Bird watching and sewing.

On Saturday, John and I had a trip arranged to Strumpshaw Fen, a nature reserve in Norfolk. We were travelling by coach which meant I could watch the scenery go by, chat and do some hand stitching. I can't read when travelling but I wondered if I could do some knitting or better still crochet. I decided to take some crochet along and was pleased to find that I could happily stitch without making myself travel sick. When we were in the covid lockdowns I had started making crocheted squares to make a blanket. I had a lot of left over yarn and this was a perfect project to use it up. It still isn't finished and utilising some of the coach journey seemed like a great use of time to move this forward. I managed 4 squares on the outward journey and 4 on the return journey. That left me time to enjoy the scenery and chat with John

I have already started crocheting the squares together and it is taking shape very nicely. I still need to make a few more squares but I will be able to make a big blanket. There will be a lot of ends to sew in when it's finished.

Next time I'm travelling on a coach or a train I will take my knitting and see how that goes. I know I can't read when travelling by road as it makes me very travel sick.  

This was the first time we'd visited Strumpshaw Fen. In order to get into the reserve you have to cross a railway line. Most people thought it only had a train pass by once a day and were surprised when they found the line was used by fast trains. Crossing the line worried some folks but the line was straight at this point and so you could see when it was safe to cross. The river Yare runs on the other side of the reserve. The water level was quite high.

As we walked round the reserve we saw a lot of butterflies but they were impossible to photograph as they wouldn't settle anywhere. The selection of butterflies we saw included Peacock, Brimstone, Orange tip butterfly and a few white butterflies but I don't know the difference between them. we did a circular walk around the reserve, stopping to enjoy the views and to watch the birds. At times the ground was very muddy. The area in the photo below was tame compared with some of the mud. 

There were also wild flowers including primroses,

Henbit dead nettle

and garlic mustard

Walking alongside the river we watched several boats go by.

Over the day we saw 30+ different species of birds including several marsh harriers, red kites and a buzzard. |Having stood listening to a Willow Warbler for about 10 minutes we finally managed to locate where he was in the tree. It was also fun watching the large crane fly around. Bird watching becomes more difficult as the tress get their leaves.

Sunday was my sewing day and I finished stitching the binding down on the pinwheel quilt. This is now a finish. 

I also finished the quilting on the Give a Twirl baby quilt. I haven't taken a photo yet so I'll do that once I've added the binding. I need to hunt through my stash to see if I have some suitable fabric. Yesterday, I met baby Lucas who will be the recipient of the quilt once it is finished. He was born on 28th March and is a very cute baby. I must remember to add the quilt label.

The next two days are busy working days but I'm looking forward to another sewing day on Friday. That will be after I've taken Missy to be groomed. I'm hoping to get the first sleeve of my cardigan finished over the next two evenings.

Take care 

Lyndsey