If you go down to the woods today…

Well, if you’d been in the woods on Wednesday you would have come across four amateur photographers snapping away for all they were worth! The Bluebells were truly beautiful & the slightly grey day did nothing to diminish the scene.

We met up at Moggerhanger Park, which is just a fifteen minute drive from home for me, & then set off to walk through the woods, camera’s primed & at the ready!

Karen, ever the consummate professional, came equipped with her tripod & by using the timer, managed to capture some shots of all four of us together, which I’m hoping she’ll be posting on her blog soon!!

 

 

 

 

We were able to wander at leisure & just enjoy the peace of our surroundings….apart from our chatter & laughter!! I was surprised at how many other visitors we encountered, all passing the time of day & commenting on how beautiful it all was to see.

 

I loved the carvings in this one tree trunk…Initials dating from the 1960’s…I wonder who BL & JD were?

 

 

 

 

The woods are maintained, but have that wonderful tangled appearance, with everywhere off the footpath being a tangle of ground cover plants, fallen timber, roots & throughout all that, the carpet of bluebells. Still newly blossoming & droopy headed…Hilary told us that as they mature their heads become more upright…you learn something new every day!!

 

 

 

 

The trees formed a natural arch at this opening that lead out of the woods & into an adjacent field, in the distance you can see a horizon of yellow…a Rape Seed crop in full flower…just stunning!

 

 

 

 

 

Karen…sharing some photographic tips while setting us up for a group shot….never one to do anything by halves!!!

 

 

My three fellow ‘ramblers’!!! L-R Hilary, Karen & Ann…

 

Afterwards we headed off to Moggerhanger House itself. a Georgian Grade 1 listed building, built for Godfrey Thornton, Governor of the Bank of England, in the 18th Century…

 
…used at one time as a hospital, it was derelict from 1987 – 1995  & is an ongoing restoration & renovation project, now open to the public & used for weddings & as a conference centre.

The approach to the Tea Rooms, housed in the old kitchen & dairy block was  pretty with pots & tubs of herbs & flowers lining the walkway.  

 

 

There is the most gorgeous tree on the lawn at the back of the house that we learned from Hilary was actually on it’s last legs…so sad…if only it could talk, I wonder what stories it could tell?!!
 

So after refreshments, in the form of tea & scones all round, we made our farewells & went back to our daily routines!!  But, on my way home I had to stop & capture the Rape Seed crop close up & stretching away as far as I could see!

 

 

 

 

If you’ve got this far…Thanks for hanging in there!! A bit photo heavy I know…& this was the edited version!!!

The deadline for the Dixie Pieces NSD Crop Challenges is tomorrow night, so I hope to be able to share my entries with you in a couple of days…I hoped to get all twelve done, but life threw  us a bit of a curve ball this week, so my plans were scuppered, but I’ve redrawn my plans & should manage to get six completed in time!!!

Thanks for dropping by…for all my US friends with offspring ‘Happy Mothers Day’…& I hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend, whatever you’ve been up to!