February

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As those of you who have visited know, the view from Foulsyke is stunning and is so reactive to varying light and time of day. I took this picture one morning last week as the sun rose low in the sky towards Buttermere.

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The snowdrops are now at their very best, they are tucked into  hedges and gardens and there is a wonderful display by the top gate into Lanthwaite Wood. The churchyard is carpetted with them: they will soon be followed there by purple crocus and daffodils. I like the way this little clump seems to be sheltering behind one of the crosses facing Grasmoor.

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At the beginning of January I visited to the Armitt Museum in Ambleside to see the ‘Beatrix Potter, Image and Reality’ exhibition which contains a large number of her botanical watercolours: it is a fascinating and very informative exhibition, well worth a visit. After we had been to the museum my friend, Hil and I obviously needed a walk and we did a very nice circuit of the High and Low Sweden bridges. Apparently the term Sweden comes from the Old Norse for ‘area cleared by burning’ not from Swedish involvement in the bridge building. Below are some very friendly Highland cattle we met en route.

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Coming back home from the lake a few days ago, I couldn’t resist taking a photo of these Beltex sheep with Melbreak as a backdrop. They look a bit different from our more familiar Herdwicks and Swaledales.

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