Over The Hill

This morning's walk took Malcolm and I over Shipley Hill and round the woodland and old Italianate gardens which once belonged to Shipley Hall. As always, the views from the hill were rather good as we looked south, towards the tall chimney of Ratcliffe -on-Soar power station.

Through the woodland, we came upon the remains of a folly. It is rumoured that this folly was constructed by the Miller-Mundy family of Shipley Hall, to give 'Bertie' the then Prince of Wales, somewhere to be 'intimate' with his various mistresses when he was staying. I couldn't possibly comment!

The formal, Italianate gardens of Shipley hall are, like the hall itself, long gone, but the grounds are still well cared-for and looking good, despite the recent drought.

Back through the trees again and time for another look at the view...

Then it was homeward once more for wonderful birthday lunch - not feeling over the hill at all!

Reservoir 2

This morning's walk took us through Shipley Park, over Shipley Hill and down to Osborne's Pond. We stopped first, to have a look at the swans on Shipley Lake. The planned development of land round the lake, has not yet begun, so for now, everything is quiet - and rather beautiful this morning.

Onward and upward, we crossed the top of the Hill and walked along the old Suffragette Wall of Shipley Hall.

Then it was down the hill once more and onward to Osborne's Pond. The 'pond' is actually an old supply reservoir providing water to the many small, disused canals around the park. It is also a haven for wildlife.

The view just calls for a more panoramic view.

We stayed for a short while under the old oak at one end of the pond and enjoyed the views from there too.

All too soon, it was time to head for home, but one more little delight awaited us as we crossed the parkland. A Common Blue Butterfly was being unusually photogenic. Normally, butterflies flit off as soon as you point a camera at them, but this one was happy to pose!

Round the Reservoir

A breezy day today, but still warm and rather humid as Malcolm and I set out for a walk through Shipley Park and around Mapperley reservoir.  The sound of young Great Crested Grebes demanding food from their parents echoed across the water as the wind rustled through the trees above.

At the far end of the reservoir, we stood to admire the hundreds of Yellow Water Lilies, flowering around the water's edge.

Further round, we stopped to check if the Mandarin ducks were still in residence (they were) and as we stood there, a movement caught my eye across the water. It turned out to be a gorgeous Fox, which had come to drink from the reservoir.

Soon he was off again, slinking into the trees and disappearing from view.
Last time we walked around the reservoir, I was delighted to find a new species for my 'life list'. Flitting through the hedge beside the water, this rather nondescript insect nevertheless caught my attention and after quite a bit of searching, I discovered that it was Britain's largest Caddis Fly (Phryganea grandis). Not as attractive as the fox, but still worth getting excited about!

Rain on the Way!

For weeks, we have been teased by mother nature and the weather forecasters alike. Many times over that period, we've been promised some rain and have watched as clouds formed, gathered and marched towards us. But for some unknown reason, time and again, those same clouds have separated, dispersed and missed us completely, passing to north and south of us. The upshot of this has been an ever-drying countryside as everything turns brown.

Even the lakes of Straw's Bridge are showing signs of drought as the levels drop.

The middle lake has, over recent months, been fed by a spring which has mysteriously appeared close to one end. This spring has turned the footpath into a soggy mess and where grasses once grew, Great Reedmace has taken over. But even here, the wet path has dried out once more.

This morning however, things looked a little bit different as we walked home. Clouds were gathering...

All getting very dramatic!

As I type this, we have at last had a good downpour - and a crack or two of thunder. Who would have thought we would be so excited by a shower of rain?

But we (and the garden) still need much more!

Dry Landscapes

No-one would have thought a few weeks ago, as we slopped about in a muddy garden and soggy countryside, that we would be wishing it would rain. We keep looking at the forecast and seeing a few showers forming close by, but none of them seem to reach us. So, our walks around Shipley Park recently, have been hot and dusty and increasingly desiccated. Through Pewit Carr this morning, the Meadowsweet was wilting and the Creeping Thistles were looking grey and tired.

The area known as Manor Floods, seems to be very badly named as here too, the grasses are drying out in the sunshine, leaving a golden landscape beneath the blue skies.

The Hawthorn tress which were smothered with millions of white flowers just a few weeks ago, are now trying to form their little fruits. Not only are they battling the drought conditions, but they seem to be struggling against the onslaught of a fungal disease which was something new to me. Looking like a strange gall of some kind, it is actually called Cedar-quince Rust.

The 'Rust' part becomes apparent when you touch the affected fruits and get covered with a fine, rusty powder.

Just one more picture for today and it's of a huge Bumble Bee which was taking it easy on the fence in our back garden yesterday. It is a Buff-tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus terrestris) and an impressive specimen it was too.

Still hoping for rain though!

Drought

Despite promises of rain, we've not had any for well over a month now and the countryside around here is beginning to show signs of drought. The exceptionally dry weather has however, seems to have been a boon for hay-making farmers. Almost every field is currently littered with great round bales of the stuff.

Malcolm and I stood and watched as rolls were being spat out of the back of a machine, being towed by a tractor. All a far cry from the days of the pitchfork-wielding labourers of yesteryear.

No doubt all that hay will be appreciated by the cattle during the leaner months of winter. These characters for example...

Down at Straws Bridge, the water levels in Swan Lake are dropping by the day as ducks, coots, geese, swans and gulls all seem to be getting a bit tetchy in the heat. As usual, the Black-headed Gulls are the most vocal about it, but the appearance of a couple of their larger, Lesser Black Backed cousins seems to act as a steadying influence - for a while anyway.

The rest of Shipley Park is looking brown and parched, even in those places where it's usually quite damp.

With all this fine, dry weather, it's been a good year for the invertebrates. Ringlet Butterflies are everywhere...

... and this pair of Soldier Beetles were getting to know each other better on a thistle this morning.

In fact, they all seemed to be at it.

Having sex on a thistle might be considered something of a risky business...!

Buxton

At around 1000ft above sea level, Buxton is the highest market town in England. For that reason it has usually been very cold when Malcolm and I have visited the town, but yesterday, we took Malcolm's mother and her friend June there for a day out. It turned out to be warm, sunny and quite lovely.

After doing a little shopping and having a coffee and apricot croissant (a favourite treat), we had a stroll around the park, keeping to the shady paths under the trees as much as possible.

Lots of people were enjoying the weather, sitting on the benches reading or doing the crossword. Some were sunbathing on the grass, but all were having a good time.

Ducklings were picking around the water and a coot was having a very hot time of it, sitting on its nest of eggs, in full sun.

All very nice indeed.

All too soon, it was time to start heading back to the car, via the conservatory.

The floral exotica was in keeping with the sunny weather. These lilies were particularly colourful.

Goldfish swam around the pond.

Then it was back out into the sunshine and off to find Pat and June before heading off for lunch.

A lovely day out!