The result of this is I seem to have avoided mega weight gain over Christmas, touch all the wood in a correspondingly mega forest. Unfortunately today I appear to have damaged my shoulder ticcing again, so I'm anticipating being woken up in pain again tonight. I won't be able to do my press ups either, which has also been helping keep me fit.
Today, I've done the tour of the two lakes and Friary Gardens, and all of a sudden, birds seem to have turned up from their Christmas break. Redwing were outside my house on the park today, raiding the cotoneaster trees, again taking refuge in an overlooking high tree when people were around as they did outside the Co-Op yesterday. Similar size flock too, about 20 birds.
More excitingly, goosander have appeared on the Balderton Blue Lake again after a year's absence. There were two drakes and four ducks today, as usual miles away in the middle of the water so my phone camera couldn't pick them up - will have to remember my big camera next weekend. I need to get back on the proper photography, I just found the results a little dispiriting. My hands are so so shakey, it's hard to get a good shot and they always looked soft at best and taken while standing on a vibrating floor at worst.
More flowers have come out now, including the first aconite on Friary Gardens, and the first cemetery primrose to go with increasing numbers of snowdrops. I guess every spring this blog goes the same way, but I love recording the emergence of the new flowers over the next few months.
The goosander today were a bonus.
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 02.01.18
You can never post enough spring emerging flowers for me Si. I left all my snowdrops and primroses at the Farm and boy am I missing them.
ReplyDeleteI will do my best to oblige
DeleteI love the ducks, swimming in the lake. There was Mallards, Tufted, Coots and the Muscovy Ducks, nice one Si.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob!
ReplyDeleteGosh the winter aconites are early and the snowdrops.
ReplyDeleteNo sign of either here.
Although I do have a primrose or two :)
Hope the injury does not cause too much pain.
Thanks CHeryl it's an irritant! Not seriously pianful.
DeleteA step counter that actually works. I've never seen one. What do they look like?
ReplyDeleteI walked round the house for half an hour doing various odd jobs and then it said I'd only done 7 steps. So I made sure it was on my hip as instructed and went round the park for an hour. When I got back it was proudly showing me: 00000
You probably went right round the clock on it!
DeleteDon't even think of stopping posting photos of the first flowers! Your aconites and snowdrops and especially the primroses (that I adore) make me always ask why I continue living here (with half a metre of snow and counting) but they are just so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHappy 2018! xx