OLYMPIC BELLS

St Mary's Church from across the Mere

Friday 27th July 2012.
08:12a.m.

Stood mereside, listening to the bells of St Mary's joining in with the 3 minutes of bell ringing to celebrate the start of the Olympics.......wonderful!

Rest in Peace Gerald

Gerald Ledson sadly passed away at the end of June and today his funeral has been held.

Gerald was a regular fixture at the mere, walking his beloved dogs without fail - rain or shine. Always with a cheery smile and a chat, caring about the wildlife (he once gave me £5 towards grain for the swans in winter) - he was a gentle man and a good man.

'bye Gerald, we shall miss you....

Baby Coot



Feed  me mum

 Just thought I would share this moment with you. The young coot was being very demanding and both parents were doing their best to keep up the constant food supply. (Note his rather large feet)

Blue Green Algae

Blue Green Algae at Mere edge

Some of the meres suffer from toxic blue green algae and Ellesmere is one of them. This is naturally occurring but can be toxic to people and pets. Despite there being several signs displayed around the mere (and the appearance of the water being very off putting) I often see people happily allowing their dogs to drink.
Please be aware that the algae can cause skin and eye irritations and severe stomach upsets. I realise that many people have swum in the mere during these "blooms" without any harm - but I also know of dogs being prescribed strong antibiotics for extended periods after drinking the water. Last year there were canine deaths in the Lake District as several lakes there have similar outbreaks so do take care where the water looks like the above photo.

Sleepy cygnet gets a lift

Sleepy baby gets a lift

"Fip" with her 3 babies

As Margaret Thatcher once said "we are a grandmother". I feel that I am one now as Fip & Jordan have brought their cygnets across to the busy side of the mere, for us all to dutifully admire. This is the first year that either of these swans has mated and so I am delighted that they have been successfull in nesting and hatching these 3 beauties. If all 3 can live to maturity it will be a great acheivment for them and bodes well for future years.
As it is a long swim for little legs, Fip carried the babies across the mere safely on her back, letting them off once she reached the promenade. One baby decided that he/she had a nice warm bed and wasn't hungry enough to get off..eventually there was a forceful ejection and 3 little ones dutifully followed mum through the water...wonderful sight.

Democracy Rules?



View of cleared land from park sculpture




The Mere - taken from fenceline of proposed building land

 However you feel about the proposed house building on the land which edges both the cemetary and the park...do try and get to the council meeting on Wednesday night.
Make your voice heard!
It's going to be a VERY interesting night!