Gone fishin'

It's nearly the end of the six or seven weeks of holiday time

for our school students.  

We've been caring for our grandchildren since

we've been in this area and it's interesting 

to see the change in their interests as the years go by.

Our grandson enjoys all types of sport, but recently

he's become enthusiastic about fishing.
Going fishing is a new experience for active grandfather!

We have five rivers running through our area as well

as reservoirs and ponds so a few hours by the water

is always a pleasure.  

This quiet pond which feeds into a river is a popular place 

as there is off-road parking and footpaths by the water. 

We usually go there together and I sit and read

or take a walk.  There's a cafe not far away with a playground

for younger children, but we normally take our own snack food.

On the opposite side of the pond there are reeds where

no-one can disturb the wild life as there isn't a path.

I like to sit and watch the water birds go in and out

of this area where they are breeding and raising their young.

These three ducks have unusual markings and they are

always swimming together in unison.

The ducks don't mind the rain....

 ...and it doesn't worry those fishing, walkers or anyone who just

wants to sit in a peaceful spot for a while. 

This is where I went for a walk before it started to rain

and more about my walk next time. 

Our garden in August

View over the gardens at the back of our house.

We've had some more spectacular rainbows recently.

One minute it's sunny and the next there are rain showers.

However, that's good for the plants and our flower beds

continue to look colourful. 

There's not much room for a glasshouse. Mt husband has one

 in the allotment, but I decided I would like to get him a small,

plastic version. Thankfully, it came in a flat pack

so it was a complete surprise on the special day 

and it kept the boys busy for a while putting it up!

My husband grows some of his tomatoes against the wall, but they have yet to ripen up.

The tomatoes in the covered yard are colouring up.

This is just one corner of the yard which is stuffed full

of vegetables in pots.

Here are some of the late Summer flowers.

Only the poppies have finished blooming. 

Joie de Vivre

Down the lane: the little village and the Big House

Wentworth Village (where I took photos of the herd of cattle and posted on the blog a few weeks ago) has some unusual buildings that have been converted into private homes such as the windmill above, sometime known as the Saxon Tower.

The little estate village to the Big House, Wentworth Woodhouses, once owned by the Fitzwilliam dynasty, is still linked to its historical past with this industrial and mining family.  Many of the houses still have garden gates painted in the uniform green of the former owners.

The Big House is now owned by a private individual as the Fitzwilliam heritage died out with no heirs who could afford to maintain what is, in fact, the largest country house in England with the longest frontage of any in Europe.

Much of the land around the house was destroyed by open-cast mining after the Second World War when the government policy of the day was to take over privately-owned mines, but today the land is gradually being improved and settling back into rural and leisure use and the village is one of the best kept in the area.

Here are some more views of part of the village from the back lanes.

The spire of the present parish church, Holy Trinity, can be seen from all directions.

                                         Some of the allotments from one of the back lanes.

                               The former Methodist Chapel, which is now a private residence.

                                                                 A pretty cottage garden

There's a bistro in the main street which was once the busy blacksmith's shop.  Now the small forge in the Builder's Yard creates ornamental items since times have changed!  (For example, the 18th century stable block on the estate had room for 84 horses for riding and driving coaches and carriages with a large riding school attached).  

The beacon, like many others, was set up for the millennium celebrations.

There's a family-owned garden centre which was part of the formal gardens of the Big House.It's a popular place to visit for purchasing plants with many other features and I will write about this another time.

You can see the old wall which enclosed this area of the estate.

August Celebration

We have had a wonderful time with our family to celebration my husband's very special birthday. We went to an Italian restaurant in town and yesterday there was a bar-b-q at the home of one our daughters.We were also treated to a surprise gift of a stay overnight in an hotel in the plaza where we had our evening celebration meal.  (You can see the view of the plaza from the hotel in the evening and morningin the collage).  The grandchildren made a delicious chocolate cake to take to the restaurant and individual muffins spelling out 'We love Nonno'.