Tuesday 9 June 2020

Monday 1st June ...

Continuing the story from my last post ... 

Mondays are usually 'fast' days for us and so we often go for walk at lunch time instead of eating ...
We usually walk through the village and today the swan family were out and about as we walked over the meadow to Ferry Lane















No idea what sort of tree this is but its branches were glowing gold and it wasn't because the sun was shining on them ... it's lovely!






We took a turn around Common Moor, a small pocket park with open space ad some wooden play equipment for the kids ...




Someone must be visiting most days to feed the few sheep that are here because these six came hurtling towards us and made us stop in our tracks!  As soon as they realised we had nothing for them they carried on eating the grass.





The little park is temporarily closed and these fallen trees will have to dealt with before or even if the park reopens to the children.






We walked to the right of the fallen trees and met the last of the sheep, this one very dirty indeed!
After our walk we sat out on the deck and the Wood Pigeon you may have seen at the in the last photo is back in his tree ...



he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer ... he's collecting nesting material by trying to break some of the smaller twigs off the dead tree but every time he manages to break one the end that he needs falls into the water below him!

Tug Endeavour out and about working today ... we usually see this lovely boat at its mooring above Whitchurch Lock as shown in this photo taken on 29th October last year as we made our way along a very fast running River Thames to arrive at our winter mooring before  the stoppage at Hambleden Lock comes into force. 

(I've just read through that particular post and felt once again the anxiety I felt then as the decision was made to 'go for it'. With hindsight it really was the right decision as Hambleden Lock didn't reopen until early May 2020 and then only by appointment ... and still is!  We really were lucky to arrive in time).  Click on the link here if you'd like to read it again)





The goslings are growing fast now and there are at least 50 of them around and on the meadow.
Goodness ... he's finally managed to keep a twig in his beak ...




but it's a bit long ... will he manage to figure out how to get out of the tree with it?  Yes, he did!  



He took it into the low bushes just behind the tree as that is presumably where he's building a nest which I think is unusual as I thought they nested in trees?








These notices have been erected on the river's edge over the past few days ... so is this the end for us re our bbq's?



Tuesday (2nd June) is the last day of warm, dry weather so it had to be ...


where there's a will, there's a way!

Jumping now to Thursday (4th June) and the weather has cheered up and we're back out on the deck ...

He's still collecting materials and taking them to his nest ... will we hear and see babies soon I wonder?
Friday (5th) early morning in the sunshine I managed to catch this shot of the local heron in a tree over and up the river ... he looks as if he may have just swallowed his breakfast.

I feel that time has slowed down and although we keep ourselves busy (there's always jobs to be done) life has changed ... is this our 'new normal' now?  

2 comments:

Vallypee said...

Lovely snapshots of your life, Carol, in both photos and words. New normal? Maybe it is, but we are winding up again here. I'm actually pleased because although I wasn't bored, it's good to be with colleagues again and to see the city and terraces alive with people.

Carol said...

Thanks for your comment Val. Because we've got Still Rockin' up for sale we too are eager for restrictions to ease so that 'our' life can go ahead as planned. But only when it's safe to do so. In the meantime .....