A Winters Park

Even on cold winters days it's good to just get outside and walk around somewhere natural.The trees may be bare but those bare branches are so fascinating to look at,all twisty and angular and set against beautiful pale blue winters sky they are stunning.

Also the bareness of the branches lets you see,quite clearly,birds. Last week at the park Chips and I noticed these birds ~ pigeons. At first there was just one pigeon who pecked around on the wet squelchy grass but it was soon joined by a friend who began to follow it. They played a game of tig,or so it seemed,one bird would fly onto a branch and the other would follow it,then the first bird would move to another branch and the second bird would follow. This game went on for a while and,we,were engrossed in watching these two birds interact with each other. Nature at its best. Thats why it's good to get outside,you see interesting things and learn quite a bit too.

The park was muddy but bright and sunny enough to able to play and wander around without shivering or feeling unbearably cold.

To say it was the middle of winter there were quite a few people there. A lady walking a boisterous little puppy who thought everybody was his friend. The local football team who carried the goal nets down the steep hill and discussed which pub to meet at. And a few solitary parents with children. Nobody stayed long today but it was good to get out and look around and to see the children play.

Unfortunately the zip wire was tangled.It had a right knot in it. And I'm not good at untangling knots. I did try but just couldn't do it. And Chips tried to sit on it but it was too high,no zip wire for Chips we thought,until a clever mum came and untangled the heavy chain. That lady and her daughter didn't stay long but they gave Chips the chance to play on the zip wire and he did,for ages,so thank you kind chain sorting lady.

Such fun was had on that zip wire. For a lot of the time Chips was on his own but another boy did eventually wander over and together the two boys silently worked out a fair system of sharing the zip wire. Unspoken codes of sharing and lots of cooperation. I sat on a bench and watched.

And it was a good job that the ground was muddy because mud is soft...dirty and sticky as well but soft and judging by the amount of times Chips hit the ground this was a good thing! It's hard to hold on a zip wire when the chain is freezing cold and your hands are slimy with mud. It didn't stop the fun though. I was also glad of the thickness of his new coat,it provided a perfect soft landing for Chips. I'm not sure if that was what it was made for but hey if it works don't knock it!

After much fun we started the journey home and as we strolled through the trees and down the curving hill we saw the church looking so pretty nestled in the trees.

We arrived home as muddy as anything and had to strip off and get clean. But after half an hour,or maybe even less,the brightness of day had changed,grey skies had replaced the bright blue sky that we had walked under and you would never have known judging by the sky that it had ever been bright. 

I'm glad we made the most of the blue.