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Post by Northy on May 1, 2019 10:14:43 GMT
Yes it is, inbetween the A49 (leigh Arms) and Saltersford Locks River Weaver - coo! Well spotted, Cheesy, you clever little hawkeye, you! You deserve a reward, so here you are - there's a lot of info here, including details of the River Weaver's canal links and mentioning that in years gone by the main thing transported on the River Weaver was salt: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Weaver
Afraid I'd never heard of the River Weaver before (**she blushes**). However, I have definitely heard of 'Nick Bottom, a weaver'! (**looks cocky**) (PS: Sorry, I've just noticed that Northy's already mentioned the salt.) The major trade was salt. The arrival of the Trent and Mersey Canal at Anderton in 1773 was detrimental to the salt trade at first, but ultimately beneficial, as salt was tipped down chutesI run up the 'chutes' quite a bit going back to the clubhouse at the end of runs, wasnt good recently after 20 miles In fact we are doing a community litter pick around that area on Saturday, from the weaver bridge up the chutes to the T&M canal, and also up Soot hill.
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Post by potterinleeds on May 1, 2019 10:44:41 GMT
Started the day driving over to East Yorkshire in a dense but almost luminous fog, causing all of the fields of oilseed rape on the Wolds to cast a strange, neon-yellow glow upwards. Once fog burnt off, saw my first hawthorn in blossom along the roadside - not yet the frothy foaming waves of white we'll soon get, but a welcome sight none the less. Also cow parsley coming out and some superb crab apple blossom round and about. Copper beeches unfurling pinkish leaves. East Yorkshire, like Staffordshire, is still a county of fantastic hedgerows - if I was ever to leave the country permanently, a good mature country hedgerow is one of the things I would really miss. I've driven to Stevenage You have my deepest sympathy. At least you'll be leaving again soon.
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Post by thequietman on May 2, 2019 11:40:51 GMT
Just had a very sharp thunder shower pass through. Wildlife all in hiding but the smell of ozone & earth afterwards was smashing. There's nothing like it.
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Post by felonious on May 2, 2019 11:47:34 GMT
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Post by murphthesurf on May 2, 2019 13:20:18 GMT
Just had a very sharp thunder shower pass through. Wildlife all in hiding but the smell of ozone & earth afterwards was smashing. There's nothing like it. One of the best places to walk through after rain is a herb garden!
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Post by murphthesurf on May 2, 2019 13:24:01 GMT
See - we all come on 'ere & learn something new every day! Fel, take a bow!
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Post by felonious on May 2, 2019 13:56:01 GMT
Just had a very sharp thunder shower pass through. Wildlife all in hiding but the smell of ozone & earth afterwards was smashing. There's nothing like it. One of the best places to walk through after rain is a herb garden! There's a passageway alongside the stream down your neck of the woods that takes you from New Inn Lane to the A34 near to that church/chapel on the A34. Near to the path exit ( by the small sub station if I remember correctly) is the most fantastic spread of wild garlic and when it's just rained the smell there is incredible.
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Post by Northy on May 2, 2019 20:11:58 GMT
I've driven to Stevenage You have my deepest sympathy. At least you'll be leaving again soon. Tomorrow, heading north on a bank holiday weekend
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Post by thequietman on May 3, 2019 11:11:27 GMT
Just had a very sharp thunder shower pass through. Wildlife all in hiding but the smell of ozone & earth afterwards was smashing. There's nothing like it. One of the best places to walk through after rain is a herb garden!
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Post by felonious on May 4, 2019 13:44:17 GMT
Down on the Trent this morning for an early walk. Unfortunately the scabious type weed is getting high now so I wasn't able to spot the Kingfisher and the Little Egrets had disappeared for breakfast but I did spot a bullfinch I low in the trees. I got to within 6 feet and was able to observe it for a couple of minutes before it spotted me and cleared off. The most beautiful pink out there I reckon.
