Monday 1 April 2013

Easter weekend


Well, the Easter weekend is almost over and I thought I'd share a few of the photos I've taken over the last couple of days, mostly of nature.

Where else to start but with eggs? Since Chickpea was small, I've hidden eggs around the house for her to find on Easter morning. Sometimes there was a treasure hunt with clues and sometimes just eggs to find. When I mentioned that there wouldn't be an egg hunt this year, her face fell. Well, what else could I do but hide some eggs and see her smile?


An egg of a different kind was uncovered while I was clearing winter debris in the back garden. This duck egg was nestled in a corner underneath a conifer hedge. Sadly, I think it had been abandoned.


And I think this one in the front garden has met a similar fate. The ducks have tried to rear young under this bush before but always end up abandoning them - I think it's just too noisy there and too handy for the local cats.


This white beauty more likely belongs to one of the Mute swans who have taken up temporary residence on the lake. At one point there were nine but one of the males is very territorial and has chased several away. He's pretty impressive to watch as he puffs himself up, hoists his wings in the air and stalks menacingly towards his rivals. They'll all be on their way soon though as they don't hang around for the summer.


This mallard will be hanging around though. It tickles me how they feed by sticking their bums in the air!


I don't know if ducks eat snails but I've been finding a lot of empty shells lately. The shells are actually quite beautiful when their occupants are not wreaking havoc on my plants.


It's the weather which is wreaking havoc at the moment but I did spot this cherry blossom defying the cold and bursting into flower.


And look at the splash of colour from this Lesser Celandine on a grassy bank nearby.

We had a couple of strolls over the weekend to enjoy the sunshine. Other activities included spring cleaning and car washing, crochet and quilting. We also went to the cinema to see 'The Host' which both of us enjoyed.


And today I went into Manchester to meet a couple of friends for lunch at Rosso. You can tell somewhere is a bit posh when they have mini-towels in the loos to dry your hands. I had the very reasonably priced 2-course lunch menu: grilled peppered mackerel, followed by pork cutlet stuffed with spinach and dolcelatte and wrapped in pancetta. Both were very tasty.

This was followed by a visit to the (slightly disappointing) William Blake 'Burning Bright' exhibition at the John Rylands Library.  Anyone else remember studying his 'Songs of Innocence and Experience' for English Lit A-Level?

And so the long weekend draws to a close and it's back to work tomorrow. Next time I hope to show you  the crochet or quilting or maybe even both! x

7 comments:

  1. Sounds like a lovely weekend, and your lunch looks fab. Your photos are really beautiful.
    M xxx

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  2. Gorgeous photos, I envy your photography skills sooo much! They are just lovely to admire.
    We're contemplating going to see The Host, I read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it but am often disappointed by films so I'm undecided yet.
    I'm still on the look out for a cookie cutter, Hobbycraft in Sheffield had sold out for now, but I have another couple of places to try yet, so all is not lost and I could still go to Nottingham if I have no luck in those.
    The cake on your last post is great, now go eat it! X

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  3. Lovely photos. I love celandines but our local riverbank hasn't managed any yet. Too cold maybe.

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  4. Lovely photos - that food looks delicious and ducks make me giggle when they do that too! I was in an Italian restaurant at the weekend and they had rose petals all over the sinks in the bathroom, it felt very posh :) Elisabeth x

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  5. I really love your photos, they are all so good.
    You know that one with the yellow flowers? (Forget the name of them)
    That could be a POST CARD!!!
    xx

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  6. I love these photos -- especially the bobbing duck! And I'm glad that your daughter still likes to look for eggs:)

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  7. Your Easter looks and sounds really lovely. Great photo of the cherry blossom, too. x

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