I expect you guessed that we did go out again. If so, you were right. Tigger proposed walking along the New River, so that’s what we did. Well, we walked along a small part of it, as you will see.

Duncan Terrace Gardens

We started in Duncan Terrace Gardens, a location that will familiar to readers of this blog. The river, of course, runs underground in a culvert here, so you have to take my word for it that it does indeed exist.

A hoverfly on her finger

There were hoverflies in the gardens. We discovered long ago that these fascinating creatures, if you offer them a finger, can sometimes be persuaded to land on it. Here is a case in point. Why they are attracted to fingers, we do not know, but they are, though they don’t stay long. (Despite being striped like wasps, hoverflies don’t sting and are gentle creatures.)

Tree in blossom

Everywhere we looked there were flowers and trees in blossom. We walked through a landscape of beauty.

In the hollow of a tree

Nature is remarkable for the way organisms grow in apparently unsuitable environments. This dandelion, for example, is growing in a small hollow in a tree. I don’t know how it has managed to thrive but it has: it has a flower and so will produce seeds later. There is perhaps a lesson in that.

Squirrel

We came upon a couple of squirrels rooting about in the undergrowth. Though occupied with their own activities, they kept an eye on us just in case we had something to offer. While I took the above video, Tigger took these two photos with her better camera.

Squirrels
Photos by Tigger

Soft and fluffy in body they may be but squirrels are not so soft in character (they wouldn’t survive if they were) and these two, suddenly left off what they were doing to engage in a prolonged fight in a tree. We preferred to leave them to it and walk on…

Busy pigeons

Here is today’s pigeon picture. Well, you knew there would be one, didn’t you? 🙂

Admired but unknown

We admired these flowers but we don’t know their name.

Trees along the (invisible) river

The gardens end as an enclosed area and the covered river continues as a road-side verge but here too are some beautiful trees among which this mature yew is prominent.

Charles Lamb’s House

And, of course, we must always photograph the house of Charles Lamb!

Breaking for coffee

To continue our river walk, we had to take to walking along part of Essex Road. This is a less pleasant environment but did at least provide a chance for a coffee break!

Astey’s Row Rock Gardens

We could now enter the next part of the strip of gardens covering the New River, this part being called Astey’s Row Rock Gardens.

Rocks in the rock gardens

The garden is indeed full of rocks but they are artificial. What they are made of, though, I do not know.

Interlude for cat lovers

We spotted these two cats outside the house where they live. How do we know they live here? Because both evinced signs of wanting to be let in, especially the cat by the door who miaowed impatiently when anyone went by.

The river surfaces

Here at last, in case you were wondering whether I had made up a fictitious river, is proof that it actually exists. Here it runs on the surface for a certain distance before disappearing again. Notice how clean and transparent the water is.

Moorhen

The river is frequented by water fowl, some of whom have taken up residence, such as this moorhen.

We found an unoccupied bench and sat in the sun for a while, enjoying the sunshine and the scenery.

Pink blossom

I took this last photo of sunlit blossom as we left the gardens. From here, it was a short walk to rejoin Essex Road and find a bus stop.

Here comes the bus

We boarded a 73 bus, happily not too crowded, though we had to take a seat facing the rear. From that position, I took an over-the-shoulder photo.

Over my shoulder

The bus takes us to within a short walk from home where we made tea and Tigger produced a Simnel cake that she bought at Martyn’s in Muswell Hill yesterday. A good round-off for our outing!

It’s a sunny day today though still with a touch of chill on the air. As tomorrow’s forecast was less beguiling (though it seems to have improved in the meantime), we thought we would put off the shopping till then and enjoy the sunshine today.

Busy Chapel Market

We walked through to a busy Chapel Market, intending to buy a takeaway lunch (the only sort you can buy at present) and eat it in Culpeper Community Garden.

Many of the shops that are usually open on Sunday were closed, presumably because it is Easter Sunday.

Wenzel’s

Fortunately, we found Wenzel’s open and could buy some hot food items and coffee.

Impromptu self-portrait

On leaving the premises, I wanted to photograph the shop but this was a little difficult because I was carrying two cups of coffee in a cup holder and therefore hand only one hand free. My finger slipped, resulting in the above impromptu self-portrait!

We made our way to Culpeper Park, only to find that the Community Garden was closed. Looking around the park, we could see that the few benches were all occupied.

In view of this, Tigger proposed that we take our lunch home and eat it there, going out again later. It seemed the only reasonable solution, damp squib though it was, and that is what we did.

Will we go out again later? If will be sure to let you know!