A few photos

We had a lovely walk today around a relatively new RSPB reserve in Notts - Langford Lowfields. It was quite breezy and cloudy at times, but we  really enjoyed it. Here are a few photos...

 I always called this flower Lady's smock, but it is also known as Cuckoo Flower.

 A great crested grebe

 Greylag geese

 I love the reeds against the water...

 There were hundreds of cowslips

 lovely reflections when the wind dropped

A male reed bunting making the most at one of the bird feeders
Thanks for looking!

I'm back!

I can't believe it has been over a week since I posted! I have been a bit lacking in the mojo department, and that last week of the half term at school was really busy, including a twilight course, Staff meeting, valentine disco and Governors meeting, all after the school day finished. Needless to say I needed to switch off, and I spent most of Sunday reading (and finishing) a book that I had fallen asleep with several times during the week!
On Monday we were invited to the local Council Chambers where Meg was presented with a copy of the book in which her short story has been published (Proud Mum and Dad moment!).

 Today we decided to take a trip to Dearne Valley and RSPB reserve at Old Moor. We were lucky to have some sun and we saw plenty of birds. It was lovely to get some fresh air and exercise!

 As you can see the sun shone this morning and the blue sky was wonderful! It was a little less bright as the day went on, but we enjoyed watching the shovellers .

 This was a rare moment when their heads were above the water and we could see those magnificent beaks. Most of the time we had this view!

 There were still lots of berries in the hedgerows, but most were past their best now.

They still provided some lovely colour though.
Hope you enjoyed the photos. I will be back soon with some cards hopefully. I am still lacking in ideas, but hopefully a bit of pinterest surfing should sort me out!
Thanks for looking!

Dragonflies, Birds and Sunshine!

As it was a better day weather-wise today and Steve had a day off too, we decided to go to Old Moor RSPB reserve for the day. The sun shone for most of the day, and the autumn colours are really beginning to show. I couldn't resist taking a photo of these rosehips by the side of the path. There were loads of berries of all sorts in the hedgerows.

There were lots of common Darters around, and this one was particularly obliging in posing for us to take photos!

It was from the hide at Wath Ings that we saw the most bird-wise, with lapwings and golden plovers by the thousand, dunlins, ruff, common sandpiper and several grey heron too.

 When they all took off it was quite spectacular! We also saw quite a few ducks - teal, shovelers, gadwalls and this one, which is a wigeon.

Finally, I am going to leave you with a photo of the card I made for Lynne's Birthday. I couldn't leave that autumn scene I made on a small card, so I took it off and used an 8"x8", stamping it with the Inkylicious skeleton leaves.

The leaf embellishment is the same stamp, used with versamark and mica powders, then sprayed with water.
I really enjoyed the fresh air on our stroll today, and the sunshine added to the fabulous colours. A real feast for the eyes. Thanks for looking!

Snow, Goldfinches and Siskins

I decided to join in the RSPBs Big Garden Birdwatch this morning, and saw a lot more birds in an hour than I saw last year. I think it helps that we have snow on the ground and fully stocked bird feeders! After a few minutes  5 Siskins flew in. This is the first time I have seen Siskins in our garden, although I think they may well have been visiting for a little while as the Niger seed feeders have been emptied regularly, and the Goldfinches don't manage that on their own! Anyway, instead of me talking about them here are some photos.

This is a male Siskin, and the following blurred effort is a female.

 Here are a few of Goldfinches too, again not great photos but good enough to identify them!

As for snow, it is melting fast, but this morning it was about 5 1/2 inches deep...

I used my crafting ruler to measure the snow on my patio table! Hope you are managing to stay warm and you are enjoying your weekend. Sorry I haven't been around blog land quite so much this week. Again, work has had to take priority I'm afraid. Hopefully I'll be back in the next few days with a card and to visit you. thanks for looking!