and lots of them are holding dandelion seed heads. I tried buying a kit and making my own.. I didn’t make the best one.

Otter sculpture

We are thinking of getting a tree stump carved in our garden. We had to get it cut down to about seven foot high as it was over growing a part of the garden and making it shady.

This sculpture was in Trentham gardens today. There were quite a few other ones but this was my favourite, especially since it is next to the river Trent which has got a lot cleaner over recent years.

It was a short but tiring walk. Trentham gardens is worth a visit for a day. There is also a retail village and a monkey forest on the site. But do check what is open before you visit.

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Black Swans

Seen on our walk round Trentham Gardens this afternoon. Two black swans with red beaks, they were gathering nesting material by the side of the lake. They were not bothered by us being close, probably be ause we were not threatening them and they won’t have seen many people over the last few months of lockdown. I’m not sue what species of Swan they are. They had a few white feathers and a white line on their beaks. I wouldn’t have said they looked and different, it was not obvious whether they were male or female. It was a pleasure to see them today.

Finally walking again

As we arrived at Westport Lake today it started to snow. It didn’t stick, but children were running screaming as it came down thick and fast. We sat and waited in the car till it stopped. I didn’t take a photo of it because my phone was stuck in my pocket trapped between me and the car door.

Then out, a quick visit to the icecream van for a treat and round the latge lake once and the small one twice. No where near as far as I would normally do, but I managed to get enough steps and heart points in to meet my daily challenge. I’m shattered but happy!

Not well

I feel unwell. Grey and cold, achey, tired. Under the weather.

I didn’t go for a walk yesterday or today. Unlike this photo the sun was shining in a bright blue sky, with fluffy white clouds scudding across it. Me? I keep falling asleep. I want to hibernate, like a little cold hedgehog. Tucking my head under the duvet and waiting for the headache and tummy upset to go away. Spikey and fed up, but not well enough to want to do anything about it.

😭

Normal service will resume as soon as possible….. Hopefully!

Hartshill Nature reserve

Although the nature reserve is on a steep slope, there is still a pool on it. The end with the bridge over it might be a dam. I don’t know the history of the place but there are steep steps down into it and in some areas what paths there are, are quite slippy.

I had to lean on my friends arm to get down one section, not socially distanced but I was wearing a mask.

Today was sunny with very warm temperatures, the warmest March day since 1968. Red admiral butterflies were flitting about in pairs and triplets. The bird song was loud and liquid. Buds were bursting and insects humming.

I did another five miles today, that seems to be my upper limit for walking at the moment. Tomorrows planned walk is about the same length!

Boat in a lock

Narrow boat in the bottom of the canal lock as the water started to fill it up. Seen on a walk today.

I couldn’t stop to see the lock fill up fully as my friend had walked further on and I don’t like walking along the canal on my own.

It was quite warm today for a change and the breeze had dropped a bit. We carried on along and I half expected the narrow boat to catch up with us but we got to the next lock and it was still well behind us.

Great to feel sunshine on my face properly for the first time this year. I even took my coat off!

Kilometers

How far I walked today. Its not a massive amount but it was up and down and up again. Lots of hills. I’ve been doing this walking challenge for 56 days now and my total mileage is around 181.5 since 1st February. That’s an average of 22.6 miles a week. My hubby has walked with me a few times and the rest mostly with my friend. She always walks further than me.

It’s interesting to me to work it out, but I might be boring you!

I did work out that if I walked another 12 miles I would have got Exeter in Devon!

As I walk

As I walk I’m looking at trees, I’m waiting for the buds to burst, the leaves to stretch and expand. But we need some rain now to get the buds to swell. Then I will have more idea of what these trees are.

Oak before Ash,

In for a Splash.

Ash before Oak,

In for a soak….

The old rhyme of what to expect from the weather this Spring…

Also the weather has been very windy after a quiet start to March.

The saying for that is :

In like a Lamb

Out like a Lion.

(it can be vice versa), old weather saws that my grandma told me…