Leave home in the sunshine:
Dance by a meadow -
Or sit by a stream and just be.
The lilt of the water will gather your worries and carry them down to the sea.
J Donald Walters
For various reasons I was feeling a little out of sorts when I woke up this morning. It took me a little while to get my head in gear to go for a walk.
Stepping out from my house I chose to explore a new walking route. I need to give this route more time to explore further. Maybe I just need to drive and park closer to the Nature Reserve so that I can spend more time there rather than more time walking to it.
The last few photographs were taken closer to home.
As I was photographing the daisies a man cycled passed me and exclaimed wow!! He had paused to see what I was photographing and was surprised to see the view that I saw. I must have looked a little odd standing next to a busy road taking a photograph.
4 Comments CherryPie on Jun 1st 2018
After the weekend storms, bank holiday monday turned out bright and beautiful so we headed of to the Shugborough Estate. It was our first visit since the National Trust had taken over all of the estate after Staffordshire County Council surrendered the lease with the National Trust.
The context of the house and estate are being reinterpreted to highlight previous owners of the estate in their place in history. The late Lord Lichfield’s apartments are now fully open by timed ticket. We didn’t get to see these on this occasion, we weren’t offered them as we should have been when we arrived at the entrance to the estate. As the day was so beautiful and sunny we decided not to pursue the matter when we were informed of this as we entered the mansion.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that the gate on the blue bridge barring access to the wider estate had been removed. This allowed us to follow an enjoyable walk that led to the red bridge and the Chinese Pavilion.
8 Comments CherryPie on May 29th 2018
Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night Become the touches of sweet harmony.
William Shakespeare
10 Comments CherryPie on May 27th 2018
I persuaded Mr C that we should walk into the local town to pick up eggs from the market rather than drive in. Whilst we were in town we had lunch before returning home using a different route.
On our return journey we made a detour to see how my mum’s bungalow is coming along. Whilst we were there we chatted with a gentleman that will be her neighbour when her new bungalow has been built and fitted out.
We had a lot of fun and I clocked up most of my 10000 steps for the day.
Much later in the day we enjoyed fine dining on the patio; home made chicken Jalfrezi.
8 Comments CherryPie on May 26th 2018
Overnight the weather had turned from sunshine to showers. Mr C was working from home so I couldn’t do round the house circuits to meet my ‘Walking Challenge’ step count. This meant that despite the weather I had to head out on a walk… As I set off on my walk, the rain had eased off and there was only a slight moisture in the air.
I stopped to take a photograph and when I turned around a gentleman who had briefly paused from his cycle ride asked me what I was photographing. It was difficult for me to explain that I was taking a photo to show the sudden shift in weather from the hot sunny days we had been experiencing recently. I think the question was his excuse for starting a conversation. He shared a lot of his life experiences with me; monetary hardships in early life, the sadness of the death of his wife and bringing up two young children on his own, meeting and marrying his current wife who also had children (four) and how proud he is of all their achievements. I learned that he lives just around the corner from me so there is a chance will bump into each other again on our travels around the local area.
In other news… the ducks that were in my garden when I returned from my Sunday jaunt to Broughton Castle were sleeping quite happily in my garden this morning before waking and flying off. I was sitting quietly after I had returned from my walk when I heard a clunk on the roof causing me to look outside. The ducks were just landing on my garden path. They spent the rest of the afternoon in my garden, sitting, exploring sleeping, preening and eating. The male duck was very protective of the female duck, following her around everywhere. I think the lady duck may be choosing a suitable place to set up a nest…
11 Comments CherryPie on May 25th 2018
I had an early start so I could take my mum to the orthopedic hospital for a routine check up. After the long drive she was in and out within 15 minutes so we visited Elsmere for elevenses, although we were a little early it was only 10.30. Far too early for the lunch we had planned.
After I had dropped mum off at home (she had some things to do) I went for lunch at a local farm shop and then took a leisurely stroll along the river in Ironbridge.
14 Comments CherryPie on May 23rd 2018
