Tuesday, 25.7.23.

 It was down to Pear Mill café to met friends yesterday and straight home though the showers!.

Today Tuesday it was better weather and went down to Reddish Vale park thinking I would have trouble getting a parking place with the kids off school, but to my amazement the car park was nearly empty!.

First thing I noticed was an extra mural on the info centre!.

That's a tree creeper I think.

Then it was over to the lower mill pond and there just inside the gate was the moorhen family, they must enjoy the peace and quiet.

I was going to see if the little Grebes on the top mill pond were still there from my visit on Friday, but the shrubs along the path to them was more overgrown. I could manage that but further along the muddy path was completely waterlogged, ankle deep, so it was back to the main path again.

Luckily for me they were in the middle of the pond so was able to snap them there.

The mum was trying to sleep but this chick kept bumping into her to wake her up, must have thought it was meal time again. Was funny watching them, mum was sleeping and the baby kept bumping into her, it was like those curling stones one sees on the ice at the Olympics bumping into each other.

Go to sleep, it's not dinnertime yet!.

Dad wasn't getting involved.

Further along just spotted these Terrapins, though nearly missed them as they were well camouflaged with all the algae on them. 

They were on the far side of the pond and my zoom doesn't do justice to their size!.  

The crows had all the biscuits today. 

Well some did, others lost out.

So Squirrel Nutkin had to do with some Monkey nuts, think he was quite happy with them.

Plenty of Great Tits about too.

 There was the mallard family there too, getting quite big now, almost as big as mum.

Spotted these terrapins on the strip in the middle of the lower pond, it's amazing the number of people that miss them.

Round to Sunnyside pond then to see if the Kingfishers were about, but no luck with that, though there was plenty of mandarins about.

Quite cute in their own way though not as colourful as the males in breeding season.

So then it was off for dinner, as the rain started again!!, off to Morrisons and guess what for David? and some shopping by the time I came out the rain had stopped.

..................................................................

........................

I rang up the phone company to report a nuisance caller , they said "Not you again".

How do you get a hippie out of the bath?,

Turn the water on!.

Answering machine message,

If you want to buy Marijuana press the Hash key!.

..........................................

Rainy Sunday, 23rd.7.23.

 Though it was heavy rain today I went out to Home Bargains at The Snipe again today, had to get some more bird food as the birds are gobbling it up as fast as I can fill the feeders.

Bought another feeder this week and when it came it was only about 2 inches tall!, then I red the instructions and you have to pull the top up and twist it to lock and that makes it better, phew, I thought it would have to go back!.

Then it was off to meet my friend Jean at the Portland Basin museum and the café there for our lunch, I had a roast ham salad muffin and Jean had ordered a baked potato with tuna salad and when it came there was two potatoes, the owners must have thought the potato's were a bit small, you certainly get your monies worth there and always nice and fresh!.

It was definitely a sitting indoors day today with the heavy rain outside. 

A nice clean setting and even table decorations, those pictures on the wall are by a local artist and can be bought.

After another drink and a pleasant couple of hours chat, Jean went home and I had another walk round the museum and though I had my small camera with me, only used my smart phone as the camera on that is very good, but as with most phones there isn't much of a zoom, but not needed indoors anyway.  

So here is some of the local history, and its quite extensive.

The doctors surgery in the old days, when they were available!, not like today.

The people who shaped Tameside.

The butcher.

Perhaps we need to bring these back hey.

The local haberdashery shop. 

The chippie, look at the prices!!.

Worship.

The local pub, those women at the bar are real, they weren't that well fed in those days!.

The grocery shop before supermarkets ran them out of business. 

The cycle industry has taken off again, what with, off road, folding and electric bikes these days and people back on them with the price of fuel these days. 

Some of the local industries.

The local bigwig.

 

Local community events.

It was surprising the number of families in there today, but where else is there to go in this weather without it costing a small fortune.

So if you need somewhere to go over the school holidays this is the place in bad weather and its free!, not the café of course!.

You might learn something yourself too.

So a good though wet day!, not stopped all day!.

........................................

..........................................

Friday down Reddish Vale, 21.7.23.

 Had a really good day down the Vale today, weather was good and not too many people about.

The little Grebes on Sunnyside pond were fishing well, but not bothering nest building. 

Blackbird.

Met the animal rescue chap again and he told me that there were little Grebes with babies on the top mill pond, so I was off there and on the way spotted this baby moorhen with its mum.

Swans looking fine too.

You can tell its warm when the terror-pins are out sunning themselves.

These on the top mill pond are quite a bit bigger.

There on the top mill pond at the back was the little grebe family, with 4 chicks with mum, but no sign of the other parent.

Can't believe how little these are and the size of some of the fish mum is feeding them.

Here's your dinner.

Got to eat some greens too.

One for you too.

Proud mum.

 So a really nice day finished off with my dinner the usual, have a guess, yes you've guessed it Fish and Chips at Morrison's!.

..................................................................

                               .......................................