My First Walk of the New Year

I'm returning your greetings by wishing you a happy new year.

We had a quiet New Year's Eve after spending a lively day - yes, I do mean lively/active - on the 30th December with our son and his family.  Son was a new year arrival many years ago so we're thinking of him as he celebrates his birthday now that he's back home in the Midlands.  Yesterday we went to our local daughter's home for afternoon tea.  We had a good time, lots of fun and games with board games and Italian playing card games.  

Today the sun has been shining, the sky has been a clear blue, the weather quite mild and so we went out to the local reservoir this morning and I walked there for a while.  Mr P stayed in the car parked up by the reservoir. The light was bright for taking photos. Here are the best of them.

 

                                                                

No sailing boats out on the water today as the university members are still on holiday. The moorland is not far away.

We've had heavy rain lately resulting in the reservoir getting topped up a little, but we could do with more rain as the surrounding banks and the overflow into the river is still empty of much needed water.

Puddles here and there produce interesting reflections.

One of the two buildings where the reservoir keepers adjust the water levels with machinery.

the reservoir keeper's house

More signs have been put up by Yorkshire Water warning of the dangers regarding swimming in the reservoir at any time of the year.

We were soon back home enjoying the warmth there.  I look forward to reading your news and hearing  all about your happenings in 2023.  May the coming days be peaceful ones for all of us.

Bradfield Village Again

During some extremely hot weather our quiet lifestyle got even slower.  I've been preparing for our daughter's stay with us now that she has finished teaching and school has closed for the Summer holidays.  Mr P has been busy gardening.  One Sunday afternoon our local daughter M came by and took us out in her open-topped convertible car to nearby Bradfield Village where we knew that the ice cream van would be parked by the playing fields.  

After a short walk by the village stream we got our ice creams and sat in the shade of the beech hedge and watched the other people enjoying the village facilities.  

A tractor with cutting equipment trundled by as the hay making season is upon us.  

The village hall was open and there was some activity happening over there.  It looked as if some girls were practising a dance routine and two men in heavy gear looked as if they were also practising for a medieval tournament. It must have been very hot in those costumes. Life for young people is getting back to 'normal'.  There has been a music festival in our local park this last weekend.  We were thankful that the music was not too loud, the hot weather has gone and also we could keep some of our windows open whilst we've been at home.  In our situation we continue to remain cautious about being in crowded areas.

We're so thankful for the beautiful countryside on our doorstep.  After going to Bradfield we stopped by the local reservoir and watched the members of the sailing groups that are now allowed out on the water. 

It'll be good to see our Berkshire daughter.  We haven't been together since last Summer holidays because of the distance she needs to travel to visit us and the various strict rules relating to the pandemic.

Thank you for coming by dear blog friends.  Take care of yourselves.  

A Local Garden Centre Visit

It has been quite a while since we visited our local garden centre - in September, in fact, when I bought bulbs to plant out for the Spring garden season.  It was an overcast, cloudy Monday morning which was reflected in the colour of the water in the nearby reservoir.  However, everything looked verdant and the farm animals were out grazing on the surrounding hills.  There were patches of  hawthorn blossom in the now leafy hedges surrounding some of the fields. 

We needed a couple of bags of compost and as there's a one-way system to keep visitors from crowding one another Mr P loaded up a trolley in the yard beyond the entrance to the garden nursery.  (Thankfully he feels better in the mornings so it's a suitable time to venture out).  Apparently if we had only wanted compost or bags of stone or grit we could have paid for those without going right around the site instead of trundling the loaded trolley around and in and out of various garden rooms.  On our way around I took a quick look at the new items for sale. 

In the covered departments the emphasis is on Summer seating for the garden and ornamental items. The sound of running water from the numerous ornamental fountains was soothing to the ears and the greenery of the pot plants calming on the eyes.  

The café is now open with the option of sitting inside as well as in the secluded and quiet garden area where you're entertained by the birds hovering around the bird feeders in one corner so I'm sure we'll  visit again very soon.

I hope your week is going well.  Have a good day!

A walk by the local reservoir

Last Thursday was a good day to take a walk by the local reservoir.  It was breezy and I certainly needed a hat and my warm coat with the hood up.  

Opposite the view of the countryside (above) is the reservoir.  The water was high and the waves were sweeping across the surface.

The water by the head of the reservoir flows under the road bridge into the river and the shallow waterfall/weir was mesmerising to look at.  There's another outlet at the other end of the reservoir, but that one is more of a stream than a river.  Further on there are several other reservoirs in the area. 

For once the water birds were up by the reservoir keeper's house.  They were ready to waddle down to the bank of the reservoir as soon as I came near.

By the keeper's house the path takes the walker along by the reservoir.  It's a safe one for families with children because there's a hedge in between the road, rows of trees and bushes on the other side by the water and in some places the route follows the long reservoir inland.  At this point one of the side roads ascends a hill. The reservoir can be seen down below whilst another road meanders by the water and the path has rustic-style fences on one side and a bank of trees on the other.

 

The wooded banks are steep and at this point they're usually in shadow.  Across the road I could see hazel trees and catkins.

It was time to turn around and go back home.  The bus service to Bradfield village is quite good, but most people prefer to walk along this stretch of the country road especially at the moment.

Over the last few days I've noticed there are more flowers in the garden and covered yard.

This morning we've already had rain showers with a few glimmers of sunshine.  The crocuses open up when the sun is out. 

Thank you for your visit.  Have a good day and week.