Exploring the locality

Even though we moved to the 'burbs from London about 15 months ago, there are still loads of places we haven't explored. Somehow we've probably explored places which are a short drive away more than some of the areas of the town which are closer to us. Isabel and I remedied that to a certain extent today, but more by accident than design. We were trying to go to the local park but I couldn't find anywhere convenient to park, so we drove for another couple of minutes to an area we've often driven past but somehow never stopped - seemed too close I suppose!

The reason I stopped there was that there's a large swan's nest, something I've never seen close up before. We drove past it a few times last year and it's just massive, must take ages to build, and given that it's back again this year it must be a place where this particular pair of swans build their nest every year. I wondered whether there would be any cygnets yet but no, just the mother swan chilling out on the nest, and the daddy swimming about looking protective. (Hope the pic quality is OK - I was using the camera on my phone).



There were also lots of ducks about, and sharp-eyed Isabel spotted a load of tiny ducklings, they must be only a few days old but were already swimming about, and so cute!

It's no wonder that poets from days of yore produced poems with sentiments like "Oh to be in England, now that April's there" or verses like "I wandered lonely as a cloud, That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze." Spring really is a magical time in the UK sometimes, especially when you get weeks like this one when the weather man keeps predicting rain, and all we get is sun - makes any time spent outdoors seem like a real bonus. It won't last, but the unpredictability is part of the fun!