Blogging again! Hurrah!

It has been far too long without blogging. What’s been going on? What’s been stopping me?

Twitter. Twitter has a lot to answer for! I’ve never really had that much to say and it has become so much easier to do it in 140 characters or less than on this blog. Twitter has also opened up my world to things I have loved since I was a kid, but have never pursued. I have learned so much about wildlife and conservation and photography from people on Twitter, it has been quite wonderful. And as a digital marketer, if you’re not doing it or using it, then you don’t really know what you’re talking about!

Butterfly Conservation. Throughout last year I spent most weekends and quite a few summer evenings doing butterfly counts and sending in my data to my local Butterfly Conservation chapter. I also helped out with the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey as part of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) and put in and covered a transect near Denham in Buckinghamshire. I’ve always loved nature and animals and it’s great fun. But butterfly numbers are declining rapidly. Butterflies are a fantastic indicator of climate change, as they have short lifespans, are quite particular in terms of habitat, and therefore react quickly to changes in environment. It would be a pity if they died out, so hopefully my little bit helps.

Part-time Ranger. I have been helping out the rangers on Harmondsworth Moor, near where I used to work – all in the grand hope of learning as much as possible for a change of career in the future! So far, I have done a Reed Warbler survey, a Harvest Mouse nest survey, and some general manual work – removing a picnic bench damaged by vandals. I have also conducted a survey to check for the possible presence of the White-letter Hairstreak butterfly.

New Job. I started a new job early this year. I needed a change.  I am very happy now! Great job in a bigger company and such lovely people! I travel to Italy rather than Asia, but that’s ok. Hopefully I can make a move back to Asia with this company – it’s a part of the world I love and I know extremely well, especially in terms of digital marketing – fingers crossed.

New House. We had to move away from Windsor for the new job. We’re now in Sutton. However, we really don’t like Sutton, and with a baby on the way, we are going to move further out away from London. We will be moving to Horsham this summer!

Baby. Number One Son is on the way. We found out this week that it is a little boy. Yayoi and I will be meeting our son on 25th September this year – all being well. He should be on time – his father always is!

So, a lot has happened…

But with lots on the horizon this year, I will get back to blogging. It acts as a great diary to see what we did when, and that’s all I ever intended.

Unknown Spider

My first post since June. I have been very bad at updating the blog, for various reasons.

After wandering into Windsor to take a load of photos today, Yayoi and I discovered this spider on the way back.

I’d love to know what kind of spider it is, so let me know, if you know!

Snelsmore Common and Donnington Castle

Yayoi and I went for yet another one of our weekend walks away from Windsor back in April – I’ve only now got round to writing about it, as work has been keeping my mind busy with other things.

We went on a roundtrip starting at Snelsmore Common near Newbury, over the A34 to Donnington Castle, and then followed the River Lambourne through some pretty villages before heading back into Snelsmore Common again.

Snelsmore Common is an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), its importance being due to the wildlife inhabiting the common – ground-nesting birds, rugged heathland, and soggy bogs. It has been a country park since 1972 and has a load of Exmoor ponies roaming around!

Passing through Snelsmore Common – where it is very easy to get lost! – we headed towards Donnington Castle.

Donnington Castle was built in 1386 and famous for being involved in the Battle of Newbury and sieges during the English Civil War in the 17th Century.

There are some great views across the countryside and down to the River Lambourne from Donnington Castle. We followed the river back over the A34 and through some villages before returning to the car through Snelsmore Common once again.

It was really lovely walk and day out. Yayoi and I also managed to capture a few videos, which I will post soon.

The Vyne – National Trust

Yayoi and I took another daytrip from Windsor on 4th May – this time to The Vyne, a National Trust property near Basingstoke.

The Vyne is a Tudor house which was visited on a few occasions by Henry VIII.

The house was built in the 16th Century for William Sandys, Lord Chamberlain to Henry VIII. The estate was sold to a Chaloner Chute in the mid-17th Century and remained in the Chute family until it was given to the National Trust in the mid-20th Century.

You can of course explore the house, which has a magnificent Tudor chapel, but you can also walk around the lake and grounds, where you can see the Walled Garden and Summerhouse.

The weather was a bit overcast and windy on our visit, which was a shame, but the house inside is incredible, taking you back over 300 years!

Windsor – Long Walk, Pheasants, Deer, and Clouds in May

On 3rd May, another lovely Spring day took Yayoi and I out for a walk around our back garden of Windsor Great Park.

We ambled down the Long Walk within the Deer Park, taking photos as we went. As well as a few pheasant in the woods, we also took some photos of all the deer grouped together – we didn’t go any closer as they can be a bit dangerous at this time of year.

The sky was incredibly beautiful on that day and deserved some photos, too!

Windsor Great Park Butterflies – The Orange-tip

Another walk around Windsor Great Park, another butterfly.

People must be bored by now by my interest in butterflies. Without doubt, I am definitely in the wrong job and should be working with wildlife and nature!

Yayoi and I spotted an Orange-tip in early May. We’ve seen a few around recently.

Unfortunately the Orange-tip butterfly was closed most of the time and we couldn’t see it in its full glory. You can just see the orange poking out though – and it certainly was a hairy little fellow!

10th Wedding Anniversary Celebrations at Cornucopia in Windsor

Congratulations to the W’s on reaching their 10th wedding anniversary! We hope you have as much fun in the next ten!

We had a lovely meal out in Cornucopia in Windsor on Saturday to celebrate and much fun and wine was had by all the gang!

M&G – sorry you had to leave early before I took the photo. Do you want me to Photoshop you in?

Hughenden Manor – National Trust

I haven’t updated the blog for a while, having been busy with the new job. It’s like we haven’t been doing anything – which is not true at all! Lots of updates tom come this week!

At the start of May, Yayoi and I made a few daytrips away from Windsor, making full use of our National Trust membership.

On 2nd May we went to Hughenden Manor, in the Chilterns near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.

Hughenden Manor is the former home of Benjamin Disraeli, the famous politician in the time of Queen Victoria who went on to become prime minister. Disraeli and his wife came to live at Hughenden Manor in 1848 and he continued to live there until his death in 1881.

We had a lovely time exploring the house and gardens, which were full of pink, blue and white flowers.

Yayoi made a lovely picnic for the day, which we had outside in Hughenden Manor’s picnic orchard. Runner beans wrapped in bacon, tomatoes, tamago-yaki, chicken nuggets! Mmmm!

Hughenden Manor is well worth a visit if you have time. The house sits on top of a hill and the views of the countryside and the Chilterns are fabulous! If you’re lucky like us, you may even get to see some Red Kite!