Adel in the snow and Redwing highlight.

(To get the best out of these photos you need to look on a laptop or desktop and click to enlarge them or at least an i pad).

After a day of snow, resulting in 6 inches here and gridlock in Leeds, we had a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a walk. A little wary with my recovering ankle, that’s still very tender in certain positions, I went carefully but with snow underfoot it made it soft, so as long as I didn’t slip, I would be fine. AND I did manage to stay on my feet. A great pair of walking boots really helps. https://www.meindl.co.uk/products/womens/womens-boots/

This is the lane behind our house looking very pretty.

Digital photography is brilliant you can snap away and get rid as you wish. Gone are the days when you had to get the right roll of film in your camera, either 12x, 24,or 36x photos, then send them off by post, for development and wait with excitement, to have them returned and find that half of them are over exposed or with a thumb in the way or someones head chopped off!

And guess where I ended up again? Yes St johns Adel. It is just so picturesque.

And I found a few more interesting graves.

The first gravestone shows John Walker who died in 1822 only aged 39, his son died the year after at the age 15 and then his daughter died the same year aged just 3. Wish I’d moved the snow to see when his wife died – the poor woman.

Next Mark Shaw of Horsforth died in1 1839 aged 26. A number of the graves give information of where the occupant lived too.

Richard Atkinson of Cookridge died in 1782 aged 59. This is an older grave that I don’t think Ive found before. His son died in 1799 at only 25 years.

The last one is another old one. Fanny died in 1757 at the tender age of 13. Then her sister in 1766 at an even more tender age of 11. The brother only reached the age of 26, dying in 1775. Their mother reached the ripe old age of 72, dying in 1789 and their father reached 70 years dying in 1797.

I just find the history here fascinating and very sad and am going to delve deeper and try to find out more about these lives.

I walked on down to Bedquilts Recreation Ground and got a few nice photos. Its a strange name and I haven’t found out why it is so called. Its a large area with football pitches, grass and nice mature trees. A lot of people exercise their dogs there. The snow was deep and gave my ankle and legs a work out.

Just on the last leg of my walk not far from home I was surprised to see a single Redwing bird on a hedgerow. Ive not managed to get a really good photo of a redwing and it let me get really close to it. It was the highlight of my walk.

They are beautiful thrush like bird with the red colour under the wings giving them their name. The come from Scandinavia in winter.

Birds seen today

Walked to Adel Dam today – haven’t been for a while.  The first hide was busy and the feeders needed refilling so not a lot about.  Usual blue tits, great tits, long tail tits, chaffinch, moor hen and mandarin duck.  At the second hide it was the same apart from a bullfinch in the trees.  Rather disappointed, I walked around the outside and was rewarded with a Redwing.

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This is not my own picture – one taken from the internet for illustration purpose.  As you can see it looks like a thrush but has red under its wing. So it was worth any while.  Then I walked back over the fields to Pauls pond where there were some very fine swans and tufted ducks.  Then just as I was about to leave I spotted a flash of incandescent blue as a kingfisher sped past.

ARNSIDE AND SILVERDALE AONB

Its an area of Britain I’ve only just discovered and I love it.  Totally unspoilt so far.
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From Carnforth in the south to Milnthorpe in the north, Morecambe bay to the west and the A6 being the border east.
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If you love wildlife, birds, walking, spectacular scenery, peace and quiet, this is the place to go.


Morecambe bay is stunning and these pictures don’t do justice to its vastness.
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I’ve visited twice now and will return many times, having found a brilliant caravan club CL site.  When we arrived the first time there were deer running in far fields.  We’ve seen an osprey and curlews from our caravan pitch.
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Arnside is one of the places time forgot.  It has two pubs with great beer and food.  Great views, a railway station and plenty of nice walks. What more could you want Its lovely.  Oh and location is recently for where Nick from Coronation Street got stuck in quicksand.  You can cross Morecambe Bay from Arnside to Grange Over Sands at the North side, but at your peril if you do so without a guide to show you the way to avoid the quicksand.
IMG_5989This walk up Wharton Crag gave some fabulous views of the whole of Morecambe bay .  It was also here at the start of our walk that we saw peregrine falcons nesting in the disused quarry.

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Leighton Moss RSPB reserve is nearby and is well worth a visit.  Highlights for us when we went were Mash Harriers and a heron eating an eel, which was quite a task.

