Life and times in my particular environment

Maniac that sounds a great place to be - DH would absolutely love it there.

Maniac - thumbs up emoticon! I can't think of many better ways to while away the hours.

Backwell Lake which is only about 200 yds from my house has a large number of wild birds .Some overwinter and some permanent residents.
With a grant from local council and lottery fund an improved footpath has been constructed which makes the lake more accessible to disability scooters and pushchairs.
This year has seen an unusually large number of baby birds - such a joy to watch them grow.I could sit there for hours.

Garden full of large white butterflies and a few smaller ones. I've never seen so many at once. I've tried to make it bird/insect friendly, but!

This morning we drove to the local market - the last few days the fields of sunflowers have bloomed - amazing how fast they grow and open when the sun comes out. Even fields that were so late growing due to the unseasonal rain a month or so ago have almost caught up.
Spent a frustrating twenty minutes actually walking through the market - only needed to go to the baker - and trying to get to our friends where I was due to meet DH - amazing how many people take large pushchairs and big dogs into the crowded market. One couple actually had a sort of trailer of the type you pull behind a sit on mower - they had a baby about nine months old lying in the bottom amongst the shopping.
I blame the travel writers of the Sunday papers showing photos of the place and saying what a really French experience it is ----

Galen . Hunt that's the sort of thing I do (go around trying to identify plants) - of course I had to learn everything new about northern hemisphere flora and fauna when we moved to the UK in 2000. I still haven't mastered it all.

That was to J0
Galen what a sad post

Wonderful

Galen (hug)

I miss my boat as well. I really loved 'Psalm of Life' she was a Sadler 29 and we sailed over to the Channel Islands and France on her every year!
When my dh died, I couldn't manage her single handed, so, after I'd scattered his ashes from her off Berry Head, I sold her! That's 10years ago now, but, I still miss her. And him of course.

Or canal, Grannyknot. I really miss our holidays on our narrowboat. with the help of my flower and bird books I learned such a lot. I used to learn a new flower every time we went to the boat. One visit I was without the flower book and wanted to remember a flower to look up when we got home. 'That's easy ', I thought,' it's leaves are like an arrowhead'. When I looked in the book ,there it was - called ,would you believe, Arrowhead! The banks of the canals were as good as any herbaceous border, meadow sweet, puple loosestrife, willowherbs and ragwort. Still my garden's pretty marvelous too. Last night I saw a badger on the lawn.

Ariadne always something going on near water, isn't that just so. I am happiest near water of any kind - ocean, river, loch or stream.

jingle

We've got a Co-op. It's quite a nice one.

Coming back from archery today we saw about a thousand gulls (and some crows, I think, but not sure) circling high above quite a small area. Because they were over a suburban area, I think they were just enjoying the thermals – having an easy ride in the late afternoon warmth.

And then, coming back along the home straight, along the side of the loch, it was lovely, just lovely, to see the masses and masses of meadowsweet growing in the hill slope verges. In some places there was ragwort mixed in with the meadowsweet – a surprisingly pleasing combination.

And we saw quite a few butterflies. We passed too quickly (or they did!) for us to tell what species they were, but it was good to see them so close to the road.

Then, lastly, before we turned up the hill to Oor Hoos, a raft of eider ducks, including small ones, on the loch.

After a 'dinner' of blackberry and raspberry soufflé (no added sugar, just some cinnamon and vanilla) with large dollops of whipped cream, plus a G&T each, we are feeling well content .

I love my sea view strictly speaking its the Bristol Channel. When I go into work I have to go through the countryside and I really love it.

I am constantly grateful for the opportunity to live in a rural environment. One morning last week, walking early I saw a hare bounding through fields, cattle knee deep in grass and butterflys fluttering around.

We had visitors last week, (they live in a town) and we took them to see our son at work. This involved a 15 or so minute drive through the country lanes. something we do regularly, and although I love the countryside, we take this route very much for granted. Our friends were absolutely thrilled with the scenery and hedgerows, said how lucky we were to live such a short distance from both sea and countryside, we know this, but need to be reminded occasionally that not everyone has the opportunity to live as we do, and we are indeed very fortunate.

We do see the kids heading down with their surfboards, like they do after school in Durban, GrannyKnot, but while the sea nearby can be impressive, the beach isn't quite as stunning. And there is an absence of those lovely cafes and restaurants..

I would have loved a sea view, but it would have meant paying a considerable amount more for the house!

Ariadne oh, to be near the ocean.

We are very near the sea, hence my odd winge about the gulls in the early hours! But when I come out of my front door, I can look down the road and see rolling fields, dotted with sheep. And, like Phoenix (who lives not far away) I find the hedgerows absolutely beautiful. There are wild roses on the roadside near us too.

And five minutes to the sea is joy!

I live on the edge of the city but am surrounded by parkland and woods that contain ancient trees. Foxes have had their cubs in the the quiet garden behind my outhouses, several years running. The park has a farm and lets the horses and ponies into the field by my house early each morning, often when I am taking my dog for her first walk. It's lovely to see them frolicking and charging up and down as though they are revelling in the sunshine, but equally wonderful to see them on a misty morning when the air is crisp and they are running around with their coats on.

There are tawny owls in the wood, who call to each other when it goes dark. I can hear woodpeckers, although I'm lucky to catch sight of them. When I step out of my house, I can hear the change in bird chatter as they announce my presence, especially the robins, who seem to have a territorial line over which I am not expected to step! The magpies have noticed the eggs I have delivered every Friday morning, and have started ripping up the egg box, leaving the eggs loose in the garden tub where the milkman leaves them. Cheek!

I am really enjoying my urban environment, thanks to my super duper digital hearing aid (thank you NHS) - it makes me realise what I've been missing and so I appreciate it even more. I was reading the paper in the garden earlier, when I became aware of an almighty hum, created by all the bees on my lavender, escalonia and sunflowers.

I wish there was an edit facility