5 April: Blossom

Suddenly, all those scruffy bits of roadside hedge are alight with blossom!  Rather dull banks are sprinkled with flowers, and the birds are over enthusiastic at 4 a.m.  There was plenty of this where we walked this morning -

And this is what passing traffic missed -

It's blackthorn, I think.

21 March: Lambs

Out for one of our favourite local walks, we saw lots of lambs. This group included a couple of darker ones.

Back at home, the bathroom smells of sheep (Eau de Ewe?), as I've been spinning some BFL tops, and the skeins have been washed and are hanging up to dry.

18 January: A Tuesday walk

A bright sunny afternoon, clear and cold. We thought that one of the muddy paths in the woods might still be frozen after last night's hard frost, so we set out.

It was muddy in places, but lovely to be out. From the path across a field we could see Brancepeth Castle in the distance -

Not as sharp as it could be, but it's only a small and old camera (about 3 or 4 megapixels, I can't remember), and it was on maximum zoom.  It's much better for the close-up shot, like this interesting bark we saw further on -

To follow up the previous post, my sciatica cleared up quickly, as quickly as I regained a pound in weight.  Hmmm.

31 December: Thaw

It's been warmer (well OK, less cold) for a few days, so the snow and ice are slowly melting. The pavements are less icy today than yesterday, although the ice that remains is dirty and oily, so they still need care!

Anyway, we were able to get out for a proper walk today, rather than just round the block, and feel much better for the fresh air and exercise. Along the old railway line was a small flock of goldfinches, chaffinches and tits, the little birds darting in and out of the trees and bushes. In a crop field on one side were a whole lot of thrush look-alikes that we think were probably fieldfares, though getting the camera out unfortunately frightened them away.

All the ditches were full, and water ran along the lane. A boggy bit of wood pasture at the bottom of one field has a ditch more like a stream.


Still some scraps of snow under the trees further away.

16 November: Botanic Garden

Happy Birthday, Dear Son!

A trip to the Botanic garden in Durham, in brilliant sunshine. An early lunch in the cafe - new sofas since our last visit - then a wander round. We passed a man with a camera on a tripod, photographing a hat and coat artfully arranged on a bench. He could have been anywhere.

I took a few snaps - white birches along the stream -


Underfoot, some seeds, shoots and leaves -


Lichens on a rope by the path -



Oh look ! There are some rare breed sheep grazing in the arboretum -



Manx Loghtans and Hebrideans. This Manx Loghtan ewe let me take a closer view -

4 October: Kingfisher!

As we walked across the road bridge over the River Wear at Sunderland Bridge this morning, my Dear Husband and I watched a kingfisher repeatedly darting across the river and diving into the flow (deep, fast, and brown after all the rain at the weekend).

We were delighted - the first time he has ever seen a kingfisher alive and flying, and only the third time I've seen one. I saw one many years ago near the Uni playing fields in Durham, and one last summer at Low Barns, a Durham Wildlife Trust place.

21 September: Cambridge

A weekend visit to the family. We explored Wicken Fen -

- where there is a wooden windmill that looks like a proper windmill.

There was a walk around Cambridge, where there are punts on the river -


(bet you didn't know that....)
And we went to the village show. Dear Grand-daughter won a second place with her flapjack (and we can vouch for the excellent flavour!), and Dear Daughter won a first place for her Spiced Damson Chutney -

29 July: A Wednesday Walk

Another in the occasional series of walks - this one was in Weardale, starting from Wolsingham. The route took in Tunstall Reservoir, seen here to the right of the dam -


The water level had been low for long enough that plants had grown round the overflow area -

The weather was fairly kind, just a few drops of rain (the magic overtrousers needed only to be carried); we had an excellent picnic lunch, eaten as we sat on rocks and contemplated the rain clouds at the bottom end of the dale; and the route provided plenty of interest and a few challenges, as well as wonderful views.

We returned to tea and birthday cake, a good hot soak and a lie down.

14 July: Summer in the city

Our recent short trip Down South included a glorious walk in the Weald (the clegs down there bite just as hard as up here), a visit to Penshurst Place, and on the hottest day of the year, a trip into London to see the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy.

While many of the exhibits left me thinking of the Emperor's New Clothes, there were a couple of dozen I actually liked, and even one or two I might have been able to stand on the walls at home - if the walls were big enough, that is. Many of the pictures were enormous. So were many prices.

I was intrigued to see that nearly all the artists, who evidently strive to be individual in their work, are completely uniform in the rectangular format; the few non-rectangular pieces were generally much more interesting.

As well as paintings and sculptures/assemblages, there were books (interesting) and architectural models (mostly very boring); and photographs, mostly interesting, though personally I found it slightly irritating that David Hockney didn't stand in exactly the same place every time he photographed The Twenty Five Trees etc.

Of course, with so many items to display, not all of them get a good position - two of my favourites were quite difficult to see properly - one was a huge collage of Babel Towers, which was partly obscured by a gigantic gorilla made of coat hangers, and another was a photo of a Northumberland Beach, which was high up above the end of a wall where a film was being projected.

