Another walk around Rufford

Steve and I had another walk around Rufford a couple of weeks ago in the hope of spotting that kingfisher again. It was a bright Frosty morning so we donned our thick coats and set off. Here are a few snaps...

 The Kingfisher wasn't there, but a Heron was

 So were these black headed gulls

 This is the view from the bridge and at the foot of that big tree was where I saw the kingfisher last time

 Here is a view down the lake to the Mill where there is a cafe and a shop selling outdoor clothing

 The Greylag Geese were enjoying the sunshine...

 This little fellow was gorging himself on the bird food!

 I had taken some bird food with me and found a convenient fence post near the Ice House. The birds are used to people feeding them here it seems...

 especially the blackbirds and robins

 The shaft of sun picked them out beautifully...

Then we walked back to the car. It looks like mid afternoon, but it was only about midday when we left.
Hope you enjoyed the stroll. Lets hope for some more bright frosty mornings soon.
Thanks for looking!

Apologies and some photos

My visits to blog land are very few and far between at the moment. So sorry if I haven't managed to visit your blogs. I still have two days at school to go, and have ticked off 4 panto performances, a Christingle, a nativity, a Christmas party, and an awards assembly.  There is chicken pox, winter vomiting virus and a nasty chesty cold going round so I'm thinking of suggesting a whole class nap lasting both days!
I did a bit of Christmas shopping a couple of weekends ago and popped to Rufford Park where there are a few shops selling nice food, warm hats, gifts and books. When I got there I discovered the shop didn't open until 10.30 so I had nearly an hour to kill. I popped back to the car and grabbed my camera (I tend to take it everywhere with me) and set off towards the lake.

 A group of Mallards came running to greet me but quickly lost interest when I had no food for them.

The reflections in the lake of the winter foliage were beautiful...

and the black-headed gulls seemed to be enjoying a the peace and quiet as much as I was.
As I stood watching them I saw a splash in the water, and then another a few minutes later. I trained my camera on it and zoomed in. Please forgive the awful quality of the photo (I will go back soon with a tripod).... It was a kingfisher!

After a few minutes I was joined by a robin, who may well have fed from my hand if I had taken some food - he was so tame that his feathers brushed my elbow as he hopped by.

I realised the shop had been open for a good 20 minutes by this stage and reluctantly continued on my way. Further round the lake I spotted a Goosander (another poor photo I am afraid)

That hour of solitude in the company of nature left me feeling so much happier than Christmas shopping does! I hope your Christmas shopping is done and you are able to enjoy a few minutes peace doing something you love.
Thanks for looking!

Rudolf Day for March

Here are my cards for Sarn's Rudolf Day this month. For the first I used Inkylicious Black Forest stamp, stormy sky distress ink and my ink dusters. I added some glitter and squeezed in a sentiment (Woodware) which looks a little straighter in real life! You know when you wish you hadn't put it there, lol! The papers are snippets from my snippet drawer and have been there forever!!!

My second card features a cute Digi mouse from Digistamp Boutique, coloured in with promarkers and backed on some snippets of digi papers printed out a very long time ago! The papers were from Funky Fairies, and I am sorry to say  are no longer available. The circular sentiment is from Little Claire.
As they both use snippets I am also taking them over to Di's snippet playground.
It is Saturday, so I should have been able to photograph them in daylight, but we spent this morning planning a school trip at Rufford Park, then carried on to see my dad this afternoon. It was such a beautiful day, and we really enjoyed the fresh air!

 It was sunny and warm, and there were so many birds in the trees. Unfortunately I wasn't quick or talented enough to capture them on my camera!

 

I think we will have to go again when the bluebells are out, judging by how many are here! We saw 4 or 5 great spotted woodpeckers chasing each other amongst the tree tops and heard the cries of a buzzard overhead too.

 I really hope it is as good weather when we take 60 children on Thursday! Thanks for looking and I hope you have a wonderful Mother's day - what a shame we have to lose an hour on the day most of us would like an extra hour in bed!

A magical day!

What a magical day I've had! This morning was spent crafting and waiting for the postie (who brought my Allsorts goodies!). The two cards were made after I was inspired by Chris, to look at my Inkadinkado inchie stamps. On the Butterflies and Birds plate I found the lovely dove which I stamped and embossed with, yes, more Kaleidoscope embossing powder.
Just before 12 we set off for a bowl of soup and a wander round Rufford Park. It was truly magical! We had many close encounters with the robins, chaffinches and squirrels in the park who were busy feeding on the grain the rangers had left for them. The ducks and geese were skating beautifully and the sun was just strong enough to give everything a lovely glow! Meg took some fantastic photos too that you can see on her blog 'My Little World'. I don't know how many Robins live in the park, but everywhere we looked there were so many! Hope you have had a great day too!
P.S. On behalf of the animals you might want to check this out!