Cheeky Heron

I did something new yesterday.  I met with a group of strangers to join a walking buddies group. There are so many beautiful walks close by but I don't have the confidence to go walking through woods alone.  Luckily the group of people I met feel exactly the same. 

Seven of us turned up to walk together.  The problem from the outset was that three members of the group (including the organiser) wanted to walk in order to keep fit so they walked at a fast pace.  The other three members of the group moved a lot slower, meandering and taking in the scenery.  I was a bit like piggy in the middle wanting to keep up with the front runners but wanting to get to know the ones at the back and take some photos and observe nature too.   I think next time I go (Sunday mornings) I will hang around with the ones at the back. The aim is to walk about 5 miles but I still have a 2 mile walk back to home!  I shall be either very fit or very worn out by Christmas if I keep it up!

After I parted from the group I took the chance to take some photos.  As I was about to take a photo of the lake a heron* swooped down and landed on an object on the island.  It was quite comical how he stared me out showing me the vast expanse of his wings.   He gave me a front view, a back view and even a profile!  He was determined to photo bomb what ever I was trying to take a picture of.

* The heron can be seen right in the middle of the picture.