Dad left mum to look after cygnet about 4 to 6 weeks ago and turns up this afternoon. I don't think I would have got this reception from MrsW if I'd gone absent like that when the kids were young!

Or hiss when a new shoe toughens in the water,. Isn't it amazing how Seamus Heaney has a poem for everything! The old forge just outside Durrus has had a facelift and a rather fine painted board ...

As we set off from Oxford this morning we passed this relic of railway history. Built in 1851 by Robert Stephenson for his London and Northwestern Railway this Rewley Road Swing Bridge carried trains ...

How fortunate was I. Not been far so thought I look in the hedgerows and work on my macro at the same time. I like honeysuckle and would like to have it growing against a fence, but it doesn't take.

Lots of rain again overnight and very few ivy visitors. I shot this sluggish, wet wasp looking as though it's about to drink from a baby's bottle. In my extra it gives me the impression that it's ...

Shan was awake first this morning, which has never happened before?! She was full of energy which we put towards racing daddy to be ready first and in the car first. We even squeezed in some reading!

Tuesday morning. Another hot day with good breeze. But no swim today, I've learned the hard way that I need to alternate PT and swimming, one day, then the other. Update on neighbor - she's doing fine ...

I love it when cats tuck their paws under like that. When she puts her head down, I call it her "meatloaf" pose. She also does a really good "meatball", curled up into a circle. She is such a fun ...

Autumn leaves and a very odd creature! Actually I think it is some sort of fungus. At first I thought it had fallen from the tree it was beside but it appears to be growing. Any ideas?

The weather forecast for today was not particularly promising but despite this, the sun came out and I managed to spend an hour doing a bit of tidying in the garden again. As you can see, the pond is ...

After my session #4 in Orange at 9.30am we stopped at Lucknow for morning tea. Lucknow is a small village with assorted shops including the Two Fat Ladies cafe. Lucknow has about 300 residents. It was ...