Sunsets, night sky, ducks and a(nother) bbq ...

 ... in fact pretty much same old, same old in self isolation here at Hambleden Marina.

We've not had visitors and we've not been out but we keep ourselves busy ... especially watching the nature all around us from the deck!

This is sunset at 8pm on Sunday 26th April and ...

  the night sky later at 10pm showing the waxing crescent moon and bright star Venus

Wednesday (29th) we had another family come to see us ... 

mum with five chicks ... adorable!

 8 o'clock the following morning she was sitting in the sunshine with the chicks underneath her wings ... couldn't get that special snap though of the occasional tiny head that peeped out!

7pm that evening after a short, very sharp shower

and she's still sheltering her family.

 Friday (1st May) and our regular female mallard returned having lost all her chicks but with a 'friend' in tow.

 I was cross with myself when I stepped outside at 20 past 8 to take the photo below that I disturbed the good little mum who was sheltering her brood and was also disappointed that she'd only got 3 of her 5 chicks now. 

 May day night sky

 Bezzy Mates! (4th May)

A good way to end a good day ... in his element!

BBQ from a different perspective ...

Friday (24th April) was, I think, the last warm, dry. day before the weather changed to much cooler and wet ..

and we took our daily walk again through the bluebells

We're so lucky to be quarantined in such a scenic area

walking home ...

where we saw 'our' duck ... she'd started with nine, then six, and four and today just one ... I'm sorry to say that we've seen her since with none at all ... heartbreaking.

A mallard has left these eggs under the hedge near the gate, she must have been scared off as it can get quite busy just there.

We thought we'd have BBQ number two by the summer house for a change of view ...

and relaxed on the summer house deck on the recliners

from where we could watch the sun set.

We are so lucky.

Out and about and at home ...

Walking up Rotten Row last Monday (20th April) our current daily exercise ...

we noticed these amazing roots on several huge trees up on the bank ... 

The ground has been eroded by the weather by at least 4-feet ...

exposing these dramatic structures ...

around which many stories could be written ... fairies and elves come to mind! 

Same walk but the 'other way' on the Tuesday ...

and we see that the Mallard family appear to be doing well ... I think she's still got all her chicks.

Walking down (thank goodness!) Rotten Row I realised from here we could see the Thames ... this view is just above Hambleden Lock.

We can also see the cluster of buildings that is Yewden Manor a Grade II listed building.  The oldest part of which was built late C16-C17 and is now four apartments.

Arriving at Mill End (a hamlet of just 32 houses) and Mill End Farm and the young calves ...

are so inquisitive and cute!

Back at Still Rockin' we spend another very warm day on the deck reading and just watching our small world go by ...

The female Mallard in these photos has been visiting the mill stream since we arrived in late October ... she is easily recognised by what looks like her tongue which hangs from her beak all the time ... so ...

it was lovely when she brought nine teeny, tiny chicks to see us!

More cuteness!

See her tongue?

The following day (Wednesday 23rd)  she was back again on the grass but it was difficult to see if she still had 9 chicks amongst the daisies!

She walked them for a while and then came back to behind us ...

where ...

she encouraged them to jump ... George was disappointed that he didn't manage to snap a photo of any of them in mid-flight!

Our daily walk that day was to Medmenham Meadow ... a flat walk  along the river as my calves were complaining about all the uphills that we've walked in the previous days!

Wow! That was a very lucky shot to get the Red Kite on the ground ...

and yet another lucky one as he flew towards us.

All in all a good day, lots of cuteness and nature, of another warm, sunny day and being safe and well ... as we hope all our readers are.

A different walk ... the other way ...

My last post (amongst other more important things) describes a walk we took on Tuesday (14th April).  Since then we've done that walk several times including today's (22nd April) ... but the 'other' way ... on another very warm day ...

Crossing Rotten Row we walk through the meadow towards Hambleden Village alongside the fast running ditch, turning up the lane to our right at the kissing gate

 This expanse of the ditch now holds a new family of mallards ... I can count 13 chicks here but they may have been more.

 We continue along the lane taking a right at the fork ... and start the climb up into the Chiltern hills

 through the gate (note the jumper goes into the wash as soon as we're home).

 The trees and hedges are coming into bud now but I don't recognise this one ... has anyone out there any idea please?

 Each day creates a different light as we walk through the bluebells

 Another plant I don't recognise ... it looks similar to lilac but smaller and doesn't smell like lilac ... any ideas?

After passing through the kissing gate we're out of the Hambleden Estate grounds onto Rotten Row ...  but what's that we can see up that tree up the bank?

 Chairs up a tree?  We think it's to watch or perhaps orchestrate pheasant shoots as we can see a high wire fence up the bank on the other side of the road and can hear pheasants there ... hopefully those birds will get a reprieve this year.

 The view down Rotten Row where the gradient is probably a 1 in 10 ... I'd much rather walk down this hill than up!  At the end of the lane by the houses we turn left back to the marina ...

where we met a much smaller mallard family in the mill stream.