Autumn In The Park

After a deluge of rain on Friday and Saturday, it was good to be able to get out and about on Sunday. It was a beautiful, mild morning, so we decided to take Archie to Temple Newsam for his morning walk.

Many people had the same idea as us, there were lots of people there, and it didn't help that half the car park which we usually use was closed off as it was being used by outside broadcast lorries. There wasn't any filming happening whilst we were there, but it meant that we had to use a different car park. It gave us a chance to see an area of Temple Newsam we usually miss. We started off walking up the tree lined path.

Football matches were taking place. I thank my lucky stars that Daniel's game was cricket rather than football, altogether more civilised playing in summer. I'd have hated standing on the touchline in wintery weather.

Temple Newsam has a totally different feel to it now that most of the leaves have fallen from the trees. It's usually so green but the browns of winter are now showing through.

By now we had walked to the area we're more familiar with. The lawn in front of the house was totally empty, you wouldn't think there were so many people there enjoying a Sunday morning stroll.

Some trees were making an attempt to hang on to some of their leaves. One gust of wind and I think this one will be devoid of its summer foliage.

There's some beautiful autumn colours to be found, but I feel that autumn is giving way to winter now and most of the vibrant shades are becoming more muted.

There seems to be berries wherever you look. A sign of a harsh winter perhaps.

The lake is as pretty as a picture no matter what season it is. The mix of trees around the lake creates interest with their different colours, textures and shapes.

A quick walk through the woods and we were back to the car park. Needless to say, Archie had managed to find every puddle, and there were many of them after all the rain of the previous two days. He was content to sleep the rest of the day away.

We, on the other hand, arrived home to find that Eleanor had somehow managed to drop her phone down the toilet. What she was doing with it in the bathroom is anyone's guess. It was no surprise that the phone was ruined so we made a quick dash to Tesco so she could buy a new one. Heaven forbid that she should wait until Christmas for a replacement. How on Earth would she survive for six weeks without a phone? Could she have an early Christmas present was her plea, but it fell on deaf ears. If she's silly enough to take a phone in the bathroom then she has to suffer the consequences. Her bank balance is now a little lighter.