Turned out nice again

It was half term last week and we had Oliver for a few days while Jenny was at work, I think he just wanted a change of scenery, and nanny provides nice food and snacks 😊

It was a decent day on the Thursday, quite windy but at least the sun was out so we went a walk over the fields and up onto Wychbury Hill.  As you can see the field was very muddy, good job we had wellies.

Once over the field the walk takes you up through a small wooded area, which again was very muddy. Someone decided it would be a good idea to walk in a particularly wet, sticky muddy puddle and got his wellie stuck!  Off came his boot and he landed in the mud, luckily he didn't fall in, but his one foot was submerged in mud so his sock had to come off before putting his boot back on, always fun and games with kids isn't it.

Once through the mud and at the top the view is fantastic, it was very very windy up there though.

 I didn't take any photos of the monument this time, it was far too windy to hold the camera steady.  Iv'e shared photos of Wychbury Hill and the Monument before though, last June, they are on this blog post if you want to read about it.  

We decided to keep going forward rather than re-trace our steps so we headed for that mound you can see in the middle distance.

Looking back, there's the monument in the distance, we are about halfway to the mound now

We saw some crows (at least I think they were), they seem to have found something to take away, wonder what it is?

We're at the top on the mound now and I recently found out that there is an Iron age hill fort within those trees beyond, something to explore another time.

Oliver needed a sit down and wasn't in the least bit interested in the fantastic views

It looked like we might be caught out by the rain on the way back, but luckily it held off.

Now we have to head down to those trees and into the field beyond to make our way back out onto the road and home

We are so lucky to have this lovely green space and quite a few public footpaths on our doorstep, I  know we really should make more time to enjoy them.

And in case you are feeling down because of all the restrictions still going on, I'll leave you with the reminder that was posted at the bottom of the hill.

See you soon

-X-

Wednesday walk and book talk

 It was far too cold to take Bonnie out for a walk on Monday, It kept trying to snow all day but never settled, the wind made it feel even colder.  We had planned on going to a local National Trust property, most have lovely grounds to walk in, although at the moment none of the houses or cafe's are open.   There was a smattering of snow yesterday morning and still very cold but the wind had dropped and the sun came out for a while.  I only went on a local walk, to the church at the bottom of road, back up and around the outskirts of the estate.  I like walking when the weather is like this, cold and crisp with a bit of Winter sunshine, in fact, I prefer walking in this kind of weather than in the Summer.  I always think when it's cold, you can wrap up against it and get warm and cosy, whereas when it's hot there is no way to get away from it.  That's my logic anyway :-)

I finished my latest audio book while walking, The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

I almost changed my mind about choosing this one but I'm so glad I didn't, it was an excellent listen, the narration was by Julia Whelon and she did a brilliant job of bringing the story to life, I could picture everything so well.  

Here's the blurb, (copied from Amazon)

Texas, 1934. Elsa Martinelli had finally found the life she’d yearned for. A family, a home and a livelihood on a farm on the Great Plains. But when drought threatens all she and her community hold dear, Elsa’s world is shattered to the winds.

Fearful of the future, when Elsa wakes to find her husband has fled, she is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life. Fight for the land she loves or take her beloved children, Loreda and Ant, west to California in search of a better life. Will it be the land of milk and honey? Or will their experience challenge every ounce of strength they possess?

From the overriding love of a mother for her child, the value of female friendship and the ability to love again – against all odds, Elsa’s incredible journey is a story of survival, hope and what we do for the ones we love.

My knowledge of American history is near to none existent and I had certainly never heard of The Dust Bowl, I had to go in search of more information.  

The sign of a good book for me is when it makes you want to find out more, and this did, I love that. 

I gave this book 5 stars, and I don't do that very often.

My bedtime reading was another one from Matt Haig, The Humans.

If you have read anything from Matt Haig you will know that his books are all different, he must have the most vivid imagination and insight to come up with his subjects.

(The blurb from Amazon)

After an 'incident' one wet Friday night where he is found walking naked through the streets of Cambridge, Professor Andrew Martin is not feeling quite himself. Food sickens him. Clothes confound him. Even his loving wife and teenage son are repulsive to him. He feels lost amongst an alien species and hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton, and he's a dog.

Who is he really? And what could make someone change their mind about the human race . . . ?

This one might not be everyone's' cup of tea but I really enjoyed it, there was a lot of truth about humans in those pages.

I keep a list of everything I'm reading and listening to on Goodreads, there is a link in the sidebar.

See you soon, stay safe and warm

-X-

A Tuesday catch-up

Looks like the hot sunny weather is back with us again.  I've had a lovely quiet day so far, all my chores are up to date and I've had some time sitting in the garden listening to my audio book.

Yesterday I managed to finish stitching July's calendar girl and will have a go at fully finishing her tomorrow.

