Journey to work

The weathermen are promising us more snow, we'll see, they don't always get these things right. But if they are there may be a flurry of new snow pictures to share so before that happens I thought I'd share the last few from this winters first round of snow, so here is a tale of my journey to work.

I step outside and feel the crunch of the newly fallen flakes, which in the dark of night fell silently to cover the world in a beautiful white blanket. Oscar cat has beaten me out of the door. Oscar is as dark as night himself, he could almost disappear in the shadows except those bright shining sea green eyes always give him away!Nothing has escaped the snows cold covering, even the frog keeping watch over the garden has a mohican of snow, but he doesn't seem to mind.Jack Frost has been out this night dancing with the Snow Queen, he's left his frosty daggers all over the tree branches.even the lock on the car door has it's own icicles but I'll leave them to thaw away in their own time, I'm on foot today....... travelling down deserted roads........ and past frozen ponds....A day at work is not in my top ten list of fun ways to spend my time, but when the world is white and you can pretend you're taking a journey through Narnia it makes it a little easier to make the journey in :)

Snow Scenes

Just a few quick snaps from some wandering in the snow these last couple of weeks. Nothing special just a little something to record winters grip on my part of the world, right now.

Walking in the Rain

We haven't been able to venture too far the last couple of weeks as we've both been feeling under the weather at various times, but last Sunday in need of some fresh air we took a lovely little wander in the rain. Not many words to say but here are a few snaps I took along the wayFinally, and I can't believe I'm actually posting this picture of me looking so awful, but what the heck, here we are looking like drowned rats after a wonderfully wet wander.

Autumn Walks

We've had some spectacular days over the last few weeks, do you love Autumn as much as I do? I don't think there is anything better than walking in Autumn.I love trees at any time of year, but isn't it wonderful that they provide a carpet of colour for us to frolic in at Autumn?Look at this wonderful blue sky day we had last weekend, if it wasn't for the colour in those distant trees you would be forgiven for thinking it was summer.Of course trees aren't just for looking pretty, they also provide the perfect playground for the big kids in our lives who like to pretend they are monkeys :)Messing around isn't just for the men though, here we are being silly trying to take pictures in mirrors.What I've been loving most about Autumn this year though is that everyone seems to be getting in to the spirit of the season. Even the sheep are a very autumnal orange.

Wherever life has been taking you these last few weeks I hope you are enjoying the best of the season. XX

Close to Home

I wanted to get out and about yesterday but have been feeling pretty tired the last few days so I knew that I wouldn't be up to ranging very far. But, in order to give my camera an outdoor workout and to enjoy some of the lovely sunshine we had I decided to set myself a little challenge. I needed a few odds and sods from the local supermarket which is only 10 minutes away on foot, I figured I'd try taken my camera on this well trodden path to see what I could come up with.The first thing I noticed were all of the beautiful spiderwebs, covered in dew, sparkling in the sun. I have always loved the sight of a web but I guess I never really thought too much about all of the different sizes and structures, from lace like creations like the above to something a bit more uniform and geometrical like this one.Both very beautiful in their own ways. I also found one web still occupied by, I assume, it's maker. I had a tough time getting a picture of the little fellow, but I managed this passable effort after a few attempts.Checking my wildlife book I think this is a Garden Cross Spider, but as my image isn't too good I can't be sure. After the spiderwebs the next thing I noticed were the signs of Autumn all around.Leaves everywhere are changing colour ......and falling to the ground......... and the hedge rows are bursting with berries. I must go back and collect some, might be fun to do some dying experiments.I also enjoyed not only how the dew drops turned the spiderwebs into jewelled ornaments but also the prettiness of these tiny droplets sitting on leaves and flowers.I thought I'd done pretty well photo wise for a short 10 minute walk with my camera, but before the camera went away I just had to take a couple of quick snaps of this cheeky local moggyshe was hiding in the grass trying to stalk the local birds but they didn't seem at all bothered and just skipped off down the path away from their sneaky feline foe.

Ancient Landscapes

Made the most of the Saturday morning sunshine this weekend, and went for a wander in Wiltshire's ancient landscapes, in around Avebury stone circle.Unless you're in the air, it's impossible to get a good picture of the whole circle as it's so vast and the road and village run through the centre too!But I love the fact that you can get right up and commune with the stones. I never tire of visiting, you always see something different in the stones, depending on the time of year and the light.Not too far away from the stone circle is Silbury Hill, you can get up pretty close, but this shot is taken across the way from West Kennet Long Barrow.The burial mound is on top of another ridge and there is a short walk to get there, but just look what a glorious day I had to do it on.This shot is taken from a little way back and you can see the impressive sarsen stones which make up the entrance to the barrow.The barrow has been excavated and you can get part way inside, it can be a little dark, but there was some fabulous light pouring in on Saturday.I love living so close to these ancient wonders, and am sure they will crop up in future blog posts from time to time as I never tire of visiting. Cute Potatoe made the visit with me this time and you can read about her ancient adventure here if you so wish

Local Walking - Box

So a couple of my recent 'out and about' posts have been catch up on bits and pieces done over the last few months that I haven't had time to blog about. There are still a few more catch up posts to come but for now here is something a bit more recent.A week last Sunday, on an absolutely beautiful day I took a walk around about the village of Box.

It started with a stroll through a beautiful water garden, which looked spectacular in all it's yellow and green finery, water sparkling in the sunshine.

The water theme continued as the walk took me along river banks, with attractive old farm buildings, long since disused, reflecting brilliantly in the calm waters.

And I loved this fishing sign all overgrown with a tangle of ivy and vines.

Then it was a push on up hill, with these adorable little calves to stop and smile at on the way up.

They were all busy chomping away on their lunch apart from this little fellow who had his eye on me, making sure I wasn't up to any mischief I'm sure.

The slog to the top of the hill was well worth it, for the beautiful view back down to Box and the countryside beyond.

The fields were covered with hundreds of dandelions all in various stages of decay.

The route back down hill was via a very pretty little bluebell wood.

It was so tranquil in the wood, not another soul to be seen. I figured that this might have been down to a rather menacing looking green man that I saw along the way.

Can you see him too? He didn't give me any bother and was amenable enough to pose for my photo, I think he was a softy in disguise. It's so true what they say about looks being deceiving.

Look he even arranged to leave a beautiful blue balloon on the path just for me. :) A fabulous and unexpected gift.