Lift off....

I've been feeling the after effects of the party a bit today, not caused by overindulgence in alcohol, but the result of a fall during our last bout of tug-of-war. I'd joined in to even up the numbers and add a bit of weight to the younger team. We won the first round, lost the second miserably and on the third and final round the rope snapped and I, amongst others, ended up on the ground. Both the camera and I survived intact, but today I realised that I'd bruised my ribs quite badly whenI landed on my side!!

As I felt in need of peace and quiet, I took the dogs for an early walk along the river. Our local swan's sitting on seven eggs - last year she hatched and successfully raised eight cygnets! Reed and sedge warblers were in full song, and I watched a robin taking caterpillars back to its brood.

This heron was standing next to a reed-fringed water body known as the Electricity Cut, because it was dug to take the waste water from the old Peterborough Power Station. It then lazily lifted off and moved a little way east, allowing me to capture this in flight shot. The river and its environs are well used by local people, and the herons are very confiding, which is ideal for the photographer!

The rest of the day was occupied with domestic jobs, particularly catching up with the washing before I take Chris back to university on Monday.

PS Yesterday, while putting up bunting for the street party, Chris and I saw a common crane fly high over the house, a lifetime tick for both of us! Later in the day we saw a pair of peregrines and a red kite...not a bad haul.