Sunday walk

As the weather turned out much better than expected today, I couldn't resist the opportunity to head out for a walk. The first part of the walk took me along my usual route by the golf course.

There are still lots of berries on the trees to feed the birds over the winter. Combined with the white lichen, the whole effect looked *whisper it* quite Christmassy.

 This little multi-coloured leaf glowed amongst the grass.

The unseasonably warm weather seems to have persuaded this elder that it's already spring as it had lots of new growth.

My Dr Hessayon guide tells me this shrub is Euonymous europaeus 'Red Cascade'. I've never seen one before and it was really striking with its bright pink and orange flowers.

In fact, I was surprised how many plants were still in flower.

Reaching the end of the path, I wasn't ready to turn back towards home so carried on across the railway line.

Loved this little gypsy caravan sitting in a field behind a farm.

The horses were far too interested in one of their friends at the other end of the field to pay any notice to me.

On the far horizon, I could see Rivington Pike which we walked up earlier this year (it's the small bump which you can just make out, though it was clearer in reality).

And this was where I eventually turned for home with the autumn sun already low in the sky. It seems such a bonus to still be having warm sunshine and blue skies well into November- long may it continue. Well, at least at the weekends when I'm free to enjoy it.

Otherwise, it's been a fairly quiet weekend and I made progress on a couple of projects, including this winter embroidery. I want to do a little more stitching before it's time for bed so I'm going to have to love you and leave you. Enjoy what remains of the weekend. x

Fireworks

Last night was Bonfire Night here in the UK when we celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. For once, it was perfect weather - cold and clear.

We hadn't intended going out but, all day, I just really felt like seeing some fireworks and soaking up some atmosphere. So, we headed to the display at the village church which costs a bargain £3 each.
These photos were taken using the newly discovered fireworks setting on my camera. Who knew that cameras had 'fireworks' settings! I've only ever used an auto setting before so it was interesting seeing what came out. OK, we're not talking New Year's Eve fireworks along the Thames or over Sydney Harbour Bridge here but I was pretty pleased with the results. Particularly the strange looking character wandering across the screen in the last photo!

Hope you enjoyed your evening wherever you were. Back soon. x

Autumn at Tatton

Yesterday promised to be a beautiful autumn day with plenty of blue skies and sunshine. It didn't quite turn out that way but we were still glad we made the effort to head out to one of our favourite places, Tatton Park. I've been longing to go for a few weeks and have been so frustrated I couldn't because of my foot injury.

But look, I managed to get my walking boots on! Hurrah! Fresh air, here I come!

When we arrived, we had a look round the Christmas gift fair (a bag of stem ginger fudge being our only purchase) and then headed out for a quick walk in the park. Lots of lovely autumn colour and crisp leaves to kick through.

Lots of deer and sheep were grazing in the fields.

There were signs warning not to get too close to the deer as it's rutting season. This young male was too busy eating leaves to be fighting over females and seemed unconcerned about having his photo taken.

The ladybird on the fungus didn't seem too bothered about having her photo taken either!

I think the fungus is a young parasol and this is what it looks like when it's opened up.

We didn't walk too far as our intention was to visit the gardens which had been decorated for Halloween. To be honest, by this point, Chickpea was also fed up of dodging the deer and sheep droppings so it was a relief to head for an animal-free zone!

The cottage is now a tea room but used to be the home of the head gardener - lucky man! I can only fantasise at living in such a gorgeous house looking out onto a lovely walled garden.

There were lots of these ghosties hanging around the gardens.

Cute rather than scary.

A bit more spooky were these wire sculptures which were dotted amongst the trees.

It was quite eery catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure!

Much better to look at the cute ones!

We never fail to enjoy our days at Tatton. The weather wasn't quite as promised but the bonus of sunshine and showers is the appearance of rainbows. We'll definitely be back again to see how the Park changes over the seasons.

Today has been a quiet day catching up with housework and ironing awaits :( as well as some knitting and a new jigsaw :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. x