Never Enough Time

Whenever I visit Kew Gardens,

I really find there is not enough time to see everything.

A day is not long enough to venture

 around all of these magnificant gardens.

Just a few more images of my recent visit.

Exotics in Winter

Beautiful exotic flowers in the Princess Diana Glasshouse,

Kew Gardens, London.

A wonderful collection,

 with so many varieties,

together with much colour & detail

 to take in for this time of year

A memorable occasion

spent with my daughter & her partner.

A welcomed Birthday treat.

A Rarity

Before the sun finally set,

 on a bitterly cold day,

it was lovely to see the snowdrops

growing proudly in clumps

Due to rather mild weather,

 until the recent cold spell,

 the sight of daffodils

 was another inspiring sight to see

Unfortunately,

being able to get out for a walk these days,

 seem to be coming bit of  a rarity,

My Mother, aged 88,

 has been diagnosed with Dementia,

 and although I have 4 brothers,

I have become her registered carer.

With still trying to maintain my day job,

 there really isn't an awful lot of spare time left.

Also, during the last few weeks,

she has been admitted twice

into hospital with Angina attacks.

Due to my commitment and care

towards my Mother,

I am finding

 I have rather less time

 to keep myself informed

of blogging friends updates,

 apologises for this.

I will post when I can.

Regards to you all!

A Sunday Stroll

A couple of weeks ago,

 a walk through the woods,

a cold bleak Sunday,

but relished in being able to enjoy a stroll.

A mixture of sights,

Catkin, Ivy, Fungi....

Swell Woods, Somerset,

 may not be a long walk,

 but it was such an easy location to find,

Looks like this feather agreed,

 which was latched tight to a branch.

Nosey by Nature

On another part of the farm,

I was introduced to the baby goats....

Very cute in their character,

 always interested in visitors at the side of their penn

The next barn,

 so much larger,

I had quite an audience!

So many,

 mainly white goats,

 although occasionally,

a different colour & breed emerged,

 to look over the barn penn fence.

I think I was fortunate not  to be in the penn with them,

I don't think my camera would have survived!

All sooo full of character!

Evenso,

I fully appreciated this opportunity to become so close

 to some of the farm animals.

It really did prove,

 they are just as individual as us humans.

Enjoy the rest of Your week!

Up Close

Recently, I had a request from a friend,

 to photograph some of the farm animals,

 where she lived with her partner.

This mean't getting into a barn

 with cows & their calves.

This really was up close...!

Even had one of the larger calfs following me around,

nudging me at every opportunity for attention,

 that was some hefty nudge aswell!

The calf definitely wanted my attention!

The photographs are to be a surprise for her partners birthday,

With some to become prints for their home.

The session didn't just end with cows!?!

More next time.....

 ~   ~   ~   ~

Enjoy the weekend!

A Colder Climate....

Our winter,

 in the South West region of the UK,

 has been exceptionally mild,

until the  chill started to set

 in during the latter part of last week.

Saturday,

we certainly woke up to a 'white' looking start.

No, not snow,

but a very icy frost.....

out came the woollies, hats, scraves & gloves.

The coldness of the weather,

not only a shock to the system for us humans,

but a shock to the plant life aswell.

Definitley a time to wrap up warm

Early, but not alone.....

With the return of work last week,

 after the Christmas & New Year break,

the reality of the early starts in the mornings,

 started to set in,

eventhough the weekend break!

The chance of a later sleep in but no!

Needless to say,

awake exceptionaly early!

So early,

enough time to see the early moring sun!

Firstly,

the cleaning of the car, heck,  it's Sunday!

then proceeding to the local town's park.

Although the odd person walking through,

some with their Sunday newspapers,

in the background,

the ringing of nearby church bells,

the walk,

 a tranquil haven,

 with the sun rising for the coming day.

The majority of the time,

 I was left to soak in the

 quietness of my surroundings.

But,

 the activities of a squirrel,

 made me realise I wasn't the only one,

to enjoy this tranquility.

This was also confirmed by  the activity on the stream,

 running at the side of the park,

a hive of activity with various species of duck & swan.

A quiet moment to the start of the day,

but definitely not alone....!!!