Yesterday, the kids and I went to an Apple Day at Calke Abbey. The National Trust has been restoring the gardens and orchards at Calke for a number of years now and the orchards are now producing a wide assortment of locally developed apple varieties. Their apple event showcased these heirloom fruits.
We had slices of [...]
The weather was so nice while I was exploring Hardwick Hall that I spent most of my time exploring the gardens. I wandered down this path, just to see where it would go.
I found many wonderful flowers lingering among the garden beds.
I’m planning to return sometime to spent some more time inside the house and [...]
Sage and I went to the park on Saturday afternoon while River went to a netball birthday party for one of her friends. The Mundy Play Centre at Markeaton Park offers a variety of activities for kids. We played 18 holes of Crazy Golf, climbed on the spider web thing, and did some [...]
Yorkshire is famous for its moorlands, carpeting the glacially-sculpted landscape with a warm purple blanket. Walking through the beautiful environs, we couldn’t help being infused with a sense of wonder and happiness. It is like walking through a field of sunflowers.
Up close, heather flowers look very different than seen as part of the grand vista [...]
The flowers of summer are burgeoning. Swathes of poppies line the hedgerows, their scarlet blossoms brightening the fields.
Wild roses twine through the hawthorn, their fragrance wafting on the afternoon breeze.
And the grain is starting to ripen in the ubiquitous wheat fields.
I went for a walk this morning from Foremarke school through Heath Wood after dropping off the kids.
There were some beautiful horse chestnut trees blooming along the path. Horse chestnuts are used to play a game called conkers. I found this nice description of the game.
The kids have had an interesting week; Sage [...]
One of my favorite things about spring is all the wildflowers that burst into bloom before the canopy of leaves shades the forest floor.
I was intrigued by the description of Swithland Wood in a guide to the National Forest. Swithland Wood is designated an “Ancient Woodland”, meaning that it has been continuously wooded [...]
Continue reading about Spring wildflowers at Swithland Woods
What first inspired a bard of old to sing
Narcissus pining o’er the untainted spring?
In some delicious ramble, he had found
A little space, with boughs all woven round;
We went to see the snowdrops in the gardens at Hopton Hall last weekend. Before we got to Hopton Hall, River wasn’t convinced that it was worth a [...]
I’ve been a bit late posting some of the M&M trail hikes. I guess I’ve been a bit busy, you might say. So I’m combining section 7 and 8, from route 47 to the notch, and then from the notch to Harris Mt. Rd.
Here are the kids climbing around on rocks on the [...]
Today we hiked the 6.3 miles from route 141 across Mt. Tom to route 5. So we’ve hiked all the way from the Connecticut border to the Connecticut River. It feels like a nice milestone.
There is some nice scenery from the top of Mt. Tom, especially overlooking Easthampton. We also got a [...]
