Day 97 - Face Mask

In the preparation for returning to the office, I got a face mask. It makes me look more like Sub Zero from Mortal Kombat, but, I guess they are not fashionable items!

Also sporting longer hair!

Day 96 - Big Leaves

We went for another, lovely yet sweaty, walk today. For some reason these massive leaves caught my attention.

They were huge, at least the size of my arm. Lovely nature!

Day 95 - Goose

Angry Goose spotted on our walk. Well maybe he wasn't angry, but certainly very loud!

Day 94 - Monday, and.... a Crayfish?

Monday is back, and the weather is hot!

So we of course went for a walk during my lunch break.

But what was unusual about today was finding this guy next to the river in the nature reserve. Not quite what we expected!

A Crayfish!

Yup, definitely a Crayfish, after a quick Google it appears they have released them into the rivers here as they used to be prolific in this region and they are trying to recover the numbers. Sadly this little guy was not alive when we found it on the bank.

Day 93 - Still Hot

Lovely day in the house/garden chilling out. We watched a bit of TV, did  walk to the park, and just generally relaxed in the sun for most of the day.

Great way to relax before having to go back to work tomorrow, home office still.

Day 92 - Kayaking!

We went kayaking on the river Hamble, and it was lovely. Great weather, great views, and very athletic!

I didn't take many pictures, as phones and rivers don't mix that well, but here's a shot on the water enjoying the sun!

It was a lovely day, we'll definitely be doing it again.

Day 91 - Weather

Rain stops play.

It's still really hot and muggy, but also raining, so we can't go kayaking. So they've moved it to Saturday instead. Works for us!

This is what the cats do on wet days. Sleep.

A quick walk in the rain, and a photo of a rose.

Day 90 - Big Walk

We took the kids out for a 7 mile walk on the Wessex Ridgeway.

My wife and I have been walking the Ridgeway for years slowly doing each one in sections of 6 to 16 miles at a time. This was one of the smaller sections, and with new camel packs for the kids they had water available.

Here's a selection of the many images I took:

We came across a cress farm.

Watched a tractor taking some chalk to a dumping area.

Someone tried to stop the deer eating their fruits with this sign. Wonder if it works?

A view across the countryside.

Lovely walk through the corn fields.

This little guy came to sit on my sandwich box.

A daytime red spotted moth.

Cows! Moo!

Dogs and livestock don't mix!

Rolling hills.

Village pond.

And a huge dandelion blower!

Day 89 - Days Off

I have Wednesday to Friday off this week using up some old time in lieu from a US trip earlier in the year (pre/start of COVID).

Unfortunately today the weather was really bad! So we watched another space movie, this time, Gravity!

Not as good as The Martian, but still a good watch.

Day 88 - Toy Fort

So my youngest created a fort out of the storage boxes and toys around the room.

So the things designed to make everything clean and tidy, are in fact now the messiest bit!

Day 87 - Monday, and a Walk

So it sounds like we are going back to work on the 1st of July. The government guidance is not to do this, yet, but maybe by the 1st the restrictions will have lessened? It's been a good ride, despite the reasons, I guess it had to end at some point.

Either way, a lovely walk today.

Here's a walk down a country road.

And some lovely horses!

Day 86 - Sunday Walk to Town

And a very lovely Sunday, and walk it was too!

Here we have the lovely Romsey Abbey, you still can't go inside yet due to COVID, but can enjoy the outside of it.

This is the school house next to the Abbey.

A shot down the canal/river on our walk back home.

And a shot of the water running under a bridge we walk through.

Day 85 - Mother inlaws Birthday

Due to the reduced lock down rules we were able to sit in the garden of my mother in-law and enjoy cake and drinks for her birthday.

The weather was lovely, and it was nice to see and sit with real people, even at a distance!

Plus the cake had bees on it!

Day 84 - The Martian

The kids are big into space at the moment, so Netflix to the rescue, despite some swears, and a little bit of gore, the kids loved The Martian. It is an excellent movie!

Love it!

Day 83 - Rain

Well it had to happen at some point, it's still super warm, but it's raining!!

Look, rain!!

Day 82 - Geese

We did the same walk as yesterday, and got to see the geese today!

Always nice to see.

Day 81 - Weather Holds

While the weather remains good, it's time for another walk!

Todays walk: A horse and bird having a chat.

Day 80 - Beers!

Shopping day, and some amazing beers were purchased. I am far too excited!

I can can confirm that they are definitely fruity!

Day 79 - Close Ups

Another lovely day, I decided to take some macro photography of some insects in the garden.

Just passing the front door, the sunlight coming through the glass made a nice rainbow effect.

Close up of a hover fly in the garden.

And a fly, green bottle?

Day 78 - Saturday Walk Time

We went for a massive walk, so I apologise, this will be a massive post!

First this funghi!

There was a memorial on the walk, this is where a German plane crashed during the war. The local residents built the memorial.

I just found this framed really well.

A close up of the corn field.

There was this memorial for a horse!

A close up for the text, you can read it if you enlarge.

A lovely view across the landscape.

And a triple helicopter seed.

Day 77 - Hanging Basket

Garden centres are open again, so my wife made a visit and got the hanging basket back up!

Looks great!

In terms of lock down, things are easing slightly, we'll just have to wait and see how this goes. However, working from home has been fantastic, despite the situation, more time with my family, better mental health, better way of life overall. It's just been lovely to be in a situation of calm, while also being very productive!