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Personal Stuff: If you don't know me - GO AWAY!!!!
Me: 41 years 47 days , Amanda: 36 years 110 days , Esme 5 years 249 days and Bradley 3 years 205 days . Telford UK, 213 miles NW of London. See more who and where.
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23 May 2004   

 

Gone fishing and osprey watching

lakePano.jpg
This was taken about the same time last year.

First time I've been for a year. And I could have caught another, if my net wasn't such an awkward devil to set up with one hand. The bugger shook the hook as I tried to untangle the net.

But, better than the fish, as I was leaving I spotted what I thought must be a buzzard over the water. Keew-keewing. Odd noise, odd over water, then it hovered for a split second, and dived into the water!

An osprey. Two, three of them! Unbelievable! I watched with another fly-fisher, as she repeatedly hovered and dived. We saw her take at least two fish, one was too big and she dropped it.

old trout for dinner

Apparently, they've been here for a few days now. I'm sure it must be longer, and sure she's nesting nearby.

Ospreys were so rare that when I was a kid, I'm sure there wasn't any breeding pairs at all, and they were reintroduced into Scotland. For them to have come this far south means they must be doing really well.

osprey

Others know about them already: The long-projected nesting platforms in Shropshire have now been put up . Special thanks to GPU Power for providing the telegraph poles and the vehicles etc to erect them.

Two are at Wood Lane NR near Ellesmere in the north and two at Chelmarsh Reservoir NN south of Bridgnorth. Another will go up later at Monkmoor sewage works NR on the outskirts of Shrewsbury.

 


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Esme climbs down the big tump

Outside the school gates is a hillock or tump at we used to call the slag heaps in South Wales.

I let her climb it or rather she tells me she's going to climb it and I'm to "wait here."

Climbing is hard enough, but coming down, she has to tootie down, while other boys and bigger kids run down.

One day she'll run down, and I'll smile all the more.

esme climbs down the hump

 


1736 Also posted to: Home page . At: 9:09:04 PM  . .
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Saturday's children have plenty of adventure

I'm in charge for the day so we head off to Telford Town Park with the bikes and a picnic.
library esPes

We start off in the library, as we're to return some books, and I hope get some more out, though Esme is never keen, ever since that day when we were fined. Came to 26 pence, I believe! Oh! The ignominy!

But she settles down and picks quite a number of books. Mainly fairy stories and other girly stuff.

library Brad

Brad too find some nice alien, witches and monster books to read.

carrot stick bradley

We settle down for the picnic, though not many sandwiches are eaten by the kids, I have to mop up, as I suspected. And they settle on crisps and other junk. Though Bradley does eat a carrot stick, as above.

esme on trampoline

Had to go on the trampoline, as I was so cruel to not let Bradley go on the lady bird ride on the fair, and he asked and asked over and over for about 20 minutes, as he cried his way to these rides.

bradley on trampoline

bradley whizzes down slide

Can I go on there? He asked, amid the floods of false tears/ Sure. And thank goodness he shuts up. Though it takes ages for him to climb the rope ladder up, he manages to get 4 or 5 goes.

About half way down the slide, his face changes to one of horror as I think he realises that he's going to come off the end. When he does stand up, he first looks back up the slide, as if to check that he really did it, then at me with the widest eyes and grin.

Bradley with new friend at the pub

We meet up with Amanda and go to the Church Wickets, the local pub with a good garden, intending to burger it. But too busy.

Bradley and Esme pick up a new friend called Zoe, who they play hid and seek with. But she's not very good at counting and peeks all the time, nevertheless they don't want to leave her and give big goodbye hugs.

 


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Throwing stones into the Severn

Just something to do of an evening. We could have gone to Telford Town Park, but we've been there so many times lately. We go to Ironbridge to throw stones into the River Severn.

It looks so heavenly in late Spring, and I saw a few mayflies dancing over the water, which made me want to go fishing, again.

Esme managed to collect some nice stones for a change, instead of plain old rocks.

Bradley's aim is getting much better, and his stones go quite a distance now.

Ironbridge stone throwing from the archives: Full flow in January 2004 while it was much brighter in May 2003 and very low in October 2003 lower.

big leaves for bombing Esme and Bradley

big splash

brad and es by river severn

brad esme near the river

brad gets a big leaf to bomb

brad with church in background

Ever so English village, with the church in the background.

brad with umbrellas of leaves

I've no idea what species these leaves are, but they make good bombing targets.

esme splashes a big one

still life with leaves, kids and splashes

 


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