Monday, May 12, 2008

Monday afternoon in woodland sun

I went over to the Woodland for a potter with the camera at around 3.30pm and took some photographs of the surrounding scenery, partly for the new version of the website and partly for my own pleasure. It was all very beautiful in the glorious sunshine, with birds and butterflies picking their ways between the bright trees and the dense water vegetation, all greens and golds.

There were a lot less people than there were over the weekend, but families were dotted around, women with babies in pushchairs were everywhere, cyclists circled the wide paths, dog walkers walked and individuals with books lay in the grass enjoying themselves.

After a visit to Stave Hill, where the views are always magnificent, I wandered back down and took a route through through Stave Hill ecological park to the Stave Hill Ecology Shed, now that I know where it is, and found the gate open. Rebekka from the Trust for Urban Ecology (TRUE) was there, working hard, so I asked if I could take some exterior shots, partly to show the building and partly to show off some of the work done by the children who volunteered to adorn the building with their lovely creations. She smiled her assent and went straight back to work, leaving me to wander around with my camera. I have added a couple of the photographs below, but I'll be posting more soon.

Next I ambled to Globe Pond where a family of moorhens were swimming, the chicks so noisy for their size, and a large Canada goose was standing on a pontoon preening in the sun.

Moving away I found myself at the bridge by one of the prettiest areas of water in the park and proceeded to try and capture some of its magic with my camera.

As I stood watching some moorhens swimming between the yellow irises I was hailed by a familiar voice and the next moment Steve Cornish and I were comparing cameras, looking at where the new Barratts development would reach if it were allowed to go ahead in its current form, and generally enjoying the scenery. He showed me the images stored on his camera, which are simply excellent - I am very envious! Steve is on intimate terms with the area, knowing some of the animals that live there as individuals, capturing the wildlife in all lights.

Here are a couple of photos of the Stave Hill Ecology Shed, which is the hub of some dedicated activity, both professional and amateur.





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