Day 59 - February 28th

Month 2 of my embroidery Journal has been completed.

Day 58 - February 27th

Wayne sent me this photo today. Guessing Tux was quite hungry and couldn't wait for his kibble to be put into his bowl.

Day 57 - February 26th

Last year this tree in the garden next door was severely trimmed. The pigeons now love to sit atop the upper branches.

Day 56 - February 25th

Spring is fast approaching and the bugs are appearing.

Day 55 - February 24th

Sleepy Millie.

Day 54 - February 23rd

Driving on the M25 to view a new van.

Day 53 - February 22nd

Today was Dad's 89th birthday so we treated him and Mum to lunch out.

Day 52 - February 21st

Not for the first time, one of the lenses in my glasses has fallen out 😠.

Day 51 - February 20th

The purple crocuses are now also flowering.

Day 50 - February 19th

Tonight I joined a friend at the pub for a drink and a steak. 

 

Day 49 - February 18th

Sleepy Tux.

Day 48 - February 17th

The Crocuses are starting to appear in the garden.

 

Day 47 - February 16th

 

Today we went for a walk around Marston Vale Country Park. 

We past the entrance to the Stewartby Water Sports Club and noticed quite a few sailing boats on the lake.

Some of the hedges had recently been laid.

The last time we visited, the Sensory Garden was closed and undergoing a major refurbishment project. Today it was open although work is still ongoing.

The flower beds had bene replanted and many of the plants will flower later in the year but the Hellebores looked lovely.

We ended our visit with a drink in the Forest Centre.

Day 46 - February 15th

 Today I escaped the wet weather by hiding away in my craft room. 

Day 45 - February 14th

Beautiful Valentine's Day flowers.

Day 44 - February 13th

Yesterday I picked up a pack of M&S Extremely Lemony Curd Filled Hot Cross Buns. I'm not sure if they are new for this year or if they have sold them in previous years but if they were available previously I'm sorry I missed them. They are delicious.

Day 43 - February 12th

I popped into Hitchin this morning for a spot of shopping. The town was very quiet.

Day 42 - February 11th

Starting to think about making some Easter cards.

Day 41 - February 10th

Another Valentine doughnut! 😆

Day 40 - February 9th

This afternoon we joined our monthly walking group to walk from Letchworth to Meppershall.

Much of the walk was across fields and there were several wet and muddy patches. But, it was a good walk, with good company and we enjoyed the afternoon. It's never easy to take photos when out in a large group. but I did manage to get a few snaps.

Day 39 - February 8th

Deciding where to go for a walk at this time of year is tricky. We try to avoid muddy routes, which means that a lot of the field walks are a no-no. We are always drawn to waterside walks so this morning we repeated a walk we last did in March last year. We parked at Rye House and walked to Broxbourne, a 6.6 mile circular walk along the River Lee Navigation and New River Path.

We parked at the Rye House Gatehouse and headed alongside the River Lee Navigation towards Broxbourne.

Several times whilst out walking we have noticed these orange objects on the water and wondered what they were. Today we discovered that they are disused Oil Rig Lifeboats. Sometimes the disused lifeboats are repurposed as tiny floating homes. It wasn't clear whether this one had been converted into a useable space.

We followed the water and came across two swans who instantly swam over to us in the hope that we would feed them. They weren't in luck as we had nothing to give them.

Soon we passed by the Fish & Eels pub and then arrived at Dobbs Weir.

We continued following the water and whilst most of the paths were fairly dry and mud-free, some where a little challenging.

We passed the Carthagena Lock which was originally built to mark the defeat of the British Navy when they retired from the siege of Cartagena in Spanish Columbia on April 1741. 

Eventually we reached Broxbourne and retired to the Old Mill Retreat Café for a bite to eat and a hot drink.

We then headed back towards Hoddesdon along the New River Path.

We saw several Little Egrets along this stretch of water. They were once quite a rare sight in the UK but now are quite often seen.

We also spotted some Tufted Ducks which we've not seen before on our walks.

I also spotted the first Crocus flower this year.

Our walk took us through an underpass and past the beautiful murals we had seen previously. Unfortunately since last seeing them they have been the spoiled with graffiti.