Restricted roving!

It will be great to be able to wander further afield and enjoy more of our countryside. I have enjoyed watching the birds in my garden but it will be a joy to finally be able to travel even though still fairly local to see what is out and about along canals, fields and lanes. A few of my highlights during lockdown. Hazel tree catkins were a welcome sight and sign of Spring!

Spring flowers looking a picture in the sunshine of late February. Tete-a -Tete have such a long flowering period bringing a welcome splash of colour.

One of three Robins I have enjoyed seeing in my garden sang almost constantly atop of a conifer for most of February and the early part of March. I reckon he now has a mate as he has stopped singing and being territorial and I expect busy with nest making.

With the icy temperatures in February and early March the flow of water in the pond waterfall partly froze as did the splashes of water from the fountain making for some interesting images. I am pleased to say the fish have survived the Winter and a visiting Heron!

I began to think that we would not have any frogspawn this year and then on the 11th of March it appeared! Since then there have been several clumps of spawn!

Bullfinches made a welcome return to the feeders in early March. Greenfinch have been regular visitors over the Winter, which is a welcome sign that maybe they are now recovering in numbers.

It was a nice surprise to see 5 Goosander on one of the pools at a local Arboretum.

At the Arboretum it was good to see blossom beginning to burst open! The images are of Purple Leaved Plum blossom.

Willow catkins and Snowdrops that were looking a treat in the sunshine.

A Spring blog post would not be complete without an image of Spring Lambs and their mother.

I doubt they are having to socially distance, just Mum wanting a well earned rest!

"Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil." - Reginald Heber

A mixed bag of weather!

We have certainly had a mixed bag of weather the last few weeks! The sub zero temperatures are hopefully over for now and within the next couple of days we will be basking in temperatures of 7c and above! 'We're having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave' well not quite.;-) This post is a catch up from the last few weeks of images I have taken, for the most part in my garden and on 'local' walks.

At the back end of January we had enough snow to cancel football and enough to build a snowman! The snow did give rise to a few scenic images that we do not get to see too often! The snow covered netting over the fish pond acted as a screen to hide the fish, fooled the Heron this time.;-) Cyclamen and Winter Pansies somehow survive the extreme temperatures, for such delicate looking plants they weather the weather well!

After heavy rains the lake at Brake Mill looked like a chocolate lake due to the run off from adjacent fields and paddocks. One of two Little Grebes looked to be ok as it dived in the murky looking water! An adult Swan and it's 4 immature swans were as usual on the look out for a bite to eat and eventually settled to preen by the lake. The Black-headed Gull image was taken by my eldest Grandson, he was pleased with the result and so was I! <

The Witch Hazel tree in a local Churchyard looked splendid and brightened a cold dull day! Snowdrops were also in evidence and are often seen as the first sign of spring and warmer weather, though this clump of snowdrops gave a false sense of security as the snow arrived a few days later.;-) Daffodils are budding up and Crocus are showing their colours so we are not far away from spring surely!

Blackbirds have been regularly seen in my garden though I expect the numbers will soon decrease as I reckon some are Continental visitors!

A decrease in bird life sometimes takes place in my garden. Maybe the bird in the above image is the reason for that.;-) Stunning birds though!

................................... Here come the Gulls, a mini invasion! ............................

Who's that coming over the hill is it a monster? No, just a few more Fallow Deer in the park at a local stately home. ............................................................................................................

A local canal walk was shall we say"bracing"! The towpath is fairly wide so social distancing was easy to observe making for a relaxed walk.

On arrival I spotted a lone Redwing turning over the leaf litter in search of invertebrate prey, not far away were a Blackbird, Robin and two Wrens also leaf turning! Can you spot both Wrens in the image?

There are also two Wrens in this image, can you spot them?

The water spray off an overflow pipe had formed an ice sculpture!

These icicles were a treat to see, they had formed below an ivy clad wall! A gentleman I spoke to at the time said how wonderful it was to see such a spectacle, worth going out for a walk on such a cold day as we will not see such a sight in the summer!

The farmyard geese had an unusual hanger on! It looks very much like a Greylag/Canada Goose hybrid.

On the return walk a Great Spotted Woodpecker was a delight to see along with a Songthrush, Long-tailed Tits and a Rabbit!

My finale is an image of the 1000 piece Jigsaw that is finally finished....a project undertaken when not outdoors taking exercise.