A weekend at home in beautiful Helmshore. I had a few walks around Musbury with Pepper, with the main one on Saturday morning.
The deer sightings over the last few weeks have been few. As we move into May, the does are calving so perhaps they are moving further onto the moors, away from the footpaths.
I was not expecting to see any on the walk, when Pepper went into hunting mode and alerted saw these 3. A beautiful Roebuck and 2 does, but these are first sightings I have had for some time.
It was also fairly quiet for birds this week. The breeding season is in progress, and the birds are much busier and less likely to pose for pictures. The warmer weather has caused the trees to unfurl their leaves, so taking good pictures is become challenging as the birds flit amongst the foliage!
I did capture both a wheatear and a stonechat out in the open on the side of Musbury Tor.
Further down the valley, a pair of Jays were active in the trees and a lone swallow was also waiting on the lines for its friends to arrive for the summer!
The fields below Kiln Field Farm also delighted me by putting out their new kids! These ginger beauties provided great entertainment as they pronked around the grass, butting heads!
Sunday was a family day and we hosted afternoon tea at home. I spent the morning making bagels, scones and a lemon Madeira cake. It was all a great success and enjoyed by all. I ate far too much!
If you like to bake, I recommend trying your own bagels. They are so much nicer than supermarket ones; slightly sweet and a more chewy texture!
I use Dan Stevens recipe from River Cottage bread handbook. I can’t find the recipe online, but this is the book:
So, a quiet week for wildlife and the van has had the weekend off. But we return to normal next week, with a trip to Kestrel Lodge at Bassenthwaite for some water sports, cycling and walking with friends.
Have a great week and I’ll be back with some more wildlife pictures next week ❤️
A Dull Woman's Van Life 
Leave a comment