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Post by cheeesfreeex on May 4, 2019 16:52:23 GMT
Down on the Trent this morning for an early walk. Unfortunately the scabious type weed is getting high now so I wasn't able to spot the Kingfisher and the Little Egrets had disappeared for breakfast but I did spot a bullfinch I low in the trees. I got to within 6 feet and was able to observe it for a couple of minutes before it spotted me and cleared off. The most beautiful pink out there I reckon. Musical interlude.... Manfred Mann-Pretty Flamingo.
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Post by felonious on May 4, 2019 19:24:50 GMT
Down on the Trent this morning for an early walk. Unfortunately the scabious type weed is getting high now so I wasn't able to spot the Kingfisher and the Little Egrets had disappeared for breakfast but I did spot a bullfinch I low in the trees. I got to within 6 feet and was able to observe it for a couple of minutes before it spotted me and cleared off. The most beautiful pink out there I reckon. Musical interlude.... Manfred Mann-Pretty Flamingo. Some years back when the kids were little we had a holiday in the South of France. I managed to get my pass signed off for a trip to the Camargue to see the wildlife. The Flamingos in situe were fantastic, the horses were a disappointment but the Muskrats running across the path in front of you were ace.
I also managed to get to Aigues-Mortes which was fantastic.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aigues-Mortes
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Post by cheeesfreeex on May 4, 2019 19:49:21 GMT
Musical interlude.... Manfred Mann-Pretty Flamingo. Some years back when the kids were little we had a holiday in the South of France. I managed to get my pass signed off for a trip to the Camargue to see the wildlife. The Flamingos in situe were fantastic, the horses were a disappointment but the Muskrats running across the path in front of you were ace.
I also managed to get to Aigues-Mortes which was fantastic.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aigues-Mortes
Fascinating stuff on many levels Fel. Cheeers. I love all that Templar history and of course the White Horses of the Camargue {tv show and song by Jackie of the same name}. Extra relevance at the moment not only is the Coat of Arms (of the knight hospitaler) and 'beggar' on crutch a fairly good representation of me. But also I've spent a couple of days next to an interesting chap who's returned to Stoke having sold a campsite in the Camargue, a stop off (shell stamp) on one of the routes of the Saint Iago Compostella pilgrim trail. (His initial chats about once being in the Met made me think Chuffed had been transferred next to me.) Life seems full of happenstance at the moment. P.s. I hope it's a shitty nil niller with foul weather tomozz.) ;-} Chin chin.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2019 20:05:20 GMT
Glorious day here and propelled me to the chores that needed to get everything tidy. Moved the bigger feeders off the front of the house down to the tree in the front yard which meant....Ta Da, for the first time in years I have my hummingbird feeders out at the right time. First week in May is the charm for Maryland. They do say last week in April sometimes but we had gale force winds and some squally storms so this should work well. Made the nectar a little stronger for the first batch. Let’s face it, after flying anywhere these days you need a stiff drink. Really hoping to get some good pictures of the ruby throated hummers. I thought I had sisal seeds for the goldfinches but that’s on the to do list. For the first time in this house I have cat birds which is nice. I have seen a mocking bird a few times but I don’t know if he will hang around. Had one at the old house and he had my phone ring down pat Great time of the year. Sounds heavenly! So when can me an' Chuff an' Cheesy an' Dees an' Fel an' Leedsy an' Northy come over to stay at your house for a free hol? Sounds great - got my case packed already !
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2019 20:09:49 GMT
Some years back when the kids were little we had a holiday in the South of France. I managed to get my pass signed off for a trip to the Camargue to see the wildlife. The Flamingos in situe were fantastic, the horses were a disappointment but the Muskrats running across the path in front of you were ace.
