Sunset

What can you add to this!

It almost spoiled it taking a picture, but it's good to remember such a perfect moment!

Troutbeck Church

We spent Saturday up at Ullswater in a futile attempt to find Wordsworth's daffodils (apparently it was at Ullswater that he saw the daffodils that inspired the poem, but couldn't see any in sufficient quantities to inspire even a single line in a blog!). We needn't have gone so far. Troutbeck Church 100 yards down the road is the amazing at this time of year. The shot on the right shows the churchyard at Jesus Church, Troutbeck.

Ullswater and the ferry

Saturday - blue skies - a beautiful spring day. We went up to Ullsawater to do take the ferry from Glenridding to Howtown and then walk back.

A perfect day for this walk. In summer this must be really busy but this weekend it was beautifully quiet.

We caught the 11:10 ferry and set off from Howtown at about midday. We picniced at Silver point and arrived back at about 4.00. Just after leaving Howtown we climbed up behind the farmhouse and saw a buzzard cruising at the same level as we were at.

A fantastic walk on a beautiful day.

Snow

March seems to be the month for snow in the Lakes. Today the Kirkstone pass was closed due to drifts, but down at Limefitt we just had a dusting.

The daffodils are taking a bit of a buffeting from the wind and snow. Hopefully South Lakeland Parks won't be repeating the plastic daffodil publicity stunt they did at Fallbarrow here ;-)

Marsh Fritillary

From The Times on Wednesday - Cumbria - Twenty thousand caterpillars are being released to help to revive an almost extinct breed of butterfly. The marsh fritillary has suffered in the county due to the loss of flower-rich, wet grassland. Conservationists are moving Scottish caterpillars into the Cumbrian wild to reestablish the species and prevent future decline. The butterfly is one of the most threatened species in Europe and in the UK 66 per cent of its population has been lost in the past ten years.

Blood Moon

We were really lucky to have a clear night on Saturday for the lunar eclipse. Watching the moon get covered by the earth's shadow and then turning blood red was an amazing experience , and so much better for being in the Lakes where there is so much less light pollution. Watching the stars is one of the great pleasures here. Sitting at a table outside with a coffee and a glass of brandy counting satellites is one of my favourite pastimes.

This time it was a unique experience though. I have never seen a "blood moon" before and it was really spectacular. At about 10 p.m. it looked as though the clouds were going to spoil things, but when totality occured it was a totally clear night. A real once in a lifetime experience.

Catkins

A gentle walk around Ings bridge in the spring sunshine to start off the new season at Limefitt.

Not much to see in the way of spring yet, but the promise of daffodils with the yellow starting to force its way through. The hazel trees (or are they bushes?) where we got the nuts to eat during our walks last autumn are covered in catkins. I didn't realise that several types of tree have catkins before I looked at Wikipedia to confirm that they were catkins. Oak, birch, hazel, willow, alder, chestnut, sweetfern and poplar are all catkin-bearing.