We visited Heysham on the coast just below Morecambe and found this really interesting chapel.
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As for Morecambe, lets just say I’d give it a miss.  I know they are trying to regenerate the place but it is pretty much dead.  Had to have a photo with Eric though.
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Recharging my soul

I’m a humanist so I regard my soul as my inner being – the place where all the components that make me me live.  My soul has felt a little degraded recently along with my confidence.  Not sure why …………….could be an age thing!  But today, today its been rejuvenated.  How????  Very simple……….my trusty Virago 535 and the Yorkshire countryside.  What more could you want?
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A 67 mile round trip to Malham in North Yorkshire.  Originally, I decided to go and see the peregrines at the Cove.   So I loaded my bike with my heavy camera rucksack with my Canon 7D with large zoom attached and set off.  However, when I got there, after a lovely cup of coffee and carrot cake, I took the path I thought led to the Cove, but yet again my memory mis-served me and it was the path to Janets Foss.  So didn’t need the rucksack! Doh!
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It was a lovely walk though.  So peaceful, gorgeous sunny weather and lots of birdsong.
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The wild garlic covered the floor, a missile thrush sang its heart out, a dipper in the stream was gathering food for its young residing in a hollowed out tree trunk and a woodpecker drummed in the distance.
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Janets Foss wasn’t as full as normal but this border collie was enjoying the cool water.

Don’t know what a zebra was doing in the Yorkshire Dales!  This pub supplied a welcome cold drink and although I didn’t partake the food looked gorgeous.  I will be back.
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A very short walk just over 2 miles, but can be easily extended by carrying on across the road after Janets Foss and following the footpath to the cove.
I love my adopted county and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

WEMBLEY 2015 RUGBY LEAGUE CHALLENGE CUP

Had a fantastic long weekend in London, topped off by my team the Leeds Rhinos winning the Challenge Cup in fantastic blazing style.  Brilliant experience – never been before.  Amazing stadium and atmosphere.  Rugby League fans rub shoulders together without animosity.  Friendly banter and fans from all clubs attend making it a really special family occasion.
IMG_2101 IMG_2103 I cried my eyes out when Danny Jones’s wife sang Abide With Me.  Danny died of an undiagnosed heart condition whilst playing for Keighley Cougars against London Skolars earlier this year.  He left his wife with twin babies.  She is a professional singer and completely stunned the crowd with her singing and courage.  We stood, sang with her and cheered and clapped till our hands were sore.  Danny would have been so proud.
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The rhinos were on fire.  They beat Hull KR 50 points to nil.  Tom Briscoe made five tries making an all time record.
The Hull KR fans were brilliant, staying to the end and supporting their team.   We left the stadium on a high and went to celebrate in London with a few beers.

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Adel Woods north leeds

Have had some lovely dog walks at Adel woods.  Been going here for years with all my dogs.  Lots of people do the same but it never seems crowded.  Its a mixed woodland with a small moorland.

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From the moor you can catch sight of the old Adel Reformatory
The sun shining through the leaves make dappled patterns on the soft forest floor.
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There are many paths to choose from and is a great place for orienteering.  You can ride your mountain bike through here and get a really good workout.  There’s plenty of birds and wildlife and its so lovely and peaceful.
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Can be very muddy at times, particularly when the bikers have been through.

Adel Woods is part of the Meanwood Valley Trail.  Click here for a leaflet of the trail.

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Friends of Adel Woods Website
Meanwood Valley Partnership

AYSGARTH FALLS ONE OF YORKSHIRES TOP BEAUTY SPOTS

Had a lovely walk with Mike and Tetley today at Aysgarth Falls in the Dales near Leyburn.  The river Ure winds its way through  Wensleydale, tumbling over limestone at Aysgarth.  There are a number of waterfalls but Upper, Lower are accessible but the Middle can be viewed from a platform.  
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The Yorkshire Dales National Park information centre there has a shop and cafe.  The scones are absolutely amazing.  I had a cherry and sultana one with jam and cream.  I actually struggled to finish it, which is unheard of
 AND there was so much cream that I didn’t need it all – again unheard of! 
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This walk is taken from the www.walkingenglishman.com  Fantastic website for walkers.
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FRANKENSTEINS CAT – EMILY ANTHES

This book deals with biotechnology.  Quite a fascinating read and very informative.  I didn’t realise how far genetic engineering had come and I found it rather un-nerving.  Do we think its right to change the molecular nature of various animals for our benefit?  Could it be that we are able to engineer changes that benefit the animal itself or are we meddling at our peril??  To be honest I found the book a bit hard going but it certainly gave me a lot to think about. franks cat