I was able to knit on the train home yesterday, getting part way up the leg of the second of a pair of socks for my Dear Husband. Now I must get back to the fleece that was being spun before our trip; 6 skeins done already and 2 or 3 more to do.

27 June: Lake District

The weather was glorious in the Lake District all week, with farmers making hay in every valley.
We were staying near Tarn Hows, so that was part of our first day's walking -


Another day we walked from Hawkshead over Latterbarrow to Lake Windermere, then returned up through the woods of Claife and across fields. This peaceful-looking lunch spot was actually beside a path popular with walkers and cyclists.


This was near Coniston - again, admiring the fells from the valley below -


Another walk in the woods, another attack by clegs; this time Grizedale Forest, with its sculptures.


See how it comes back round to sheep and wool again? Of course, Friday was spent at the Woolfest in Cockermouth, where I collected my Michael Williams inkle loom, and bought a quantity of tools and fibre, including 2 Shetland fleeces! Dipping a toe into fleece preparation again, this time with a bit more idea of what I'm doing.

21 April: Wednesday Walk in Hamsterley Forest

Bright and sunny, though still a bit chilly, today, so off we went to Hamsterley Forest for one of our regular walks.

This tree looked as if it was draped with velvet -


- and this plant growing strongly beside the path surprised us -


I think it's skunk cabbage, but it's not listed in my usual handbook of British wild flowers, so I'm not really sure.

Down by the river, many of the trees have had the ground eroded away from around their roots -


The river itself was quiet today, as was the Forest - we saw only a few people, and those mostly in the car park.

6 April: Wednesday walk on Tuesday

Today we did something we'd spoken about idly several times since getting the Bus Passes - we took the bus from the end of our street, got off at a convenient place for coffee and a bun, then walked home. It took less than 2 and a half hours.

We managed to walk down one path we've never been along before, and found that another track through the woods has been repaired and a footbridge improved since we last came that way.

We walked through fields where skylarks were flying up on both sides, singing as they hung on the breeze. The bumble bees are just emerging this week, too, so spring is really under way.

Crossing this field, we wondered if we were missing something -


- but there was no invisible fence. It might have been a magic stile, the entrance to another world. We went round it, just in case.

1 February: Woodland walk

The hard frost last night meant that all the clarty bits of the path through the woods were frozen. In the trees we were sheltered from the wind, which was still chilly.


And there was sunshine! We had intended just a short walk for some air, but it was so pleasant we went further, so it was getting gloomy and cold by the time we got home. An unexpected chat with a man walking his dog delayed us more, and we needed our nice cup of tea when we got indoors.


In the garden earlier, when I was sweeping the remnants of yesterday's snow off the path, I noticed several bulbs pushing strong fat shoots above the ground.

1 January: Deep and crisp

This morning we were the only walkers without a newspaper or a dog.

Even the trees that are normally completely unremarkable make an interesting pattern -


There was a bit of blue sky towards the south -


- though it looks to be snowing to the north of the Wear valley.

When life returns to normal again next week after the holiday hiatus, I do hope the snow is not going to hamper our activities.

25 December: A breath of fresh air

We finally braved the snow and ice, and got out for a walk. After yesterday morning's fall of about 3 inches of snow, there had been a slight thaw, then a freeze overnight. But the sun shone on the path through the wood -


And the pond was sheltered from the wind -

Apart from three or four cars and two dogs taking themselves for an unaccompanied walk, we saw nobody; it was lovely and quiet.

13 December: Holly, ivy, and sloes

Part of this afternoon's walk was along a sunlit hedge, festively decorated with holly -


- ivy, and lichen -


- and sloes! This is the first time we've seen fruit on these sloe trees, though they have plenty of blossom every year.


Perhaps the birds find them too sour to eat until everything else has gone.

6 December: Welcome sunshine

The sun shone on our walk round Gibside today. Look at the clear blue sky -


and here is a photo of the sun shining over the pond -


This one shows rather better what the afternoon was like -

26 October: No bears

It was pleasant and sunny, and we decided to walk back to the Park and Ride, partly along the riverbank.

There were small groups of people standing looking at the weir. One or two had cameras.
Plenty of water was pouring over, in spite of the quantity of branches and debris caught on the stonework.

Then we saw the fish jumping, lots of them, and some perhaps as much as 18 inches long. Few were succeeding, though. And why weren't they using the 2-tier section, specially made for fish to get up-river? Could it be something to do with the large grey heron standing bold as brass in clear view on the top of a log just behind that 2-tier section?

29 September: Gibside

The approach road to Gibside was closed, the tea-room kitchen being re-fitted, but were we discouraged?

No - the shop provided soup, bread, coffee and shortbread, and we sat under the trees to eat.

We set out on our usual route, along by the river -

and there were flowers by the path -

Our return route took us through the walled garden, where there were other flowers in the same colour; this one was in a vegetable patch, attracting both a bee and a hoverfly -

and this one was under a fruit tree -

Other colours of flowers were available, but I liked these.

24 September: Moo?

Having done my shopping, and having a spare half hour, I walked along the riverbank. Sadly, the ox has been graffiti-ed, but only on the front -


It was too bright to see the camera screen, so I wasn't quite sure how this picture would come out -


A couple passing by seemed amused. We aim to entertain.