T Stands for....two walks!!

Hi everyone! It really is so hot at the moment so we have been staying in a lot keeping cool and catching up on some household tasks.

Last Thursday though we had to get some shopping, so decided to call at Styall Mill for lunch and a little walk. 

 We walked our usual route backwards as we had started downhill at the restaurant so saw things from a different angle!

 We heard a cracking noise and saw this branch had fallen off and into the river!

 There are other Gunnera plants around but these are HUGE!!

 We walked along the path back to the car park...

 ...past the Apprentice house....

 ...and the village church.....

....and the last little path up to the car park.

Today, another quick shopping trip and we went in a different direction that took us first to Dunham Massey.
Our plan to miss the heat of midday went slightly awry as we had some distractions!
As you know my choice is always the gardens but Dunham also has a huge area of woodland and deer reserves. 
The deer are usually kept away from the public in the rutting season but during the rest of the year they roam freely!

Hubby got much better shots of the swans...as Dad went off across the pond Mum and babies followed....

A young stag behind a very stag looking log!

He wasn't afraid of me as he chewed on some very crispy leaves!

He headed off to join his friends in the shade.

Hubby's shot shows a very hot deer - I wonder what he would say if he could talk!

 This Coot made me laugh at it's antics pulling out and repositioning the sticks until happy with the 'nest'

 A small Mayfly came to see me!

 I think I have showed you this oak tree before - one side looks dead but there are green branches on the other side!

Then it was off for a coffee and do the shopping!

Now, of course I took photos of our food and drinks didn't I?...No..totally forgot...it's a good job I have a journal page to show you...so I can join Bleubeard and Elizabeth for T Stands For Tuesday!

I made this a while back from a whole load of things - some from various places we have had coffees..so there is part of a paper cup, some wrappings from sugar and chocolates that came on our saucers..and some cards I bought ages ago! There's also some beans looking dots! I also had a good time picking off the paint from the tops of my metallic paints to make some shiny embellishments ...a case of Art For Arts Sake - my theme at Art Journal Journey.

It has taken a while to write this post as my BPV has returned and using the computer is a bit of a trial - I will get to visit you though even if I ration myself to 15 minutes a time!

Thanks for looking, Chris