Later that day.......

the sun really came out and I had forgotten how breathtaking the Lake District is in Spring.  We stopped at Muncaster Castle, somewhere I had never visited. The Pennington family have lived there for 800 years and who can blame them. It stands high overlooking the Esk valley, these are view from the terrace.

There were Rhodedendrons in full bloom everwhere, we are not usuall so lucky with out timing,

And the owls......Muncaster is the home of the World Owl Trust.  I have a fondness for owls, their shape, their eyes and after once being allowed to stoke one their beautiful soft feathers. Just look at these beauties.

This last one looked as though he was carved out of wood.

I wanted an owl......

and  here he is, I could see the outline in the cloth, he just needed a little help.

He is based on the Athena Owl  and is part of what I hope is going to be an ongoing project.