Weekly Shopping and a Walk

After doing our weekly provisions shopping yesterday I walked to the bridge and took some photos of  the River Loxley

This is the view of the bridge from the supermarket's car park.   The stone and white building is a former mill that has been converted into apartments.

The river water flows along the Loxley Valley from reservoirs in the area including our local Damflask Reservoir, meets the River Rivelin at Malin Bridge before continuing on down the Rivelin Valley or on to the River Don in the Don Valley. 

As you can imagine there are several bridges and weirs in this area of Sheffield.

This is the bridge by the mill in the second photo taken during a month in the Summer.  There's an island in the middle of the river called Watersmeet Island.

(Above archive picture shows what it used to look like).  It's a haven for wildlife as the area has  been given over to trees and bushes.

The island continues to be looked after by a volunteer group.

There's a narrow track road that leads to residential houses along the Rivelin Valley and on the extreme right is a hilly road which goes to a village called Stannington.  That's where we shall get our 'flu jab next week at one of the general practice surgeries we belong to.  Covid booster vaccinations are not available yet although we are eligible.  Mr P's second chest x-ray that he had recently has come back to the GP as a normal result.

 

Routine shopping can be pleasant when a supermarket is located in a quiet area.  The supermarket was not crowded yesterday either so all good.

Have a lovely weekend!  Our granddaughter and boyfriend are visiting in the morning for coffee and a chat and our local daughter is coming in the afternoon for a cup of tea and cake. :)

Our Garden: Mid November

Strictly speaking this cherry tree is not in our garden but a view of the neighbour's tree over the garden hedge.  The photo was taken last Thursday.   Since then there have been no blue skies, although I mustn't speak too soon. 😉  The rain has held off during the day and there's plenty to do in the garden just tidying up and sweeping up the leaves.

The blackbird looks on from on top of the hedge and, like the other garden birds, picks off the remaining berries from the hawthorn tree.

Mr P works in the greenhouse and pots up plants.  Yesterday morning he swept up some fig tree leaves, but more have fallen.

There are still some flowers and colour in the garden....

The bracts and the leaves on this pieris shrub look rather washed out. I could move the bush from the shady corner to somewhere more sunny.  It might be a bit of a squeeze getting behind the rambling rose so I shall probably leave it as it should brighten up in the Springtime.

The garden table and chairs, an olive tree and the citrus trees have been moved back into the covered yard and most of the gardening is being done in this warm and sheltered place.

The last of the tomatoes have been gathered and the sweet peppers are still producing fruit..

The covered yard is the place to grow seedlings, herbs and store the pelargoniums and other tender plants to protect them from the frost.  It's quite a thought to remember that Winter is on its way.  There has been talk of early snow.  It's certainly getting colder in our neck of the woods. 

It's now mid morning. I look out of the window and see that the sun is shining and there are blue skies again. 😊

Thank you for coming by.  Have a lovely day!

This and That on a Monday

Hello again.  I hope that you had a good weekend.  We had rather gloomy days weather-wise.  I had intended to go out for a walk, but in the end it didn't happen. There was the usual housework and some shared cooking (layering up lasagne sheets in a baking tray).  Mr P made the tomato sauce and I made the topping of white sauce flavoured with parmesan cheese. Most of the time we just pottered, watched the Remembrance Services and the Lord Mayor's Parade televised broadcasts from London, Strictly Come Dancing etc.  I do find I get a melancholy feeling at this time of the year.  It's mainly because of the gloomy weather, not being able to walk out so much because of the cold and also I feel sad about conflicts of any kind. 

I did a bit of reading and embroidery although I can't spend too long on close work now.  I  have quite a few craft projects in my sewing basket and I thought I would start on one of the easier ones.

I like to follow an outline rather than do free form stitching.  This pack that the grandchildren sent through the post a while ago when we were in lockdown is simple as the stitches are mainly straight stitch, outline stitch, French Knot and Lazy Daisy stitch.

This is what it should look like when it's finished and then I shall have to find a frame.

As this blog is also meant to be a personal record which I find useful because it's easy to forget past events I'm still thinking of our time in Reading.  The above flowers were bought to take to put on the family graves at the municipal Henley Road Cemetery in Caversham - parents, grandparents and my uncles are all in the oldest part of the cemetery.  We also bought some slate chippings to refresh my Uncle James' grave (Little Jimmy who died when he was knocked down in the street outside school.  It was a tragic accident that I've written about before). I'm thankful that our daughter or her children who live in Reading visit the cemetery and put fresh flowers on the graves.  

We saw some woodpeckers by the family graves.  They were next to the fence that separates the cemetery from the parkland of the former British Broadcasting World Service building and the birds must spend time in one of the oak trees in the grounds as I went to take a look over the fence and could hear them there when they flew off when we approached.  Daughter D identified them as green woodpeckers.  They eat insects they find in the earth.

We saw mistletoe berries there too.

To finish off here are some images of the Oxfordshire villages we drove through on our way back home. 

a church built of knapped flint at Stoke Row near Henley-on-Thames

the War Memorial at Cookley Green

a black and white timber framed cottage, Watlington

The Market Hall, Watlington, built by the Stonor family in 1663, refurbished in 2013

A Remembrance Day display, Watlington

Stopping at roadworks in Watlington allowed me to take more photos. To the extreme right is the entrance to Watlington Methodist Chapel.

more brick and flint

Back at home the bouquet of flowers that was given to us by Berkshire grands are still looking fresh and lovely.

There's a lot to share with you regarding the garden in November.  That will have to wait for another day.  

Meanwhile, thank you for coming by.  Have a good day!