A walk in the park

 I haven't had any proper walks this week as I was afraid of falling on the ice. Normally I love to get out and walk in snow but this snow was so thin it just turned to ice and was treacherous to walk on. As our local hospital has ten wards of covid patients, I do not want to end up there. 

Apart from a few patches the ice has melted so after taking DB to his weekly appointment at the ulcer clinic as it was a bright but bitterly cold day I went for a walk in the park. Pet's corner is closed but lots of animals are in the paddocks and they do make me laugh. Here are alpacas, llamas and goats.

I walked along to the water gardens to see if I could spot the pair of mandarin ducks that are hanging out there. As I got near I saw DS with little GD watching the ducks. He was trying to wear her out. Not much chance of that. He told me the ducks were the other side of a wall and that also they had seen the kingfisher. We used to regularly see a kingfisher around this spot but not recently. Some years ago when DS was still a child we were standing by the pond and a kingfisher was sitting in the tree right next to us. A man came along and obviously hadn't seen it so DS told him about it. He was amazed as he had never seen one before. I took some photos of the ducks.

The female is much plainer than her mate. We followed the stream as we thought the kingfisher might be further along and sure enough we caught that wonderful flash of blue as it took off. 

It takes ages to walk anywhere with little GD. It is lovely though to see her delight at all the simple things. She collected lots of cones to take home for the squirrels in their garden. She loves the animals and pushes her face through the fence to kiss the sheep. One of them kept bleating really loudly right in her face and she thought that was hilarious. She doesn't seem to feel the cold but we were with all the standing around so I started playing chase with her to get her moving. She loves it but I was so tired when I got home, I fell asleep on the sofa. I doubt if GD did.

New things

 Normally when I think about new things I think about traveling or visiting new places but this is out of the question for now. So my new things are a random selection.

First last Wednesday the new mattress was delivered. I suddenly realized the old one is not new anymore as it was bought about 12 years ago and may be the cause of my back ache. 

Then on Saturday DB and I had our first covid jabs. I was very impressed with how well organized it was. As it was at a Dr.'s surgery, I hadn't thought of taking the wheelchair as we don't need it at our own Dr.'s. It was a huge new practice and the disabled parking was too far for DB to walk so I dropped him off at the entrance. When I got back, he was sitting in a wheelchair somebody had kindly provided and just as well too as we had to walk quite a long way. Well it was for him anyway. We were ushered in straight away and then afterward directed to an area to sit for 15 minutes. A volunteer took our names and noted the time. She then asked me if I recognized her. As she had a mask covering most of her face that wasn't likely. When she told me her name I knew she was the ex wife of DB's cousin. She is a lovely person and I haven't seen her for some years. Then she pointed out her son-in-law who we have seen at family funerals. She said her daughter now works in the voluntary sector and was responsible for getting the team together so roped her mum and husband in. It took me ages explaining to DB who she was especially as the cousin's sister has the same name. Since his stroke some years ago he has a struggle keeping up with conversation. 

I have been trying out new recipes so also on Saturday I made a carrot cake as a treat to brighten us up. A few years ago I found a lovely little tea-time recipe book in a charity shop in Cockermouth. The idea being to start having afternoon teas for friends but what with having two years of a gastric problem, then moving and now the pandemic it hasn't happened but I have been practicing. Every thing I have made from this book has turned out well and the carrot cake was the best I have made. I felt a bit sad as it is DD's favourite cake but now I am looking forward to making it again when we can get together. It will be a celebration. I did try a new pasta recipe from on-line but I wasn't too keen. It was vegetarian and had pesto in it which is a first for me too. I wasn't sure if it was the pesto or the fact there wasn't enough sauce so the pasta seemed a bit dry. I wont make it again. 

For my walk on Monday I revisited a huge country park about 3 miles away. I used to walk there a lot with DD and her dogs but haven't been for ages. This time I went to a bit I hadn't seen before but it was terribly muddy which made it very slippery in places. I will go back again when its drier. 

Even the board walk was covered in mud but it was worth it as it is a lovely place and I felt very refreshed. Now I'm just starting a new jigsaw. 

Tales of the river bank

I heard the river had burst its banks so I thought I would go and have a look.  As I reached the river next to the mill, there seemed to be a lot of activity including  Inland Waterways men scratching their heads and peering into the lock. Then I saw why.

 A boat was stuck fast under the foot bridge on its way out of the lock. The river was the highest I had ever seen it and I have certainly never seen a boat stuck under a bridge on the river. The boat owner had never seen it that high either. The waterways man said there was a warning in place not to travel as it was dangerous. Later when I reached the next lock there were more Waterways men there too. The trouble is the water was high there and already lapping over the garden of the old lock-keeper's cottage. 

The lane from the lock does flood but I've never seen it merging with the fields. I couldn't resist a little paddle but didn't intend going any further. The men were shouting at me not to risk walking down the lane as it was too deep! I'm not that stupid. 

The water is over the tow path and covering the field and footpath behind the mill which I usually walk on the way back.

I don't know if and when the boat was released but we had some snow first thing this morning and then it poured for a while so a lot more water adding to the river. I went in the opposite direction today but huge puddles and lots of mud. 

