Monday, 26 December 2011

My Boxing Day rambles................ and ramble at Marbury Country Park

This time last year it was -10c... today it's +13c.
What a difference a year makes.
I met my son Craig at Mums this morning and he told us all about his recent honeymoon trip.
 Las Vegas and San Francisco.
They stayed at the Bellagio in Vegas and while in SF visited Alcatraz Island and cycled across the Golden Gate bridge having arrived there via the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Death Valley.
It all sounds fantastic... he forgot to bring his photos!
I had a visit to Marbury Country Park on my way home... and it was very busy.

I made my way towards the hide at Budworth Mere.

A fellow birder had just seen a Bittern in the reed bed in front of the hide.
I stayed for over an hour but didn't manage to see it myself.
We did spot a Kingfisher but didn't manage to capture an image between us.

It was very noisy as families brought their kids to have a look at the lovely little birds.
I had a great time telling them what birds they were watching.

This time last year Budworth Mere was frozen solid...

This year the local sailing club were making the most of the mild weather and were having a Regatta.
It looked very competitive.

The weather has been fantastic over the last few days.
It's been a wonderful Christmas...I hope you have all enjoyed it as much as I have.

It was lovely to see all the children enjoying feeding the ducks.
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17 comments:

  1. Horst in Edmonton26 December 2011 at 18:53

    Hi Andrew, glad you had a wonderful Christmas, I had a good one as well visiting family on Christmas day. Lots of little children about, it was great.

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  2. eileeninmd26 December 2011 at 18:59

    Sounds like you had a great Christmas. The sailboat shot is wondeful and I love the cute robin. I enjoyed your collection of photos.

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  3. TexWisGirl26 December 2011 at 19:12

    wow! non-wintry weather, for sure! the sailing is cool!

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  4. Bob Bushell26 December 2011 at 20:23

    Summer is coming?????????? That must have been a nice day out with your son.

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  5. Ronnie Isacsson26 December 2011 at 20:28

    Really nice pictures from a lovely landscape , looks a little like Sweden were I live !

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  6. Fábio Martins26 December 2011 at 22:12

    Photo number 4 and 5 are amazing. Well taked

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  7. John @ Beans and I on the Loose26 December 2011 at 22:38

    The weather here too has been amazingly nice for the end of the year. One would think it was an early spring or late fall day. Even still, not quite t-shirt weather. Glad you had the opportunity to be with your son. That was nice.

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  8. grammie g27 December 2011 at 00:18

    HI Andrew...So nice to get together with our adult children...it seems like just yesterday that we could see those bright little faces light up on Christmas "right"..!!
    You had a nice day for sure! Amazing how different the weather can be ...it has gotten cooler here and we have a couple of inches of snow...last year my daughter,grandson,and I had a walk on the beach at the ocean at Christmas, but not this year brrrr!!

    ♥ Grace

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  9. Arija27 December 2011 at 01:11

    So nice to see family at this and any other time of year.
    What a lovely day you make of it and so nice to be able to share your knowledge with the up coming generations.
    A lovely place indeed and the light in some or your shots is a delight.

    Have a very Happy New Year Andrew!

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  10. Carole M.27 December 2011 at 02:41

    lovely to see your photos Andrew; everyone is in a holiday-lull right now and it's like going without caffeine for a while. Great that you were able to stop a while on the journey back home and take these snapshots; each delightful, as always to see.

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  11. Rambling Woods27 December 2011 at 03:45

    The weather has been warmer here in western Ny state although we are now getting some snow..I love these photos Andrew...Michelle

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  12. ADRIAN27 December 2011 at 04:42

    I should have gone to Cheshire. Great to see your weather but it brings the crowds out.

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  13. Unknown27 December 2011 at 06:48

    Looks like a wonderful time indeed!
    The photos are great (too bad a bout the Bittern and the KF), I almost envy you about the weather (same temps and sunshine here, but always that slight tinge of dust and nasty smells ;-))

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  14. cieldequimper27 December 2011 at 07:42

    I envy you. We don't have Boxing Day and I was at work...

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  15. Dianne27 December 2011 at 08:07

    Great to see the lake not frozen - just perfect for fun days out during the Festive Season.
    We had a beautiful 24* day here - warm enough for a swim but not too hot.

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  16. Pantherka27 December 2011 at 21:52

    Beautiful pictures, great Christmas meeting, you have certainly had a great fun.

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  17. Sallie (FullTime-Life)28 December 2011 at 00:09

    Your son and dil had a lovely Honeymoon trip, but I'd rather go to England! Thanks for sharing your pictures, since I can't make it right now ;>)

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