Looking back at those snowy days

Hello again, I'm back at last!
Fingertips split open in those frosty days and could not type, also kids off school a lot due to snow so we have had some fabulous ''family times''.Snow stayed from 5th January to 16th January and for the first few days it was very much enjoyed.

Lucy loved it.

Pippa loved it although slightly less so than Lucy who kept rolling in it!

Everywhere was so BEAUTIFUL...

Not our snowmen but those of some sculptural teenagers:

Lots and LOTS of sledging was done, me included: WEEEEEEEE!

The town was transformed.

We walked everywhere, once school was open again. Pulling our sledges with school bags and shopping.

Dogs looked on at the kids playing in the snow day after day.....

So fascinating did the windowsill prove to be that it's Pippa's preferred perch all day long ever since!
So that was our 11 days of snow and quite a bit of hibernating inside as well as all the fun in the first few days! It was fun but we're oh sooo glad it's all gone and we're back to normal: for now.

There's lots to catch up on: there's frost photos, cuttlebrook in the snow,recipes for applecakes and ''Holy Balls'' ,some crafting and some quilting and crochet too so I hope you'll be able to visit again soon!

Walk by Moreton on Sunday 10 May 2009

Thanks to Lucy at www.attic24.typepad.com I have been inspired to make a new resolution!
This is to walk a new walk every weekend- weather permitting- using my new ( BIRTHDAY!!!) OS map and to do this with the dog and the family if at all possible.
Lucy 's in Yorkshire and has such wonderful outings and stunning scenic photography that I was inspired to seek our own local scenery and greenery. I want to reflect and record our little corner of Oxfordhire/Buckinghamshire

This was last week and we've just got back from a walk today but as life's been so very busy busy busy with SATS etc I am gradually catching up again.....

This was 5pm on Sunday last week when my youngest refused to move and JJ very kindly offered to cook the dinner if we would walk the dog: WHAT an offer!!! How could I refuse?
( Cooking is not my favourite pastime- especially NOT the quick family evening meals...)
Izzy started with blowing the above- far above- dandelion and making a wish.......
When she was very little she asked me once where the mummylions were and did they look very different from the daddylions?

Then we spotted a butterfly: a ........ and I just HAD to capture it on camera- not as easy as it looks actually as it flitted about a LOT! teehee HERE I DID capture it TWICE!



Onwards past a neatly ploughed area where a few years ago among many cabbages Pippa used to dash about as a pup, we called them her mad puppy dashes, she'd run in silly circles among the cabbages , then run back but drop and hide behind them just before reaching you. Then wait and jump up only to dash off in another circle...

And oh, oops got my finger in this one, SILLY me....

What will grow here next time we visit?

And it was windy and dry but with an AMAZING sky: LOOK!!! The sun popped out for the occasional 5 minute visit but mostly there were these massive castles in the sky: cloud city scapes...

This oak tree was just soooooo GREEEEEEEN, and also I want to draw the squiggly wiggly outer lines of those leaves. In out in out and and shake it all about....green fingers.....

Where'd they go? Pippa and daughter had walked on into the wood. Not so obvious here but there was this eye catching RED tree in the middle distance.WOW.

Come ON mum, this is a walk remember?

Pippa chased a few squirrels but luckily gave up when they ran up the trees and jumped from tree to tree- such fun to watch! Pippa was NOT amused. They were too quick for my camera with it's 7 seconds minimum warm up time....

After extracting Pippa from a mudbath ( she went straight into the shower when we got home) we walked across this field: curving to the right and with Izzy worrying about bulls....

I love this: a glimpse of a path but no more: a hint of mystery: WHAT lies beyond the gate?

There were no bulls and the cows just watched us pass by, Pippa behaved herself and ran past too. Then looking back we saw they had calves! The sweetest looking jet-black calves - on the far left in the photo they moved from a side view to walk away from us.

That was it : a lovely short circular walk from Thame to Moreton and back across the fields to the TLC.

BLISS.