Seaside and river

We hadn't seen DD for over three months so decided yesterday to drive the 60 miles to the seaside town she lives. Usually it takes up to one and a half hours even in school holidays when the weather is hot. Yesterday it took over 3 hours which was ridiculous. We didn't even attempt to go to the beach which is about 2 miles from DD. Instead we went across to the lovely country park just opposite her home and sat in the shade under a tree and watched the kestrel hovering and diving. Then picked up fish and chips to eat on DD's patio.

Apparently we made the right decision as even little Frinton was packed. Even though Clacton can get busy especially near the pier, we have always been able to find a quiet spot on the beach. We used to go to Walton on Naze every year for a day in the school holidays. Again we had plenty of room on the beach. I was thinking why it is so busy now and suppose it is a combination of things. People still off work and kids off school and everybody fed up with being cooped up. Add to that no foreign holidays. It doesn't seem fair to the locals who are used to going to the beach all year round.

Today I had a walk down to the river later in the afternoon after my parcel was delivered. I was amazed to see about 30 people playing in and around the lock filled with water. They were mainly youngsters but there was a little family with a little lad about 5 years old and he was floating with his dad on an inflatable with no armbands on. I just hoped he could swim. It looked like they were having great fun cooling off on a hot day and it was very tempting but I just thought of all the dangers. I must be getting old. It is forbidden to swim in the river anyway although the youngsters always have done so.

The fields and the other parts of the river were peaceful and I saw house martins, swallows, duck and coot families and a solitary moorhen. Now there is a beautiful sky and the patio doors are still open. The temperature is just right.

Daisies, birds and bikes

As the weather is not so good, there are fewer people out and about so I have been able to walk nearer to home. Nearby there is a little hilly wooded area which I walk through to get to the river. During lock-down there have been groups of young boys on their bikes. As I walk around the edge they didn't bother me but this week they were not there so I was able to get some photos of their bike runs. I'm not sure who set it all up but it's not been done officially and I have to applaud their ingenuity.

When I was returning from the other direction, I noticed some no entry signs on some trees so they had obviously thought a bit about safety. I feel the boys must have had help from older people.

Over the last few years volunteers have worked to create wildflower meadows and improve habitat for the wildlife. The mass of large daisies is wonderful.

There are also lots of happy birds and I enjoyed sitting on a bench listening and watching. The little wren was beautiful. I think this is a reed warbler but I had no binoculars with me and I am not an expert on bird identification. The photo barely shows it in the middle on a branch.

I sat and enjoyed the flowers and birds for quite a while as the sun came out the other day. Too wet today so I stayed in and tried out another recipe. Sorting these out has been on the list since lock down started and is ongoing. Some recipes have not been successful but the apple scones today are delicious and reasonably healthy for cake. They are bigger than they look on this photo.

Matching Tye

I drove out a few miles to this village on Sunday for a walk. Years ago I borrowed a book from the library written by a woman who grew up here and she wrote about all the people and houses plus every day life. Her parents were buried in the church yard. At the time I was a carer working for the county and a couple of my clients lived her as well. One of them told me about his daughter who died young and was also buried at the same church.

So one weekend our daughter and I had a walk across fields to the church and found all these graves. We also found a small lake nearby and walked around finding some of the buildings mentioned.

I have never walked this route since so thought it was time. It was so peaceful and I did a slightly different route, walking along narrow lanes until I reached the lake then following footpaths back to the car. I didn't visit the graveyard as I couldn't remember any of the names. Here are a few photos.

The elderflower is everywhere. I don't think I have ever seen so much blossom.

One thing about this lockdown is that any little outing, even nearby seems really exciting. I felt like I had been on holiday afterwards.