Schmaltzy Cute Stuff to Look At

The summer just keeps on producing wonderful weather, sunshine and blues skies a plenty over the last three or so weeks which has been a welcome boost....I'm sure the gardeners would disagree however as we're experiencing the driest start to the year since 1929 and flowers and grasses are looking a bit yellowed, shriveled and weary...wouldn't be at all surprised if the hosepipe bans, common in the 80's and 90's returned with a vengeance.  Both Wimbledon and the Glastonbury music festival, know notoriously for the wet weather, have been baking. 

I have been out an about a few times, though not so much with the long walks yet, other stuff has been taking a priority.  I'm still sorting through some pictures taken on a recent coastal walk but until then how about some cute fluffy things to 'Oooo' and 'Ahhh' at.

The Donkeys up the road have been at it again and produced the cutest little foal, this time in brown

It's mother was being very protective and wouldn't bring the littl'un that close, thank god for the zoom lens

And what kind of visitor would I be if I didn't bring some slices of apple for this rabid bunch of asses.

Then on the walk back past the duck pond I spotted this large family of mum and 12 ducklings

 Now this looks like one harassed mama, as all 12 babies decided to huddle under her feathers

Doing the Tourist Thing

The utterly perfect summer weather today permitted some touristy behaviour at a local hot spot, which I have often gazed upon on bus and train journeys but never actually visited due to the extortionate entry fee.  Arundel Castle is a few miles away and situated in the rolling Sussex hills and the gardens are vastly cheaper than the entry for the actual Castle (which to be honest when you've seen one antique table and a bunch of tapestries you've seen 'em all) so this is where I spent the morning exploring:

I have been to Arundel many times over the years, it is a very scenic place to visit but trying to find a quiet, secluded spot in the town is a little problematic during the summer months.

This part was by far my favourite part of the gardens and, until 2008, was a car park!

And of course a Castle's grounds wouldn't be complete without a Chapel, though I did have a creeped out/Doctor Who moment at the marble monuments...mum and dad were fascinated by the intricate detail in the carvings...I was arming myself with a sonic screwdriver and a banana!

Acting 101 from Captain Tight Pants

Found this on Youtube and had to share, number 3 is my personal favourite

All Change

Unfortunately my laptop chose a very inappropriate time to go bugger up.  Fortunately it was only the screen and not the hard drive. Unfortunately laptops are rather pricey,  Fortunately it happened to go bugger up at a Bank Holiday weekend and there were offers a plenty.  Unfortunately it was a Bank Holiday weekend and going to crowded shopping centres is not my idea of fun.  Fortunately a spanking new and outrageously large Best Buy had just opened nearby and in a under an hour of checking out brands and avoiding dodgy salesmen, a shiny new Widescreen HD Dell Inspiron 1564 i3 250GB processor with windows 7 was mine...all mine.  And thus my old laptop of the last five years...with around 50 years worth of use...after being picked for usable parts, is on it's way to the dump.

And now for something cute and informative:

Wandering the Witterings

All of a sudden it's hotter than Cairo, so the beach has been a prominent feature of my weekend.  I, unlike many, chose not to venture into the water as the temperature is somewhere in the 12 degrees region and I prefer life without hypothermia ta very much.

The Witterings west of Bognor is a haven for sun worshippers, beach lovers and wildlife twitchers and is home to East Head, a sand dune spit which covers 10 hectares of land.  Today it looked pretty much like paradise in the sun.

Not the kind of beach normally associated with these parts....

Alas not my handiwork but pretty apt considering our neck of the wood has been hotter than most of the tourist hotspots

Something Cute to Start off the Week

As it says on the tin & I'm sleepy just watching these guys:

Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.

More Bluebells

Just adding a few further piccies of the bluebell wood, which looked rather picturesque yesterday.

On Hiatus....Funny Video on standby

Bluebells at Slindon

A bank holiday is imminent, which means an inevitable end to the very pleasant spring weather we've recently been enjoying.  A little jaunt to some local woodland provided a nice little walk and prudee scenery.