I knitted five new dishcloths last week.  I'm a fairly new convert to knitted dishcloths and have developed a bit of an obsession with them

Yes, there are a couple of Christmas ones in there too 🎄🎅

I've wanted to knit the Dandelion cardigan for quite a while now so today I took the plunge and cast on.  Yarn is Drops Nord from stash

I haven't heard anything from work regarding my job.  I had to go into a meeting last Friday which didn't really tell me anymore.  There was another new position on offer which at first looked promising but I have since found out that it is more specialized role for which I do not have the qualifications.  The role of PA / Admin is no longer an option either because they have changed the goal posts and decided that the person who takes on this role will need to have I.T qualifications to assist in the day to day I.T issues .  That leaves the Service Coordinator position which to be honest I don't want.  So, It looks very much like I will be made redundant unless by some miracle they find another role I can fill.  I'm not holding my breath.

On a more pleasant note, I went for a lovely walk last week, up to the Wychbury Obelisk.  This is another local to me walk and there are several paths you can take to get to the top of Wychbury Hill, this time I took the public footpath not far from our house.

The Obelisk Is 84 feet high was built in 1747 under the instruction of Lord Littleton.  

The graffiti, Who put Bella in the Witch Elm first appeared on the obelisk in the 1970's and  refers to a local murder mystery from the 1940's

Apparently on 18th April 1943 four local lads were poaching or bird-nesting in Hagley wood and they came upon a skull in a hollowed out trunk of a wych elm tree.  The younger of the lads confessed the find to his parents and the police were told.  An investigation was launched but apart from discovering that the remains were female the body was not identified.

The views from the top of the hill are fabulous, you can see for miles and is well worth the climb

See you again soon

-X-

Over the field, not far away, it's looking very yellow today

I had a busy day in the garden all day yesterday so today has been a lazy day, sitting in the garden enjoying the results of yesterday's hard work, the lovely sunshine, stitching and listening to my audio book.  It's been a scorcher today and I wasn't going to go for a walk but I talked myself around to it late afternoon.

Standing in this field, to the right is the view of the rapeseed field, in front of me, in the dip, are hundreds and hundreds of buttercups

The rapeseed in the distance

 Beautiful buttercups.

Starlings gathering and making such a racket

I have some buttercups growing at the top of my garden, I know they are technically a weed, but they are so cheerful, I couldn't bring myself to pull them out.

I see this little white flower along the hedgerows a lot, does anyone know what it is?

A perfect dandelion puff, another unwelcome weed in the garden but so pretty to look at

I took the longer route back down the lane and past the rapeseed field

I recorded over 9,000 steps in the end, not bad considering I wasn't going on a walk today.

Take care

-X-

Walks and VE Day

After this lockdown has ended the economy will have suffered no end and we will be paying for the cost of it for many years I think, but I believe people will take some good things out of it too, I hear the neighbours children playing in the garden far more than I did before and when I'm out walking I see more parents and children walking or on their bikes.  It's giving people time to enjoy more simple things.  I'm discovering lovely walks that I knew were there but had either forgotten about or didn't have the time / was too tired to do.

I thought I'd share one of them here with you.

Just a short walk from our house, past the few local shops there are some steps, you could almost walk past them without noticing but they lead away from all the houses and to lovely green space.

First is all the wonderful wild garlic growing along the path

Then the path opens up onto one of the fields 

The field above is just one of a few different ways you can reach this lane, now I can walk the lanes in a big square and end up back where I started.  It's takes about an hour, longer if like me you keep stopping to look at things.

This section is the longest part but there is a lovely reward over the hedge a little further down

On the last lane now and almost back to the housing estates

I't easy to forget that we live right on the edge of this beautiful countryside and I'm enjoying getting out and about and re-discovering.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Friday the UK celebrated the 75th anniversary of VE day.  There were still a lot of people around having get together's on their own driveways, still keeping the distance rules, which was nice to see.  We had a lovely surprise delivered, Joanne had ordered us afternoon tea.  :-)  She had found a local bakery that was doing home deliveries.  

It all came packaged in a box with enough food to fill one cake stand each!  It was lovely, but we were stuffed and needed nothing else to eat for the rest of the day.

Just look at her little face!! 

I feel I should just say for anyone seeing this and might judge. Yes our daughters and grandchildren come to see us, however, they only ever stand / sit in the garden, never the house. 

Neither me, or Mark, are in isolation because of any medical conditions, therefore if we keep to the 2 metre rule, them being in the garden is the same as standing on the drive and us standing on the doorstep.  

We have a large enough space on the patio that we were able to have our afternoon tea without breaking this 2 metre rule.

Be assured that any photos I share of my girls or grandchildren whilst this crisis is going on are taken from a distance and cropped, we are all abiding by the guidelines.

I just wanted to make that clear.

I hope you are all staying safe and well

See you soon

-X-