Gretton - Harringworth Lodge - Gretton

With Barry. 6.5 miles. Snow still underfoot, though melting. Cold wind from west. Misty.

We followed the Jurassic Way east from Gretton, along the farm track and across the fields. We turned right before we reached Harringworth Lodge, where a permissive path is marked in a gap between two pieces of woodland. This took us to a surfaced track where we turned left again, and carried on until we met the road from Deene to Spanhoe. Another left turn, ignore the path to the right, and continue until there is another path indicated in both directions. We took the left-hand path, across the middle of a large field with a house and a few outbuildings on the right. At the other end of the field Harringworth Lodge and Lake come into view at the bottom of a short descent.





We saw a distant hare, and closer, some hardy long-horn cattle. Then a herd of deer crossed our path, from the woods on our right. Maybe we disturbed them with talking? A while later on the other side of the lake, we found a couple of sheep stuck in the bars of their feeder, wedged by the sheer quantity of thick wool. Nobly rescued at Barry's insistence, they dashed away, without even saying thank you. The farmer arrived in his Land Rover, so I guess they'd have been fine.





(more later)

Paseo de las Montanas

The day started rather chilly with a breeze from the West. After my breakfast waffle, I spend the morning playing on the computer. Created the web site page about my visit to the Very Large Array.

I was ready for a bike ride today. Checking the Albuquerque bicycle map, I decided to check out the Paseo de las Montanas Trail. I parked at Jerry Cline Park - Louisiana & Constitution. Rode the bridge over I-40 and climbed the trail.

Knew that the trail would mean lots of climbing as the trail runs East-West. Several times I stopped to take photos, drink some water, and rest my legs.

When I reached the intersection with the Embudo Recreational Trail, I knew my legs were about shot. Just short of 3 miles, I called it quits, turned around to coast back down to the car.

Getting back at the park, I was feeling pretty good. Rode a little way past the car. That took me under Louisiana. But, not ready to resume climbing - so rode back to the car and called it a day. Salad day, so I ended the afternoon with salad and bacon cheeseburger at Applebees.

Happy !

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Hmmmm... anybuddy got any idea what that means??? (We'll chew on it a while!) Meanwhile, we're runnin' into , fast as we can, wishing you all a very...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Game Cam

Some recent game cam photos:

A sleek bobcat (Lynx rufus).

Murphy's law of game cameras:
You get mostly southern views of northbound animals. (Coyote, Canis latrans.)

Looks like she barely escaped that bicycle pump. (Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana.)

Finally, our first shot of a beaver in action. (Castor canadensis.) Click to embiggen!
We nearly ruined the game cam, trying to get a photo of a beaver. Positioned it too near the creek last spring. The heavy rains came, and... well, it's not meant to be an underwater camera. It still works, but not as well as it once did. The batteries used to last forever; now they need replacing every two weeks or so.
And this was the only beaver pic we got out of that sorry situation:

Smile!
If that's the miscreant who gnawed down the only white-blooming redbud in our woods, I wouldn't be too sad if that flash gave him a mild heart attack. I really miss that tree.
-----
Sirens from emergency vehicles screaming down the highway roused us in the wee hours last night. Jasmine howled, which she almost never does. It sounded so funny, I couldn't help but laugh, even as I was trying not to wake up too much. But then every coyote in the woods howled too. There are a lot more of them than I'd thought. I had imagined the population somewhat reduced, since our chicken flock has stayed intact for the past year. Now I'm worried.

Pytchley - Broughton - Badsaddle Wood - Pytchley

Friday 3 June . With Marta. Around 7 miles - almost 3 hours. Sussing the scene for a Monday walk.

Conditions, hot, sunny, bit of wind, very dry underfoot.

Wildlife - another hare.

The walk is adapted from the series Walking Close to - the River Ise nearKettering booklet, by Clive Brown, with the starting point at Pytchley.




Espaliered pear tree on a house in Pytchley.


1. Park opposite the Overstone Arms, walk up to the crossroads, turn left along the High Street. take the right fork to Top End, walk to the end of the End, and turn left through a farmyard.

Turn right after a black barn, and take a bridleway past farm buildings and then between fields. Follow the bridleway between hedges as it swings left. As this ends you come to a field where you bear right to cut across the corner, through a gap in the hedge, then follow the right hand edge of the field, keeping trees to your right.
A well-earned rest - after - ooh - half a mile! And only space for one of us.


2. The track goes down to Underwood's Hill Spinney, then across a footbridge and up a slope to the right to join a bridleway. Turn left and follow the bridleway to a gate. There is a gap in the hedge leading to a narrow overgrown path - follow this to the stile at the other end and turn right. (There are plenty of notices here telling you to keep to the footpath!)
Over another stile and along a narrow fenced-in path. Another stile, and the path continues between walls, through what looks like a private yard, and out through someone's garden, more or less.Broughton church is on our right.
The clock face is red. Lots of local ones are blue.






3. Walk down the path to Church St, join High Street and the Northampton Road.


This sign shows the Broughton Tin Can Band in action, chasing away evil spirits - or it's rumoured it was once gypsies?



Is this one of the evil spirits?


Walk to the end of the houses and there is a garage.
The latest superpowered police car?


Opposite is a footpath sign through a gate. Turn left and cross the field - you can see the paths cleared through the crops. Walk with the hedge to your left, until you come to a stile part way along the field edge - you cross this and continue in the same direction, but with the hedge on your right. You cross two footbridges - both over dry stream-beds this time.

