New paintings and regular art updates.
Recently planted willow stems arch over a path and make a willow dragon that children can run rhrough. It was a bit low for me until I got into the main tunnel. Still it was fun to walk through. It’s something you could make in your garden if you had the knowledge. X
Black Swan seen today. My hubby went up to it and stroked the back of its neck! I’m surprised he didn’t get pecked!
I heard that these birds were introduced from abroad. Perhaps Australia? They are mostly all black with red beaks, although there are slight amounts of white in places on them. They are slightly smaller in stature than the normal swans we see. Mute or Hooper Swans? I’m not sure if they can interbreed.
I’m sad that I didn’t get a better photo.
You can tell I was busy on my essay over the last few days, there’s a big hole in my walking and heart rate records. I’m trying to do over 5000 steps a day and get my heart points to twenty… Well I didn’t manage it on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but I did today. Partly on a short walk round Westport lake and also around a car park a few times while I was waiting for a friend… Phew, glad to be walking again!
Huge and tall, these stunning flowers had grown up at Trentham Gardens today. Everything was massive and blousy. I’m trying to reduce my file sizes so I’m only adding small images. But you get the idea. Nice walk with friends in exploring mode.
A double reflection, strangely the bottom photo if flipped but the geese look the right way up?
I think this is two parents and a large family of goslings.
The grey light and the minium ripples give the reflections a better clarity. The water looks like quicksilver, it has a metallic sheen. This is a gentle, slow and harmonious image. Peaceful and almost monochromatic. The birds silhouettes could be cut outs. Like the set of three flying ducks people used to have on their walls. Usually with one duck hanging down for comic effect.
Moving away from meteors, here are a couple more photos from this evenings walk. Showing Keele Hall and a very tiny thin crescent moon peeping out from behind the branches of an ancient tree on the estate. It relaxed me seeing such a lovely fading sunset. We had been blinded by the westerning sun dropping low on the horizon earlier so it was good that it had set for this photo.
This evening we had a stroll round Keele Woods. Situated being Keele Hall, part of Keele University in Staffordshire. The paths are rough in places and meander down by three old fishing pools. I’m not sure about who is allowed to fish if at all. It was getting dark as we walked back up the hill to the hall. Nice walk.
This morning we went out in the sunshine and visited Trentham Monkey Forest. Three troops of Barbara Macaques spread through a forest landscape. They have the run of about 60 acres and the park is helping save them and repopulating them into the wild.
Trentham Monkey Forest is just south of Trentham Gardens on the A34, near the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Staffordshire.
Six and a half miles from here, in the countryside is Knypersley Reservoir. It supplies the local canals with water (apparently Staffordshire has the greatest mileage of canals of all the counties of Britain).
The walk round the Reservoir was up and down hill. We walked up past a tower in the fading daylight, then on up a rough path to a waterfall, more of a small weir. Back along it and out of the shadows of the trees, then along the footpath and out onto the road that crosses the Reservoir and back up to the car park.
We walked for about two miles, up and down. Good exercise, although I was a little nervous of the uneven surfaces.
The Croft is a local piece of land the that was threatened with having houses built on it. But it is a green lung of the city, giving a recreation area for local people and for local wildlife.
The sky was covered in mackerel clouds indicating it might be raining tomorrow. I sometimes think the clouds look like a flock of sheep!
The fox is carved into the tree of a neighbouring garden. I did find out who the sculpture was done by. I woukd like one doing on a tree stump in my garden. X
Mallaband-Brown