A walk.......

My Leki pole and I went for a walk this afternoon. See? There we are. It has been a beautiful if freezing day.

Early this morning, I was woken by a call from a dear friend far away in the Land of Opportunity, and after I gathered my wits about me, and shot upright in the bed to try to speak in a logical fashion, I have to say, it was a lovely way to start the day. I was grinning as I hauled myself out of bed 45 minutes later. "Early" happened to be 8.15am. I was not quite with it. At all. I have become a slug.

Anyway, it was a great start. Then Peter and Glynis popped round to kidnap me and take me to Olney for coffee. I did not need much persuasion. This is a lovely old town fairly nearby, and we had a great time wandering around the shops. There was coffee, of course, and lots of chatter too. And the craft shop. The Home of the Cuttlebug. It was sitting there, but I turned my back on it. This time. I just love craft shops, and they had a SALE on. Sigh.

So this afternoon, I decided that instead of doing the boring old exercises, I would go and walk along the pathways at the lakes at Castle Ashby. The sun was shining. There were plenty of people about angling, and places to rest, so it was a good choice. Please tell me why men like to go angling? They sit there all day with fishing rods, catch a fish, and then put it back in the water. Why?? I do not get it at all. Maybe it is just to get some peace and quiet. Hmmm. Weird.

The light was soft, and it was perfect. So here you go. Be relieved. I took 152 photos, but you do not have to sit through them all.

The path along the lake side....

This is Castle Ashby. Years ago, I went to an Elton John concert in the gardens. It was stunning.

This swan was happy to pose. It turned around slowly and was a perfect model.

I walked across this little bridge rather hesitantly. But it stayed in place, and the other side was just beautiful. I will talk more of that another time. It is worth taking chances!

Now, how English can you get?? Sheep, horse riders, and rolling green countryside with a castle in the background......

I loved this broken old boat. And the arch of the tree framed it so beautifully. That tree, I think an oak, must be hundreds and hundreds of years old. I wonder who has sheltered beneath it in centuries gone by? How much has it seen??

And these pairs of ducks, (do NOT ask me what kind!) all swam away from the path as I hobbled along it. They look like 3 married couples!

So there you go. Some of the photos on my walk this afternoon. I stopped for coffee at the babes on the way home, after paying the rent for the allotment for the year. £6.00. Yes. About $9 for the year. Unbelievable. We have great plans for it this year. Apparently there is now a long waiting list for allotments too. People all want to grow their own vegetables. The economic climate is making everyone plan more, I think.

A lovely day. I have done the exercises too, just to make sure I don't slip back. Now, I do believe I have earned the rest I am going to have with my book on the couch.

I hope you are all having equally lovely weekends!