Week 64 21/04/2015 - No Memory and Gateways

Photo Blog Week 64 - Wed 21 April 2015

Back in the Park after a break to see family overseas and it is amazing how much green has appeared and specks of colour are appearing as yellow lesser celandine and white wood sorrel flowers emerge.

Photo-less  Patrol

Well, this is embarrassing. I may as well me honest as to why I have no patrol photographs to share with you this week. It seems that a Fuji Finepix S2400 still responds to the shutter button with a satisfying click even when the memory card has not been put back in!
A warning message is displayed in the view finder and I can only think that a combination of a very bright sunny day, my contact lenses which leave me needing reading glasses (which I was not wearing) for close work and chatting to Martin who I was giving a tour all conspired to me not noticing the message banner.

All the more annoying as I thought I had a few good photos of a group of Stags some with last year's antlers intact, some with new growth and one with a single antler. The Red Deer shed there antlers at this time and immediately commence growth of a new set ready for the rut in October/November.

Furniture Survey

I am currently helping out with photographing and GPS tagging all the gates, stiles etc in the Park and I did some, on a different camera, before and after my patrol so here are a few gateways with nice backgrounds on this lovely sunny day.

Looking into the formal gardens from in front of The Stables

Brilliant yellow is Forsythia

Old gateway looking out from the Orangery courtyard

 Gateway to the North Face of the House

 Millpond with Turtle Brew behind sign post

 Knightslow Wood at the head of Lyme Avenue

 One of three stone foot bridges in Knightslow Wood along Hampers Wood boundary

 Lower stock fence gateway on the Moor with Sponds Hill in the distance.

Gate removed to storage whilst there are no cattle on the Moor

 Stock fence middle gateway

The stock fence is for cattle management and runs parallel to and East of the Bowstonegate track

 Bowstonegate track entering Knightslow Wood

This was the film location for the Trespass scene in The Village

 Leaving Knightslow Wood and entering Drinkwater Meadow

Looking back to Drinkwater Meadow from the Main Car Park

Today's track and profile (Patrol, not Survey)

I also left my GPS behind in the car so this is retraced from memory.

total: 6.2 miles (10 km)  4 hr 30 min

This Time Last Year

Have a look at This Time Last Year  

Week 20 23/04/14 - Flowers and Threatening looking sheep

Week 63 01/04/2015 - Brief and Mainly Deer

Photo Blog Week 63 - Wed 1 April 2015

A brief one this week. I have been out and about in the Park on three separate days this week but I have not been in my normal patrolling mode.
I have volunteered to assist Ranger Jack on his project to locate, map, GPS tag, photograph and record the condition of all the gates, stiles and other 'furniture' throughout the Park. This work has rather taken my attention so the normal flow of photo's of the views has fallen by the wayside for now. It also takes time at each stop meaning that my overall distance is reduced.

On Wednesday however, I did make an effort to record a few photos and some items that attracted my attention at my "Wednesday Office". I hope you enjoy them.

Delta-Ged taking a break

My next 'Wednesday Office' post will be on or after Wednesday 22nd April. Thanks for reading, please come back again and, meanwhile, enjoy the Park without me.
If you suffer withdrawal, you can always take a look at This Time Last Year , or have a look at the Lyme Park Rangers Blog which Ranger Dan has just given a fresh look.

route: Main Car Park; Estate Office (in the House); Picnic Areas; Timberyard area; Main Drive; Cage Hill; Coalpit Wood; Eastlodge Track (inc' Cluse Hey and Deer Sanctuary edges); return via Nursery

Nature's Artwork: Fungal patterns on end of cut logs

This Corsican pine came down in the wind last year and these trunks are stacked for insects and animals to make them their home.

Red Deer

Sheltered yards from the main drive by a thick copse I came across this handsome group

The stags are losing their antlers now and these two are fine examples. They still have the gait, muscle structure and neck main clearly identifying them as Stags but stand out amongst their peers who have not yet shed their antlers.

Look closely at this stags head and you can see the 'pedicles', the lumps at which the antler was anchored to the skull.

 

The Cage on the hill above as I pass above the Deer

Ever suspicious

This stag still proudly displaying its antlers

  closer view of several without antlers and with tatty coats

Threatening clouds over Park Moor

Frogspawn in the stream by the East Lodge track

Today's track and profile

provided by runkeeper.com Android phone App.

total: 3.5 miles (5.66 km)  4 hr 45 min

This Time Last Year

Have a look at This Time Last Year  

Week 19 02/04/14 - Fallow Deer and Iranian New Year