We were very pleased to be in Parkham for 5th November and to have avoided the noisy fireworks back in the Midlands, which make for an unsettling evening when you have pets. The fireworks that can be bought in shops seem to have got much bigger and louder over the years. When our children were young we always had a firework party and our pets, although shut in the house did not take much notice. Happily this year in Parkham we did not hear a single firework!
When the weather outside was not very inviting, morning coffee and afternoon tea with friends becomes the order of the day along with the cakes, biscuits and scones that necessarily go with them.
We had several good walks at Skern where there were more over-wintering wading birds. Other than the easy to spot oyster catchers and occasional curlew I do struggle to identify other species without binoculars and guide book to hand. It's what comes of spending most of my life inland. On one occasion I did spot a greenshank but other birds went unidentified.
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| 2 photos looking in different directions along the estuary at Skern |
Walking around the village one morning we were surprised to be confronted by a sheep feeding quite happily in a friend's garden. By the time we had tried to alert the farmer whose field backs onto the house the sheep had returned of its volition. All part of the life in rural Devon!
Progress is being made on building new houses in the village next to the Allardice Hall. Whilst there is some sadness at seeing a building site where there used to be a field of grazing sheep it must be good for the village to provide new homes for families bringing children to the school, new members to village organisations and new users for village facilities .
We arrived back in the Midlands to some very rainy weather and understand that it has been even worse in Devon so perhaps we got the timing right on this occasion.
