There and Back

One of the joys of young babies and even slightly older ones, is their wonderment at the most mundane of things!  Emily is nearly one year old and a visit to the park was amusing to watch and one wondered, just what was she thinking as she explored her surroundings. Emily with proud mum That man there who is pointing at you, is Grandad Let's start by seeing you stand on your own, and then you can go and explore. OK, so what is bright yellow thing? Let`s touch it and perhaps give it a pull. Yuck! something sticky on my fingers now. You take it Grandad Now to get something for mummy. Here you go mummy! Now, who else is there I can give something to? Home

Adam, our grandson, spent several days with us during the first half of 2011 and hopefully enjoyed himself in the various activities we did together. He seemed to anyway, and we certainly did! Lets help Nanna water the polythene First pictures are of Nanna explaining the hidden secrets of the rings on a tree that had been felled in Arger Fen.  Then I will have my picture taken on a tree stump.  Arger fen has the most magnificent display of bluebells and Adam ran up and down the steps in the part of the woods so that we could get a blurred image. Bless him!  Without the blur!  Next was a trip to see the steam trains at Hedingham railway museum  Catching insects in among the poppy display in the Oilseed Rape field near home. This year we had one of the best poppy displays for many a year.  However, the Oilseed Rape was so tall in places that he had to have a `piggy back` which he loved. 

Ipswich has a range of Art dotted around the town and these are just three of the ones I photographed today. More to follow later. Then I wandered along some of the river side to look at the Graffiti. The first one,`Giles`, is one of my favourites. The Giles Statue, also known as 'The Grandma Statue', depicts the popular cartoon family from famous Ipswich-based illustrator Carl Giles, Britain's best loved cartoonist  Carl Giles drew weekly topical cartoons and comic strips for the Daily Express and Sunday Express that often included characters from his fictional 'Giles Family' of which the Grandma was the most popular character. Other characters from the family that also feature on the statue are The Twins, Lawrence and Ralph and Rush the dog. Also just behind is Vera with her constant runny nose! This bronze statue depicting Gile's most beloved characters was unveiled in 1993, just 2 years before the cartoonist died. The statue is positioned s

After a December with a reasonable amount of snow, it was to be expected that in January when the temperature rose a bit, the floods would come. Or at least a big rise in river levels. This year the rivers rose a lot, but peaked just short of flooding. Here in Layham, our little River Brett gave the opportunity of a few photos. The mill pond at its highest I had seen, short of flooding. ... and looking back across the mill pond from the footbridge.  I wonder why this is called Water Lane! Normally a narrow, but dry, lane in Layham. Even 30 mph is out of the question I think. This house, part of the old mill/granary complex, stands on blocks which normally keep it clear of the water. This time they have disappeared under!  On the opposite side of the road, their tennis court is somewhere here!  A normally shallow and placid stream nearby.  Most of the year this is virtually dry but today it was taking the bulk of the Brett overflow

After the cold of Winter it is always a heartwarming sight to see the first signs of spring. A visit to the Castle grounds in Colchester provided a perfect opportunity to see Crocus in their glory. Well worth a look. Crocus in the Colchester Castle Park Close up of some of these glorious little flowers.  Then, to see a great display of Snowdrops, a visit to another castle, this time Hedingham. Open every year for this beautiful display  Some closer images of the Snowdrops.  Spring would not be complete without Catkins! This display was in Lackford Lakes, north of Bury St Edmunds.  Beside numerous other buds appearing in the hedgerow, there were plenty of Horse Chestnut buds to be seen. It just lifts the spirits to see winter retreating and Spring and Summer just round the corner!  Then, of course, there are Daffodils. Always a Spring favourite. Forsythia in full bloom Cherry Plum (Nigra)