I also managed to get to Aigues-Mortes which was fantastic.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aigues-Mortes
Fascinating stuff on many levels Fel. Cheeers. I love all that Templar history and of course the White Horses of the Camargue {tv show and song by Jackie of the same name}. Extra relevance at the moment not only is the Coat of Arms (of the knight hospitaler) and 'beggar' on crutch a fairly good representation of me. But also I've spent a couple of days next to an interesting chap who's returned to Stoke having sold a campsite in the Camargue, a stop off (shell stamp) on one of the routes of the Saint Iago Compostella pilgrim trail. (His initial chats about once being in the Met made me think Chuffed had been transferred next to me.) Life seems full of happenstance at the moment. P.s. I hope it's a shitty nil niller with foul weather tomozz.) ;-} Chin chin. I'm really interested in the Templar and Cathar history as well Cheees. I've been down to Carcassonne and the surrounding area quite a few times when I lived in France - it really is fascinating and helps make the historical side of things "more real".
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Post by cheeesfreeex on May 4, 2019 20:42:43 GMT
Fascinating stuff on many levels Fel. Cheeers. I love all that Templar history and of course the White Horses of the Camargue {tv show and song by Jackie of the same name}. Extra relevance at the moment not only is the Coat of Arms (of the knight hospitaler) and 'beggar' on crutch a fairly good representation of me. But also I've spent a couple of days next to an interesting chap who's returned to Stoke having sold a campsite in the Camargue, a stop off (shell stamp) on one of the routes of the Saint Iago Compostella pilgrim trail. (His initial chats about once being in the Met made me think Chuffed had been transferred next to me.) Life seems full of happenstance at the moment. P.s. I hope it's a shitty nil niller with foul weather tomozz.) ;-} Chin chin. I'm really interested in the Templar and Cathar history as well Cheees. I've been down to Carcassonne and the surrounding area quite a few times when I lived in France - it really is fascinating and helps make the historical side of things "more real". I'm not really arsed about holidays as such (always tried to live life in nice places so every day is like a holiday) but having read 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' as a teen I've always fancied a trip to the Aix la Chapelle/chateau region and it's curious history. It seems with the Templars we can trace the origins of modern banking and so much more. I've only scratched the surface of Cathar history, again fascinating stuff, persecution for 'heresy', mass murder and suicide etc etc. The so called Dark Ages etc contains fascinating history, only called Dark because so much of iy is hidden/forgotten but when looking at the art and architecture it would appear that they were far from Dark /primitive times. If only... there was a time machine eh?
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2019 20:51:32 GMT
You've summed it up very well there. Aix la Chapelle "et environs" is really well worth a visit.
I just love the whole mystery and history of it all.
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Post by Goonie on May 4, 2019 21:43:51 GMT
One of the best places to walk through after rain is a herb garden! View Attachment'I'm a very friendly lion called Parsley'
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Post by Northy on May 5, 2019 20:01:49 GMT
Grew up (I use the term loosely of course) between the Weaver and The Dane. Have been lucky enough to have used the Anderton boat lift a couple of times. Salt, as mentioned. The three witches. Romans everywhere. Sandstone, again, as mentioned with regards to the bridges but also creating great water from sandstone aquifers. Cycling to Oulton Park any weekend I could get there. The mighty Northwich Vic’s at their peak at the Drill Field. Leftwich ?
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Post by cheeesfreeex on May 6, 2019 5:11:24 GMT
'Adopted' a nesting pair of magpies in a silver birch on the A34 at the back of the Med School. Smuggling out a few ward scraps. Aiming to get them hand tame before I leave. They're bold as brass.
The larvae were removed last neet, strange strange things (got some great shots). Wasn't allowed to chuck them for the maggies.
On a side note I'm sure sleep deprivation falls within the definition of torture within the ECHR. (Perhaps should invoke it while it applies.) Not conducive to healing at the very least.
