The past week, 1.12.2025.

 The past week I've had a visit to Reddish Vale Country park and it was quite sunny, but also quite cold!.

First  capture was this nice little Grey Wagtail on the run off slope to the river.

 Then on to the lower mill pond where all the swan family was.

Little and Large.

Mum and Dad preening.

The recent bad weather has taken its toll here, it always amazes me how some of these trees stay upright so long with such a shallow root ball as this one.

Squirrels enjoying the peanuts

A  gadwall on the lower mill pond

A wigeon drifting close by. 

Crow with peanuts.

Lots of tufted ducks on the upper mill pond.

Heron on the far side of the mil pond.

This week me and the gang have been a couple of times to the Bridge View  Café in Ashton and on the visit on Thursday it was closed for two parties but being regulars we have a regular reserved table.

So we enjoyed the Christmas spirit of the parties,

This one was the Tameside green space people, volunteers keeping Tameside nice.   

This one when they turned up later was the Tameside ladies group. 
Of course as it was on Thursday my mate from next door Christopher was singing his heart out, to the enjoyment of everyone.

But when we went on Saturday it was a different story altogether, it was full of children and as you know these days they shout instead of talk so it was bedlam, but still good for trade for the café!.

One little girl managed to pull a cup of coffee off the table on to herself, so my first aid training came in useful and plunged her hand into a jug of water, luckily the coffee there isn't boiling.

As the weather hasn't been too good I've been jig sawing quite a bit this week here are some I've finished.

Like him or not, Trump gets things done.

Just think if our Christmas £10 from the government was indexed linked since it began it probably would be about £1000 now, but perhaps we should be grateful The witch of Westminster haven't cancelled that too!.

The one in one out system that Cur Starmer came up with should have been one ex-servicemen off the street and into a hotel and one illegal out on the street until deported!, still this government seems to give our tax money to everyone but the people who have put into it!.

When I was born, our mothers got nothing for the first child, now it seems it's going to everyone, that will soon empty the pot won't it.

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Gorton Lower reservoir. 23.11.2025.

 This week I had a trip over to the Gorton Lower reservoir to see if there were any foreign arrivals, bird wise that is.

These magpies were waiting on the car park for some monkey nuts, I'm sure they recognize my hat!.  

There were plenty of boat people, but not on rubber boats!.

The local kids enjoying the water even if it was freezing.

It was cold but nice and sunny

Met this couple who were trying their new mobile phones cameras  out, as you know the cameras on mobiles these days are brilliant, but! there isn't a great deal of zoom is there.

I soon got the swans a bit nearer for them with some food.

This is a young Great Crested grebe born this year.

The Bridge view café have started their Christmas parties this week and here is a menu for you.

This was a party for the local history society

A couple of Narra boats that visited the basin this week.

Look nice in the summer gliding along, but not very nice this weather. 

Back home, I only seem to be getting Sparrows at the moment, have seen a blue tit but not long enough to get a picture.

My Christmas Cactus are all doing well, Not sure if they will last until Christmas though. 

Finished this jigsaw this week,

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Down the Vale, 7.11.2025.

 On Friday it was quite mild so it was off down Reddish Vale before meeting my mate for lunch at Morrison's.

No sign of any Kingfishers, though they must be there because another friend of mine Emily photograph's them quite regularly.

I was lucky in the fact I went down to the bend in the river and managed to capture this beautiful Little egret! that was hunting on the side of the river 

Crows soon come out when there are peanuts to be had.

 Plenty of Gadwall's on the top mill pond.

There were also a lot of Wigeons too.

These were right on the far side of the top mill pond, so not a very good picture but you get the idea don't you.

Plenty of tufted duck about.

Male and female.

Resident Swan family.

Then it was off to Morrison's for lunch, good value for money there and its a new menu, so can't be bad, still free refills on hot drinks too!.

Saturday it was off to the Bridge View Café to meet friends and enjoy the good food and have our game of Gin Rummy!.

We are having our Christmas Dinner there again, (not on Christmas day)  it was so good last year, where as the past year gone again?.

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