Advent Sunday

Walks this past week have been very chilly, but bright and sunny. So far we have not had any snow here, we wait to see what next week brings.
Meanwhile the hard frost has enabled us to walk across the fields again, although even then some places were very boggy. We will be mostly walking round the lanes for the next few weeks until the footpaths and tracks dry out more.

Sun and Dragonflies

Walking round the local nature reserve this afternoon we enjoyed the sunshine and its warmth. The ponds were all very full after the recent heavy rains and the paths were a little muddy. We were not the only ones taking advantage of a lovely day.
Sitting on one of the notice boards, also enjoying the sun was this dragonfly.

Research shows it is a male Red-Veined Darter. You can read more about it at
Wikipedia - Red-Veined Darter Dragonfly.

With the weather getting colder, especially at night, this was probably the last chance to see a dragonfly this year.

Autumn walking

We have spent the weekend trying out our new boots. Our walks have been local, in case there were unforeseen problems with them. No problems, they are as comfortable as the old ones. This is good as it means that we can put them away again until the Spring and use the old boots for winter walking. Then we will make sure that the new boots are 'worn in' before setting off for Spain.
The autumn colours are beautiful and the sun was shining. It is getting colder even in the sun, just a bit of chill in the wind to remind us that winter is coming. There are gales forecast for tonight so this may have been the last chance to take photos of the autumn leaves on the trees.

Berries:-
Black Bryony (left)
and Gladdon (right)

Across the fields

Sunshine through the trees on the roadside

The local stream under the trees