4. Go through a gap in the hedge, and turn right, crossing the field diagonally to the left to a gate in the opposite corner. Cross the minor road and walk along the farm track, continuing past the farm (Pytchley Lodge) which you pass on the left.

5. Continue for 400yards, ignoring a wide track to the right, until you reach a waymarker pointing right. Follow the path across the fields, over a footbridge and round to the left of abandoned Badsaddle Farm. Follow the grass bridleway to the left, which takes you down the right-hand side of Badsaddle Wood. Keep on through the welcome shade and you reach the A43 at a lay-by.

6. Go through the lay-by, turn left along the first wide track leading down the right hand-side of a large field. We couldn't see a sign post for this footpath. At the end of the field there is a cross-paths. You go ahead, turning slightly to the left, then joining a farm track - grassy rather than metalled. You cross a farm road, close to a pylon, and in the next field keep to the left, with trees on your left.

7. At the bottom of a slope, turn right for about 30 yards and cross a serious footbridge. Continue in the original direction, keeping the trees on your left. You walk along a bridleway between hedges ( a bit overgrown) until you reach a minor road (Orlingbury-Broughton). Cross the road.

8. Head slightly diagonally left to the hedge corner and carry on with the hedge on your left. In the next field, move away from the right hand edge, following the path through a dip and line of trees to a gate. Carry on through field to a gap in the hedge, and across another field of flax.
In a few days time, this may look like a lake from a distance .


You reach a stile just past some farm buildings.

9. Turn left through the small farmyard, and down a path between the house and a wall. You emerge at the corner of Butcher's Lane. Follow this to High Street, passing the primary school with its raised veg beds and mini-pond. Follow the High Street back to the Overstone Arms.

Once more, with thanks to Clive Brown's booklet Walking Close to the River Ise near Kettering.

In Arrears...

We are seriously in arrears thanking Oskar and Emerald for these amazingly wonderful awards. We apologize for our tardy and overdue thanks; to Emerald, for our Doggie Bloggie Award, and to Emerald AND Oskar for the Most Versatile Blogger Award. Huge Hugs to you both!!!!!

The Bloggie Doggie Award requires that we:

1. Thank the pupper that gave us the award and link back to them -

2. Name 10 things about us -

3. Pass this award on to 15 blogger pals (or not-yet-pals)

4. Comment on the blog award recipients

5. Heheh: Have fun!

So: what we are gonna do is have moi, Sammie, tell 5 things about me; then, Avalon will paw 5 things about her. Here goes:

1. Since Emerald told us we got this award cause we loves the water so much, I guess it's no secret that we adores swimming!

2. Most of my pals couldn't possibly know how much I loves foodables or even non-foodables.

3. And I can't imagine that y'all know how much I loves chasing my kong hehehe!

4. How many of you know that I have this propensity for eating poo? Especially horsie droppings?

5. I absolutely loves my Dad and am all over him when he gets home at night. (He always takes me for a walkie, which I adore.) And here's Avalon:

6. I like duckies.

7. I absolutely tutely am in loves with my sisfur, Sammie.

8. Good things happen when Ma puts us in the car.

9. I have a passion for and even know what the word, COOKIES, means.

10. I love my home and everything in it and that means Sammie, Mom and Dad.

And next, we are honored to accept this amazing award. We must:

1. Write 7 things about us - since we just told you lotsa stuff, we're going to embarrass Ma and have her do the telling hehehe!

2. Pass this award onto 15 blogger pals.

3. Link back to the givers of this award and comment on the Blog award recipients.

Okay... here goes...

1. I love being semi-retired!

2. I am horribly disorganized. Since I tend to procrastinate, this is definitely a problem.

3. Life here is very dog and grandchildren-centered, which makes life somewhat hectic at times!

4. The next year will have to be intensely focused as my husband is retiring in September , and we'll be making a lot of changes. You'll hear about it in the poor dogs' blog!

5. I am frustrated by not getting to our bloggie pals' posts as much as I'd wish - ironic how I take the pups out to play, take photos, and then race back to upload and blog, when I really should be doing the laundry or something.

6. I'm dying to find software for movies! That works!

7. Someday, I wanna unnderstand about Photoshop!

And that's it, kids! I'm gonna be a wimp and ask, PLEASE, that for anyones who do not have these awards to kindly take them and tell us a little bit about yourselves, your doggehs or your maiden aunt?? We love hearing about your foibles and loves!

It's the nights that kill you...

That seems to be the real problem with summer in Queensland, it's not the hot days (although today was alleged to have been 37 degrees C, I don't think it actually got there), it's the fact that the nights seem to be even hotter. The scary part is that I plan to do some long rides at night this summer in a bid to delay the (probably) inevitable onset of skin cancer. I just hope they aren't all like tonight, which actually seems to be hotter than the day was.
This morning I managed a relatively pleasant ride, actually the first day ride I've done at Austinville for ages. The great thing about the rainforest is it's ability to sap the heat from the air, and that stretch on the dirt road was very nice too. It continues to amaze me that I can do so many night rides to an area, yet it almost seems like a new ride if I do it in daylight.


As far as other news is concerned, I'm wondering just how many gridlocked cars I'm allowed to pass on my new ride to work before I'm legally compelled to yell out "Suckers!". I've heard a lot of people whining that the Gold Coast supposedly has the "worst" traffic congestion in the country, but I didn't believe them. I might have to reconsider after this week. That said, I don't expect anything effective to be done about it. People are still stuck in the old "simply build more roads" ways, which has been shown repeatedly to be a complete failure. I guess I'll just stick with enjoying the immunity that cycling gives me and ignore the whining.