Cock Robin and Balancing for Pleasure

I’m beginning to wonder whether perhaps I should write my posts, forget them for a couple of days and then edit them before posting. The problem is that I’m usually at least a couple of days behind as it is, but at least I might be less inclined to inexplicably omit details that seemed interesting at the time.

For instance, the heron that we watched on New Year’s Day that was behaving quite strangely for a heron. It was beside the stream that flows into the Kent at New Barns, cutting a deep channel in the mud as it does so. Because of the depth of that channel the heron was well hidden from the group of walkers which were on the bank, seemingly very close by. It’s pose suggested that it was hunkered down beside the bank, sheltering from the biting cold. It was occasionally craning it’s neck in a kind of ‘up periscope’ manoeuvre to peek at the walkers, but it didn’t do what I would expect a heron to do with walkers close by and fly away.

Much less timid than herons are robins which can be positively brazen in their self confidence.

This one was by the entrance to the cafe at New Barns, which on New Year’s day was closed.

When we finished our walk the tide was rolling in up the estuary, bringing lots of the ice from the sands back in with it. The icy wasn’t floating, but bobbed, rolled, sank, popped up again edge on – moved with the currents.

Another suggestion for Idle Pleasures Two….

Balancing on Things – free, fun and environmentally sound.

Arnside Knot from the Kent estuary.