Sunny

R and I played a blinder this morning. We'd been thinking of an early walk at Charlecote, but the estate flooded very badly a week ago and much of it is still closed for recovery, so we had to change our plans. Instead we went to Stratford, walked the river bank in glorious low-angled sunshine, had coffee, did excellent shopping (presents for a family member for R, and a shirt for me), admired the Food Festival stalls while they were still early-morning quiet, left town just as the weather was beginning to deteriorate, and arrived home very pleased with ourselves a little before noon.

*Polishes fingernails, looking smug*

As we arrived in town, south-side, we spotted a lone Tufted Duck off the Bancroft wharf on the other side of the river. I walked over the bridge and managed to get some photos of him, but the light was strong and slightly behind him, which didn't show him to good advantage. He was very nervy, and I even saw and heard him call, which is very unusual for a tuftie, so I was pretty sure he'd somehow fallen behind a group movement, and wouldn't hang around for long. Sure enough, when we returned to the river an hour later, he was gone. I hope he catches up with his flock.

Knowing as I took them that I was unlikely to be using my Tufted Duck photos, I'd checked out the Bancoft Basin as well, where there were several Black-headed Gulls floating about in the kind of reflections I can never resist. This one gets the nod tonight for being relatively subtle, the water reflecting sky, trees, and the murky paintwork of a barge on the far side of the Basin. 

My second image, though, is something else - and not necessarily in a good way - because the water is reflecting an inflatable plastic Santa, tied to the front of the barge. Please don't @ me, but I'm calling this It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....