Sunny Park Day

I was on a day off today and it was a beautiful sunny day with blue skies. Still can't drive the car, waiting for circuit diagrams and so on...but I hopped on the bus and went for a walk.

The American Wood Duck has been so hard to get a good photo of in the water - I think because its plumage is so dark - but on land I managed to get some much better ones.

I saw a lot of rippling in the water at one end of the lake and spotted a little rat swimming along. I don't know if we have water rats or if it was just a regular one, and he's so small in the photo that it would be hard to tell. I was looking to see what caused the ripples in case it was the terrapin I saw a while back.

In Farmleigh I saw a little bluetit feeding from the base of a tree - shooting into the sun, so the photos aren't the best. Makes a change from seeing them on the feeders here, though.

Lots of toadstools around - this one was lovely:

Plenty of holly berries too. I was intrigued by this little sapling which must have rooted from a berry a bird dropped into the cleft in the tree trunk.

Favourite cards

Not much card-making in September with holidays, but plenty in October so I'm putting them all together.

L'Houmeau

Nearly finished our French holiday!
Our last campsite was Le Petit Port de l'Houmeau. There is a big municipal campsite in La Rochelle itself, but this one was very near and on a regular bus route into the city, so we decided to go for it. Not as nice a site as LaRoche Posay, but very pleasant and helpful staff and a lovely location. In our short time we fitted in a couple of walks along the seafront, a swim (me only), and crepes at sunset in one of the few cafés that was still open at the end of the season.

We never did make it out to the Ile de Ré - but looking at the bridge out to the island I am fairly sure I would not have enjoyed the journey, either by car or on a bicycle. Personally I was content to admire it from a distance.

Red skies

On the days that haven't been overwhelmingly grey we've had some lovely sunrises and sunsets. The disadvantage of living in a built-up area is that you can't really see them that well - or get good photos.

The sky really was that pink for a brief while the other morning: I could see the glow when I went out to put a wash on, so I grabbed the camera and went out the front door, but within less than ten minutes it was all gone. That was also the morning I saw a heron fly over - but that was before I grabbed the camera.

In the night sky you can see the ivy flowering in the garden next door. I'd actually taken a photo of the ivy flowers when I walked along the canal last week.

Warm off the knitting needles, I posted this little jacket off on Monday morning. The little hood is detachable. I always wonder about long hair getting caught in the buttons, though! I'm currently knitting a neck-warmer to use instead of a scarf on the motorbike, and then I have a couple of projects for my nieces and nephews with some wool I got from my sister-in-law when we visited recently.

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La Rochelle, le fin

The 15th century  Hôtel de Ville (town hall) is undergoing extensive renovations - we didn't go in, just admired the amazing details from outside. You can see the marine heritage showing through, and the fleur de lys emblem of the French kings.

This plaque was on the perimeter wall. It's a memorial to Léonce Vieljeux, the mayor from 1930 to 1940. Originally an army officer he remained in the reserves when he started working in his father-in-law's shipping company. He actively resisted the Nazi occupation, refusing to hang the swastika from the hôtel de Ville when he was asked to, and helping Resistance members to escape. He was expelled from the town in 1941; when he returned in 1944 he was arrested and then executed, aged 79.

Double-decker carousel in the square where the bus  station is. I was hoping to capture the sound on the video, but it doesn't come through, sadly.

La Rochelle again...

We walked out to the pleasure marina, which is possible the largest in Europe with 3,300 berths. On the way we passed the maritime museum. C didn't want to go and see it, saying it couldn't possible be as good as the one in Barcelona. I think it's a pity we didn't walk further down the quay, though, as apparently Cousteau's Calypso is moored just beyond the museum ships. There's a municipal bike hire scheme in La Rochelle - you can see some of the bicycles in the second photo.

Porte des Minimes

We walked along to the end of one pier in the marina.

 Quick snaps around the town - not quite sure what the first one is all about!!

Cinema and café in the square where the bus station is.