I thought I would participate in another Sunday Sevens, devised by Natalie at Threads and bobbins.
Christmas decorations
David and I have just come back from a visit to Grosvenor Garden Centre. While buying some bird ornaments for my little three foot Christmas tree! (I am so excited for the season!) David and I had fun making a wish and ‘drinking’ from a huge coffee cup!
Make a wish
Whose for coffee?
I also bought a bird feeder in the shape of a poppy (a 50p donation went to the Royal British Legion) and placed it in the yarden!
Poppy Feeder
Golden pavement
I am still looking for signs of Autumn, and while walking to get the bus to work, I snapped this picture of a leafy coloured pathway.
While grocery shopping yesterday I tried on some winter hats. I liked this cow hat and scarf!
The week began in celebratory mode. I dressed up as the devil for Halloween and I turned 40! (:o) I got lots of lovely cards, presents and well wishes.
David kindly gave me money to buy a new phone. (My old one is three years old and so slow!) So, I opted for a Samsung Galaxy S6 due to the camera quality! I can’t wait to use it!
David and I had the Monday off work. So we spent the day shopping, eating gingerbread and going to the cinema. We went to see Inferno, the third Prof. Langdon film in the series of Dan Brown adaptations. It wasn’t as strong a story as The Da Vinci Code but we enjoyed it none the less. Later back home, even Artie seemed to enjoy the left over popcorn! :p
Popcorn Eater!
Overall it hasn’t been a bad week. With the turning back of the clocks last Sunday it seems that the weather has grown colder too. 😦
Have you been to the cinema recently? Have you started shopping for Christmas?
Monday was the beginning of my ‘much needed’ week off work. I started it by going for a coffee with my mum! We braved the drizzle and took the bus to Allerton and our favourite Costa! It was a nice indulgent treat but the indulgence didn’t end there! The next day Mum and I went to Liverpool One’s Odeon and went to see Jurassic World! It was an enjoyable romp and it was nice to just switch off for a change! There were some nail biting moments which had mum and I squealing like children! 😀
I spent the ‘hump’ with Artie who seemed to enjoy the company.
In the garden:
There has been a flurry of activity at the feeders this week. Visiting were lots of baby Starlings all greedily helping themselves to the fat balls. Amongst all the flapping of wings were four House Sparrows, two males and two females. They happily explored the garden. I saw them under the Honeysuckle and at one stage all sitting in the branches of the small Buddleia I have in a pot! However they do not stay still for long and we believe we have more Sparrows visiting than first thought. I am hopeful they will continue to visit the feeders, they have such lovely sweet characters.
There were also the many Goldfinch ‘charms’ visiting. One family must have been successful at rearing their young as they brought about four babies to the feeders. All are welcome! 😀
I had to dig up my Michaelmas Daisy as the mildew was spreading to other flowers. The vinegar spray did not help I am afraid! Looks like I’ll be heading to Lady Green Garden Centre in the near future!
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The rest of the week:
David had Thursday and Friday off. So on the first day, we went to Trentham Gardens, Stoke on Trent to see their art instillation of fairies, by local artist Robin Wright. We got in for the 2 for 1 offer via Stoke on Trent’s tourist website. Saved us nearly £10! The next four hours was spent walking along the mile long lake, viewing the many art displays in-situ and enjoying their gardens.
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While walking we came across a flash of colour! It was a small part of the lakeside given over to wild flowers. The sight was stunning!
Wild flowers
One of the attractions at Trentham was their Bare Foot Walk. I had decided the night before that if I had the chance I would try it. So in anticipation I packed with our lunch a small towel to wipe my feet! 🙂 David thought I was mad, but I threw off my shoes and socks and jumped on the wooden stepping stones.
Bare Foot Walk at Trentham Gardens
The wood was presently warm and comfortable unlike some other surfaces I encountered. Small stones, wood chips and coals were the hardest and most difficult to walk on. I made very slow progress!
The excitement of the day really knocked us out! So come the evening we relaxed and watched Maleficent.
Friday dawned cloudy and cool, We decided to make the most of the day and headed towards Lancashire to see the Pendle Sculpture Trail at Aitken Wood. I don’t know if it was due to still being tired from the day before or the fact that we seemed to get hounded by horrid flies for the two hours we were walking (one even tried to bite me!), I didn’t enjoy the day as much as I thought I would! The weather didn’t play ball either as it was rather windy on the hills and the sun rarely showed!
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The wood was good for wildlife spotting and we bemoaned the fact that we should have brought our ‘bigger’ cameras instead of our phones! We really were not equipped for taking any decent nature sightings. Another visit will be on the cards in the future!
On the walk we spotted:
A Linnet, but not 100% certain.
Tuffted Ducks though again I am not certain. I really wished I’d brought my bird ID book!
Great or Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Blue, Great and Coal Tits, I recognised them! 🙂
Goldfinches
Three rabbits
Seven butterflies, two were Red Admirals and two Gatekeepers!
A few moths
A hawk hunting, could have been a Merlin, though not certain! 😦
My identification skills are decent enough for when it comes to garden birds, but when I am faced with birds I don’t see regularly then I find them difficult to ID! I think many more days out in the country are needed to hone my skills!
Saturday turned out at be a busy affair as we had family around for a curry and film night! We ordered from my favourite takeaway, Saffron and the film we snuggled up to watch was The Kingsman, it had it’s funny moments!
Now Sunday has arrived and I’m feeling blue, work looms gloomily on the horizon! I’ve enjoyed my time off work so much! Maybe too much! It’s been lovely. I have spent time with family and seen and experienced new things. I’ve spent today at home with David and Artie and tried to get my nervous finches to feed from the hand. Two already have the courage, Chocolate (Bengalese) and Rainbow (Gouldian) but poor Romeo (Bengalese) is still hesitant!
Wednesday, I had the whole afternoon off work. So with the late winter sun shining upon us, mum and I went to the Odeon cinema at Liverpool One to see Les Miserables. I couldn’t help but sing along to the great tunes! We even got in for 2 for 1, so was a cheap day out!
Afterwards we stopped off at the Lindt Easter Egg Hunt, 101 painted eggs in an art instillation You all know I love street art and I happily dragged mum around the display and snapped at a few of my favourites!
Christine Lucas 