Glade Stream Valley Trail

 

We went for a walk in Reston this afternoon in an area where we had heard that beavers are active, a stream running through the woods near Lake Audubon..

 

It was a lovely sunny afternoon and very pleasant in the woods, although the stream was barely visible except in a few places.

 

We did not see any beavers, but we did see areas around the stream where they had clearly been busy..

 

We walked on through the woods..

 

Not very much colour visible in the trees as yet.

 

Plenty of moss and marshy plants in the area around the stream.

 

We passed the Walker Nature Centre which was built as a focal point for the trails in Reston and a nature education Centre for young people in the area.

 

All in all a good walk and we notched up our 10,000 steps for the day even if we didn't see any beavers - maybe another time.

'Glory'

 

Looking out of the window of the plane today I was surprised to see a bright ring of rainbow coloured circles on the clouds below around a perfect shadow of the plane.

 

Although it looks like a tiny complete circle rainbow, this optical phenomenon, caused by the sun catching drops of moisture on the cloud surface is apparently known as a 'Glory'.  I have never seen anything quite like it!

Time to Go

The end of another trip home has come all too soon as always.

It was time for the 'Goodbye' photo with Theo this evening before I travelled to Heathrow to meet David.

The 'Goodbye' photo is always a sad moment.

It all looks very calm in this photo but there were a few 'outtakes' from our photo shoot..

Signs of Autumn in the Hedge

 

Out walking yesterday it was feeling like Autumn and the signs were all around - here some almost ripe blackberries.

 

Beautiful berries in the late afternoon sunshine - Pyrocanthus I think?

 

Under the railway bridge, it was surprising what had found a foothold in tiny cracks and spaces between the bricks.

 

 

These Autumn Crocus were growing in the grass under a hedge, opposite some houses - perhaps from some discarded bulbs..

 

Close up they were finely veined and quite beautiful.

Out for a Walk

 

Theo and I went for two walks today.  Both of them were to encourage him to have a little sleep and in the first instance he was away and dreaming long before we got to the shops to get items for dinner.

 

This afternoon the sun was out and it was much nicer for walking.  Theo didn't want to miss a minute and so, when we arrived at the fields to look at the sheep, he was still awake..

 

On the way home, he eventually gave up and had a little rest..

 

Special Day

 

Usually on a Monday Theo's Grandma Charmian comes to see and look after him - but today it was my turn.. lots of play time, a few challenges (pram  harness being the main failure) and lots of fun!

 

 

 

 

At each visit home I am impressed by the progress that Theo has made - this time there is a noticeable increase in his understanding of what is said to him and lots of attempts to make himself understood with words and gestures.  Also his powers of concentration have increased substantially.

 

It was a joy to spend the day with him - and jolly tiring too! 

Sunday Lunch in Woburn

 

On this visit David had only a weekend in the UK and so time with family was very precious.  This morning we were getting ready to go to Woburn for lunch to meet David's parents and Karen and family.

 

There were ten of us and Theo at the lunch table  - and of course we didn't get around to taking a group photograph inside.  James kindly took this one for us after lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was great to see everyone together even if just for a short while.