Heron a good time

Sorry about the terrible headline, I couldn't resist!

I've just been out for an early morning walk with Maddie along the river behind our house. The trees on the crags are a patchwork of autumnal shades and the first morning rays lit the whole scene golden.

Just as I was remarking to Maddie about how pretty it all looked, we saw a Heron circling the field around us. Around and around he went, huge wings stretched out and gliding silently through the air right above our heads.

"Wow!" I said.
"Yum!" Maddie said.

Then he came to settle on the ground right in front of us and watched us watching him. He was beautiful. We sat and looked at each other, not six feet between us, for about half an hour. He had no fear of me or the dog.

Eventually he disappeared back down to the river where his mate was watching too. Had this all been a flirty display to make her fall in love? I think it might have been. But it was wonderful all the same and I feel privileged to have been so close and been a part of their courting.

I never thought I'd be amazed by the nature in my own country, it's so easy to take it for granted when you see it every day, but this was truly awe inducing.

I'm sorry, I don't have a picture of the heron but here's one of Maddie instead.

One man's back yard is another man's paradise

Sometimes we take where we live for granted. We see it every day so we forget to notice how beautiful it is. We are so used to going on holiday and being amazed by The Great Wall of China or Mount Fuji, but some of the things we have right on our door step are pretty amazing too... we just stop noticing it because it's ordinary.

This is going to be a monthly series where I ask you, my readers, to tell us about where you live. I want you to go out there and open your eyes to what's in front of you. If someone was visiting you from another country, where would you take them? Not just the usual tourist interests, but your favourite places - that secret spot by the lake, that view of the whole city from a point where you walk your dog, or that park where the deer come and eat food from your hands.

Spread the word, tell your friends! I'd love to hear from people all over the world! Sell us your city!

I live in Sheffield, England. Sheffield is built on seven hills (you can't walk anywhere in Sheffield without it being up hill) and fed by five rivers including the River Don which flows past my house and caused the whole of Sheffield to flood three years ago. Not the first time Sheffield became an island, in 1864, the dam wall of one of our reservoirs burst causing the Great Sheffield Flood.

This is a park near my parents house, the water eventually covered the tops of the swings.

Picture from www.geograph.co.uk

61% of my city is trees - that's more trees per person than any other city in Europe! We also have more traffic lights than any other city in Europe but I wont dwell on that! 

Sheffield was once famous for its steel works. We had discovered a way of laying silver over copper (silver plating - known as Sheffield Plate) and a stronger quality of steel than ever made before (Sheffield Steel - check your cutlery!) During World War II, the rest of the country looked to our steel factories to produce weapons. As a result, Sheffield became a prime target for bombing raids. One particular raid in December 1940 (the Sheffield Blitz) left most of Sheffield flattened. Even now, it is not unusual for streets or shopping centres to be closed when workers discover undetonated WWII bombs buried deep underground in amongst electrical cabling and sewage pipes.

Sheffield recovered though, and came back better than ever.

In just a ten minute drive, you can go from busy town centre...

...to rolling green fields...

...to golden farm land...

...to reservoirs...

...to secluded woods with babbling brooks...

...and home to a pretty little village!

This is my back yard. I will talk more about what Sheffield has to offer in future posts.

I look forward to hearing from you about your hidden paradise!