A fine autumn day.......

I decided to pop down to Calke Abbey this afternoon for a ............

 But before that I had a little walk and saw some colour, reflections,

fungi

and beautiful skies.

I sat for a few minutes in the hide and saw............

a great spotted woodpecker

and plenty of finches.

 Now we all know that sex and violence sells and it was proven today .

These people were waiting and watching for.......

this pair to get between..........

this big boy...........

and his ladies, as well as hoping he would get his way with them.

Nothing much was happening this afternoon except a lot of posturing

and bellowing and a bit of chasing around.

 

A little gem

Not long ago, BF(before Festival - of Quilts), I was on my home
from a successful mission to buy very comfy shoes. I did a little
detour to find a tea shop, The Apple Tree. I had read about it on line
and after the closure of the Beetroot Tree have been feeling lost
for somewhere to go for some time out. It was worth the detour.
A tiny little gem of a place with gorgeous cakes and best of all -
gluten free brownies. And... you can have a mug!!

Since we last spoke......

Since we last spoke lots has been going on .............

these small shoots are lovage and are now as tall as me. Incredible.

 This fella was just having a rest. I don't know how he balanced so well.

 Another cheeky fella trying to get the last scraps out of the feeders.

More incredible balancing.

 A beautiful sunset.

Cheeky slug. I was unaware that slugs like daffodils.

I do now.

 Parrot tulips  - they flower a little later that the red and yellow ones

in the garden but it's worth the wait.

 Dandelions attract the prettiest visitors, a peacock butterfly.

I'd already seen a large yellow butterfly about 3 weeks before this one.

This is the second blue butterfly I've seen this year.

It is blue, the sunshine is too strong.

Not a bad start to spring I think.

FM101 - the last one

Well, it's the last one.
Go over to 'Happenings' to find out what's happening!
Scroll down to find session 4.

Free Machining 101

Tomorrow is session 3 of the Free Machining 101 course at The Brewhouse
in Burton on Trent. We'll be looking at Applique and fusibles.

A breath of fresh air

I recently spent an afternoon at Calke Abbey catching up with the

gardens and the wildlife. As you can see it was a beautiful day,

bright sunshine and a brilliant blue sky.

 

 The reflections in the glass houses were inspiring.

Happened to catch this fella in the sunshine..............

Just off the car park at Calke there is a shed!
Not just an ordinary shed........ a hide.
It's one of the best things to spend some time being quiet and
watching the birds.
The blue tits are so blue....................

Free Machining 101 session 3

The next session of Free Machining 101 is coming up.
The requirements list is on the 'Happenings' page.
Scroll down to find the list.
We're going to have a look at applique and fusibles.