Jean McAlpine park

It gets its name from a long serving town councillor and was originally called Peldon Park. According to the council web site it is one of Harlow's best kept secrets. Apparently if I am lucky I may see the common spotted orchid or bee orchids. I will have to come again in the spring.

 In my quest for somewhere different to walk within current rules I walked down to this park with my walking poles as I knew some of it would be slippery mud and steep. It's a strange place as it is between the last houses on this side of town and the large industrial area. There are good views from the top in several directions but the houses or factories are always in sight. However when lower down the hill there are only trees and I felt I could be miles from any habitation.

The above pictures are the views from the top and the next ones are the trees lower down.

The last time I was here in the Autumn to pick blackberries but I must have missed this tree full of mirabelle plums. Past their best now but still on the tree. Will have to check it out next Autumn.

It was foggy all day and I only saw a couple of dog walkers in the distance so felt quite strange. There is a brook at the bottom of the hill but the path was steep and very muddy so I didn't attempt it. 

What's on TV?

 I always buy a paper on Saturday with a TV mag. Then I look through it and mark anything interesting. Often I start watching a program then find its not for me. Recently I have been watching John Roger's walks on You Tube. I found out about him from another blogger and I'm hooked now. Lots of his walks are in London and I used to do a lot of walking in London so it's good to see places I recognise. He has also walked a lot of the Lea and the Stort which is my walking patch. 

After reading Simon Reeve's biography I found some of his early travels on You Tube which I enjoyed. 

It was a surprise this week to find there is quite a lot I would like to watch. Last night all I watched was Mighty Cruise Ships on Quest as it was a trip on MS Roald Amundsen to Antarctica. It is an amazing new ship that can go to places which were impossible before. Tonight I watched Ben Fogle's New Lives in the Wild on catch-up as it clashed with the other program. There is a new series at 7 pm on BBC4 - New Winter Walks and I was particularly interested tonight as the walk was from Ravenscar to Robin Hood Bay. Some years ago I was planning to visit the area and stay in the Youth Hostel at Boggle Hole. Lots of things have stopped me going although it is still one of my plans. It was great to see the Hostel as the walker, poet Simon Armitage stopped for a cup of tea there. Then later there was This Farming Life with wonderful scenery again and now I have on a new series of The Thames with Tony Robinson. As you can see I like documentaries. I can't stand sitcoms or soaps. Especially this year when we are stuck at home it is good to see other places even if it is only on TV. Lots of places to look forward to seeing in real life. In the meantime I am trying to really get to know my own neighbourhood. 

Water, water everywhere

but no people so easy to social distance. Walking is so restricted at the moment not just because we are in tier 4 but also the footpaths are so muddy and many are flooded. I was desperate to go a bit further than the tow path on the river so planned mainly to walk on roads which go nowhere except to farms or the odd house. I planned a circular route along to a village then by lanes and a farm track to the next village and back up to the river and home. 

I hesitated at this footpath thinking it didn't look so muddy but a closer inspection showed it was.

Easy walking on the tarmac.

Another bit of paddling and just about squelched through.

Lots of well marked footpaths around here. One sign pointing to the turkey farm.

I had intended to walk up this lane to the river and then home but as I inched through the water, it rose higher and higher until it was nearly over my wellies and just before the little bridge I was aiming for, the stream was pouring over the footpath. I had to go back to the main road which I had just crossed from the village, then cross back as there is no footpath on this side of the road. I walked up to the roundabout then along the road home. I was pleased in the end though as a beautiful red kite was low overhead really nearby until it suddenly dived behind the trees. Another bird was higher up and further away but I couldn't see if it was another Kite or a buzzard. 

This made me smile. Someone had tied these little scarecrows with masks on to their fence.

 I was surprised to see this little aircraft in somebody's front garden. There is an airfield nearby where they take off and land but have never seen one in a garden. Still lots of birds and berries around too. Always feel better after a good walk. This one according to Google was about 4 miles.

What's cooking

 Felt like some pudding yesterday so tried out a recipe I have had for a while. It is rocky road cooked in a mug in the microwave. My usual rocky road is very popular but it is really for sharing otherwise I eat too much. I must say I was very disappointed with this version as it was so dry and the marshmallows spilled over the mug and made a terrible mess which was hard to clean. That recipe went in the bin.

Apart from that I have stuck to old faithfuls. Cheese scones, fruit scones and bread pudding the last of which I haven't made for over a year. I make a huge quantity and usually take it to our bible meetings to share with a cuppa afterwards. As all the meetings are on Zoom I decided to take some round to a few people who I know love bread pudding. They are all about my age and the men particularly remember their mums making it when they were little boys. It was done socially distanced with the parcel left by the door and me standing at the end of the path. They all live within walking distance so no illicit traveling.

Through another blog, I came across a guy called John Rogers on Youtube who does walks mainly in London and the outskirts. I found one where he walked from Chelmsford to Maldon along the river. In October before restrictions kicked in I took the bus to Chelmsford and walked along the river but not so far. I am planning the whole walk next year when there are longer hours of daylight. I like to have some outings to look forward to. 

We are in tier 4 now so will be staying close to home.