Busy Weekend

Compared to our usual weekends,

this last one was busy.

For different reasons

we had visitors,

a young couple who have recently moved over here from the States,

and later another couple from Luxemburg.

It was the couple from Luxemburg that brought us the cake pictured above.

A nice gesture we thought.

His family own a Boulangerie.

Perhaps if I'd known that I wouldn't have offered them my own fruit cake,

but apparently they liked it.

The cake they brought is almond flavoured

and is cut horizontally.

It tasted really nice.

That evening, we went to a concert.

It was a local affair involving some friends of ours.

The concert was in aid of Mali.

Tomorrow, I fly over to the UK.

I am spending some time in the north east of England before travelling west to Cumbria.

I'm taking the camera, so I hope it won't rain all the time-

it usually does.

So, I will be away from the computer for a while.

But I should have some photos to share with you

on my return.

Family Portrait

It has been so hot lately

that at the end of our afternoon walks,

the hounds and I

have ourselves a rest

before getting in the van for the short drive home.

They have a drink of water

and settle themselves down.

It's a nice way to finish a walk while it is so hot.

In the photo,

Arthur is sitting at the back.

It's very unusual to see any of our hounds sitting,

except for Rufus sometimes,

and then only briefly.

But I think that's the first time I've ever seen Arthur sit.

Clockwise from Arthur is Jewel

our only lady hound.

Rufus is at the front.

He's been upset by the thunder tonight

but fortunately it's stopped now,

so I can go to bed.

Paddy is the white one.

He's big for a greyhound

and he finds the weather too hot at the moment.

He will often have a lie down part way round.

It used to be difficult to get him to relax

and settle anytime we wanted to have a sit down and admire the views.

Now it's him deciding to take a break.

I'm quite pleased with this photo.

At least none of them ran off while I was taking the photos.

Maybe next time,

I can work on them looking towards the camera.

Simple Pleasures

-such as enjoying the beautiful wild roses.

I noticed on our morning walk yesterday

that the wild roses are blooming.

So this morning I took the camera with me.

The Dog Rose as it is known,

is one of my favourites.

I love it for it's simplicity,

but also for the colour,

and the sweeping arching shapes of it's branches.

Elsewhere it is sometimes known by other names such as

stone rose and bird nose,

have a look on Wikipedia for more.

It's rose hips are high in vitamin C and is used to make rose-hip syrup.

I remember collecting the hips in the autumn

to take into school  in Cumbria.

They were used for that very purpose.

I think there was a prize for the person collecting the most.

This rather large insect was enjoying the flowers.

They have just started to flower

so I hope they will be around for a while.

Buttercups and Blue Sky

It has been another hot day here.

More like summer than spring.

So I chose to walk the hounds in the shade.

We were on the other side of the river for a change.

It affords a good view of our neighbouring village.

The church is quite distinct

even though it's in the background here.

We stopped for a rest

I think Jewel's admiring the view.

You might have to click on this last photo to see the fox in the centre.

We disturbed it while it was sunbathing.

I saw a leap of brown that I thought to be a fox,

it was only a while later that I saw it below us.

I think it was enjoying the sunshine.

Fortunately, the hounds didn't see it.

Has the sun been shining where you are today?

Swan Update

Before Easter I had to have some emergency dental treatment,

I had toothache!

Yesterday I went to pay the bill.

I took my camera,

as I knew that before Easter they had this lovely little display outside the door.

I had taken my camera on an earlier visit, but the batteries had given up,

so I was hoping that it was still there.

It was!

On the way to the dentist

I stopped by to see how the swans are doing.

Obligingly she was rearranging her eggs when I arrived,

and I got a photo of them.

There's three at least.

They have their own little fan club.

This last photo shows one of the holiday cruise ships

that frequent the river.

Bernkastel seems to be one of their stops.

It's a lovely way to see the river.

I don't think the swan is very impressed with it though.

Enjoy your weekend.