5am wake up to see if I'm awake! Lunacy
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Post by felonious on May 6, 2019 7:47:20 GMT
I was at Rudyard Lake late afternoon yesterday enjoying a mug of tea and a jam and cream scone prior to walking around the lake. I was enjoying watching the end of the Newfoundland dog demonstrations when I spotted the ranger and his assistant and a couple of helpers with nets heading off on a boat. It turns out that a number of drakes had killed one of the hens and left three orphaned ducklings. The chase was like something out of Tom and Jerry. The ducklings could motor and also had the advantage of being able to dive. They got two, one even managed to jump back out of the box when they were putting another in. When I finished the walk I spotted the last one swimming around in circles making a fair racquet. Hopefully they'll get it today.
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Post by felonious on May 6, 2019 7:47:50 GMT
Grew up (I use the term loosely of course) between the Weaver and The Dane. Have been lucky enough to have used the Anderton boat lift a couple of times. Salt, as mentioned. The three witches. Romans everywhere. Sandstone, again, as mentioned with regards to the bridges but also creating great water from sandstone aquifers. Cycling to Oulton Park any weekend I could get there. The mighty Northwich Vic’s at their peak at the Drill Field. Leftwich ? Southwich?
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Post by chuffedstokie on May 6, 2019 9:30:38 GMT
The one benefit of being in my hospital room is that I've got a great view of the library and dozens of Red Kites circling about 50 yards away. Impressive. The views up the Rheidoi aren't bad either.
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Post by murphthesurf on May 6, 2019 14:24:03 GMT
I was at Rudyard Lake late afternoon yesterday enjoying a mug of tea and a jam and cream scone prior to walking around the lake. I was enjoying watching the end of the Newfoundland dog demonstrations when I spotted the ranger and his assistant and a couple of helpers with nets heading off on a boat. It turns out that a number of drakes had killed one of the hens and left three orphaned ducklings. The chase was like something out of Tom and Jerry. The ducklings could motor and also had the advantage of being able to dive. They got two, one even managed to jump back out of the box when they were putting another in. When I finished the walk I spotted the last one swimming around in circles making a fair racquet. Hopefully they'll get it today. Oh, I'd love to see them! I've posted words + YouTube film clips on the Oatie before about the Newf rescue dogs who do water rescue training by jumping out of helicopters into the sea - they're nothing short of superb and are absolutely mind-blowing! I've got a USA friend in Maryland & she & her husband are passionate about Newfs and have two who are the latest in quite a succession they've had over many years. They also used to have a St. Bernard! And I thought my 8-stone GS was BIG!
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Post by murphthesurf on May 6, 2019 14:27:45 GMT
The one benefit of being in my hospital room is that I've got a great view of the library and dozens of Red Kites circling about 50 yards away. Impressive. The views up the Rheidoi aren't bad either. It's all right for you, Chuff............. Cheesy's got vultures circling outside his window.........
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Post by Northy on May 7, 2019 8:05:25 GMT
one of the missing ones? Northwich, Leftwich, Middlewich and Nantwich meaning from saxon times the 'important one'
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Post by Northy on May 8, 2019 14:32:56 GMT
Robins nest has 6 eggs and still being incubated, noticed blue tits going into one of the nest boxes we have up. Fledgling sparrows and starlings in the garden this last couple of days, one young starling this morning was trying to get onto the niger feeder, no chance
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Post by Northy on May 10, 2019 8:56:32 GMT
Robin's have hatched, the wife walked past and hada quick glance in.
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Post by Northy on May 10, 2019 9:14:29 GMT
My lad has been back on his lighthoue on the skerries off Anglesey for a week or so now, arctic terns are slowly returning, one they call mad max has returned for the 3rd year now.
he's also seen a whinchat drop in for a bit of a rest
one for Murph
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Post by murphthesurf on May 10, 2019 13:59:20 GMT
My lad has been back on his lighthoue on the skerries off Anglesey for a week or so now, arctic terns are slowly returning, one they call mad max has returned for the 3rd year now. he's also seen a whinchat drop in for a bit of a rest one for Murph Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh....... thanks, Northy - that's lovely. Isn't it amazing how something so tiny and delicate can have such a loud-ish voice? Gorgeous.
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