London Litter

I have had a very busy time since my last post because I've been organizing and enjoying my husband's birthday celebrations...he is now officially an OAP:-)) Yesterday we went to London, had a picnic in the park, went to see 'We Will Rock You' and went on for a meal afterwards. It was a lovely day but I was rather saddened to see a pigeon wandering round Charing Cross Station with a plastic tag caught so tightly round its ankle that it had cut off the circulation and his foot had fallen off. It didn't seem particularly distressed, more uncomfortable as the tag suck out, but it could have been avoided if people would just pick up their litter.

Although I find London quite interesting for a days visit I always love coming back to the fields and woods of home. I just wish the weather would improve as it seems that, just lately, I start a walk in the sun but end it in the rain. When I went out today the butterflies were enjoying themselves in the warm sun and I was hopeful of getting some good pics of them on the Wild Thyme which grows in abundance in the fields. By the time I had got to the top of the field the sky had darkened and it was tipping it down with rain so I had to make do with pictures of the Thyme and Harebells without their colourful companions who had flown away to take cover somewhere.

Talking of taking cover, my poor garden birds are constantly having to fly for cover because of a Sparrow Hawk who keeps swooping down at incredible speeds to snatch the little birds from the feeders. He is coming so often I think I may have to stop putting feed out for a while to try and break the habit. I am off to the New Forest for a few days so I will get my son to monitor it over the weekend and make a decision when I get back.

Distant View of London

We have just returned from a trip to Bath and Bristol where we went for my niece's wedding. While we were driving around looking out at the beautiful countryside of wide deep valleys it made me think about what it is that makes Biggin Hill a special place for me, after all there are so many more spectacular places around Britain. I came to the conclusion that it is because it is so close to London and yet is so prolific in wildlife. On a clear day I can stand on the hill opposite our bungalow and see the Canada Tower at Canary Warf (about 12 miles as the crow flies) and yet be surrounded by sheep and watching roe deer on the edge of the woods. I took this pic last year. The tower is only just about visible on the horizon so in the next pic I zoomed in to show it more clearly but it is taken from the same place. It is so amazing to have such an abundance of wildlife but be so close to our capital city.

It was a lovely wedding and well worth the long journey to Bristol. My niece looked beautiful and it brought a lump to my throat when she first walked in looking so elegant and demure as it only seems yesterday that she was a cheeky 2 year old that could throw an Oscar winning temper tantrum. How fast time goes.

We stayed the night before the wedding at One Three Nine in Bath (a great boutique B&B that I thoroughly recommend) but we drove back to Biggin Hill after the evening reception, arriving back, very tired, in the early hours of the morning and longing for our bed and sleep. Unfortunately a lamb on the hill opposite had other ideas. It had obviously gone for a night time play and lost its mum as it kept up a continuous bleating for at least an hour after our heads had hit the pillow. I was on the point of suggesting to hubby (who by this time was fast asleep) that he might like to get up and see if the lamb had managed to trap itself the wrong side of the sheep netting, when blissfully it stopped. Good, I thought, now I can sleep but then my son arrived home having nearly run out of petrol on the return journey from the wedding. He thumped around for a while then, bliss, all was quiet but by this time the first tweets of the dawn chorus had started and that is the indicator for Lizzy (the cat) to wake up and stomp in to me to demand some food. I still feel I am recovering so it is just as well it is pouring with rain as I don't have to feel guilty at not working in the garden when there is so much to do out there.