The new arrival and a trip to Pershore.

Here is our nearest neighbour! The hen has hardly left the nest and it was quite by chance that my husband noticed this hefty fledgling sitting in the nest. One of the two eggs was broken so this is her 'one and only'. Someone suggested we should name the collared dove and my husband chose 'Dolly'. Our youngest daughter thought 'Ariel' or 'The Dove from Above' would be more appropriate! Perhaps Dolly's baby should be called Ariel - that would keep all parties happy. I love the way the sunlight coming through the mesh of the satellite dish has cast that speckled pattern on the birds feathers. It looks more like some sort of quail.

After doing our weekly shopping we drove to Pershore today. It was a glorious day and I couldn't resist a stroll through to the Abbey. The building on the right of this picture is not part of the Abbey itself.

Before the dissolution of the monasteries the Abbey complex would have filled most of the green open space in the photo above where you see those big trees. All that now remains is the current building which was saved and serves as the Parish Church.

The High Street is through the gates behind this quaint carved stone ...........

............. which looks like this on the other side. There were clumps and drifts of daffodils everywhere among the trees round the Abbey, and on the way through to the town this lovely bed of pansies looked gorgeous in the sunshine.

We usually have lunch in a cafe on the High Street but it was such a nice day we took sandwiches and picnicked by the river just outside the town.

Eyes left and you see the busy road bridge, built in Victorian times.

Eyes right and the view is this beautiful medieval bridge, now only used for foot traffic.

It looks even more medieval from the other side and quite different. There has been a crossing at this point since Saxon times - a wooden bridge came first, then in medieval times a stone bridge was built and probably widened and strengthened a little later. During the Civil War, fleeing troops damaged it to prevent their pursuers catching up with them. The repaired section can still be seen in the central span.

The willow trees were all coming into bloom with their golden catkins, birds were singing and the banks were carpeted with celandine.

I just had to take a picture of this tree that has had a branch removed some time ago. I was fascinated by the way the surface of the cut has cracked and the bark has formed a rugged frame round it.

There are usually dozens of ducks scrounging for crusts at this picnic area, but they were absent today - probably busy nesting somewhere along the bank. It made a change to be able to eat without an audience with little beady eyes and eager beaks.