Friday 19 February 2016

Water, Water, Everywhere ~ Walking The Water Meadows ...


Wellington boots were the order of the day.
We visited the local water meadows.
An overflow for the lake and canal.
The water meanders through the meadows in sinuous curves.
It is a very watery place.
Waterworld.
And in winter wellington boots are an absolute must.
Mud is plentiful.
The sun was bright but the wind was icy cold and invigorating.
It was very soggy underfoot.
Following the water course is a scrubby woodland full of brash undergrowth with secret places.
The sort of untamed wilderness that I love; where tangles of branches and brambles twine together. Where ancient hawthorns stand gnarled and knobbly.
Where wild animals make their homes and birds sing, unseen.
There is freedom to roam; to explore and exclaim at the beauty of it all.
The water wends its way through the fields; tumbling over rocks and fallen branches.
Swift eddies swirling past obstacles.
A place where King Cups grow and Pussy Willow reaches for the sky.
My kind of place.









 
 


Directional arrows that can't quite make their mind up!
Everywhere water is a thing of beauty, gleaming in the dewdrops; singing in the summer rain; shining in the ice-gems till the leaves all seem to turn to living jewels; spreading a golden veil over the setting sun; or a white gauze around the midnight moon ~ John Ballantine Gough
Elaine






58 comments:

  1. I would enjoy squelching through the water meadows too.x

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  2. Dear Elaine, such a beautiful day! Seems nature is just as far advanced as here. Loveley photos, thank you!

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    1. We have had quite a few bright, cold days recently - so much more preferable than the grey, rainy ones.

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  3. I remember as a child, my friend and me in wellies running along a shallow river, stamping through the ice !! We went for what seemed like miles ..... I remember it being such fun !!!! Beautiful blue skies in your photographs Elaine but I bet it was cold.... it still looks bleak doesn't it ? I love days like that for walking. XXXX

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    1. What kid doesn't like playing about in water, I certainly did. Yes, a lovely day but bloomin' cold, perfect for walking.

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  4. Certainly a place where fairies must hide with elves, trolls, lost princesses. I'd be tromping around the woods, too. As a kid, barefooted.

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    1. Absolutely - although it was a trifle too cold to go barefoot!

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  5. I love that you enjoy mucking about Elaine. It is an adult's form of play. Very soon it will become even more fun as spring bursts forth.

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    1. Ha! Yes, definitely love mucking about. It will be so nice to feel a little warmth outdoors for a change - definitely looking forward to spring.

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  6. A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. Flighty xx

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  7. What a glorious place to visit! I can almost hear those birds lifting away in that first photo. Beautiful.

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    1. We are so lucky to have a choice of lovely places to visit just down the road from where we live. The gulls were giving us a lovely aerial display.

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  8. Beautifully described, Elaine. The sight and sounds of water tumbling in streams and rivers is a favourite of mine. Lovely to see it sparkling in the sun, too.
    I must check on the pussy willow here, once it's out the bees will love it.

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    1. Thanks Wendy. I love being around water in any form but flowing streams are magical.

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  9. Your images are a thing of beauty too. We noticed today for the first time that the pussy willow was beginning to appear. Sarah x

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    1. Thank you Sarah. The one in my garden is not flowering yet but the wild ones are in full swing.

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  10. Pussy Willow and King Cups - sounds like my kind of haunts, especially with wellies!

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    1. I am always drawn to watery places Sandra - and wellies definitely come in useful.

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  11. I love water meadows, just as well as I live a stones throw from some. So much bird life :-)

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    1. Me too Su. We didn't see much about on our visit this time unfortunately, maybe I was concentrating too much on where I was putting my feet and not getting stuck in the mud.

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  12. I'm not sure I'd know where to walk with all those arrows.
    Wet and squelchy. Very familiar!

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    1. It was a bit confusing, especially the one pointing skyward!

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  13. Anyplace with water is my kind of place, too. I love the arch with the water flowing through. The sight and sound of water is very calming.

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    1. It has been such a wet winter here that there is plenty of water wherever you go.

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  14. So green there! I love the fall/cascade pictures. The seagull picture too.

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    1. Yes, very green everywhere, not surprising with all the rain we have had.

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  15. You always create such vivid descriptions with your words Elaine. Funny, I had the very same thought as Sweetbay. How green the grass looks in your images! It must be a bit of cabin fever here. The weather has been brutally cold. My eye went right for the green.

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    1. Thank you Jennifer I do try to create a picture with my words.

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  16. looks like an amazing place!

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    1. It is a wild, wet and beautiful area especially in winter when there aren't many people about.

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  17. A haven for flora and fauna and arrows pointing every which way...

    Ms Soup

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    1. Absolutely, although the arrows were a little confusing they were actually pointing in the right directions.

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  18. What a beautiful and mysterious landscape no wonder you love it. The arrows are confusing even though they are meant to direct people:)

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    1. Not a conventional beauty spot by any means but I love it just the same.

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  19. Wonderful nature photos and oh I'm so looking forward to go to England again, but we still have to wait a few months. We love walking across meadows, woods and so on, following the public footpaths. Such a shame we have no public footpaths in our country.

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    1. There are so many different landscapes to be enjoyed with plenty of marked footpaths - we still have many more to explore around here, even though we have lived here for many years.

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  20. A wonderful place to take a walk. Your description took my right along with you, lovely photos. Happy Squelching!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post SM it was delightful splashing through the water, not so delightful getting stuck in the mud!

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  21. Your meadows are lovely Elaine, and I suspect have more water than usual. Definitely a wellington boot place that I suspect children must love too.
    Isn't it lovely to see the pussywillows showing off against a pretty blue sky?

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    1. We couldn't have done the meadow walk without the wellington so that's for sure. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many willows with their lovely silver buds.

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  22. The waters of early spring... and the pussy willows are out (with us still not) - what a wonderful place!
    Have a nice weekend

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    1. The lake was very full so there was a lot of overspill into the meadows it really was a delightful day to take this walk.

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  23. I love pussy willow. Thank you for sharing this magical place :)

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    1. I love it too - I would have collected a few branches but they were too high and on the other side of a fast flowing stream. I decided against it for safety reasons - how boring is that!

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  24. Elaine - what a lovely walk. Your countryside makes me think of ours in the springtime. We too have lots of brambles and wild places - like you they are such a favorite part of what I love as well. You look a bit more spring like than us. Although this week-end our snow is gone and now I am walking in mud too. Have a beautiful week friend. So enjoyed my visit to your part of the world. Hugs!

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    1. Hi Debbie
      It has been very springlike here just lately - I'm not complaining at all - still cold, but bearable.

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  26. It does appear that one of the arrows is inviting walkers to dive underground. I'm a bit jealous about the wellington boots. I mostly use wellingtons to go down to the sea but erosion has cut off most of our local beaches. Life has gone boring.

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    1. I agree - the arrows were a little confusing, especially the one pointing skyward, but it did all make sense once you'd figured it out. I haven't worn wellies for ages, your feet just get so cold in them, although they were definitely a necessity on this walk.

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  27. Lovely post and photos, so nice to see some pussy willow , Spring is on it's way..
    Amanda xx

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    1. Thanks Amanda - there's not an awful lot of pussy willow about so I was delighted to see so much, unfortunately out of reach.

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  28. What a most amazing place to walk...pure heaven all around with water and meadow!

    Donna@LivingFromHappiness

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    1. I haven't done this walk for a long time - but places like this don't change and it was lovely re-visiting all those places I remembered. Thanks for visiting, nice to meet you.

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  29. Your world always fills me with longing. England has so much beauty. x

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