Tumbling Bay, Flying Shoveler

On the way to Tumbling Bay I walked through a wooded area and was delighted to see and photograph a goldcrest and a treecreeper. I wanted to check out Tumbling Bay as smew sometimes frequent it in the winter and I've never seen or togged one before. I located and photographed a female but no showy males around. :(

The sun came out briefly and a pair of buzzards and a pair of red kites soared above the lake. The colourful reflections in the water were magical. Then the above shoveler took flight. On the way home I met Rosie the lab and her mistress collecting wood for the stove on their narrowboat. The woman's husband was taken into hospital with pneumonia on Christmas day and is slowly recovering. I hope she manages to get enough fuel to keep them warm in the cold weather that is forecast.

Today's poem is VII from Sonnets From The Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I sum it up as Love (And Laudanum) Changes Everything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnLE0N87T6k     Anyone who has been in love will identify with this rose-tinted view.

"The face of all the world is changed I think
Since first I heard the footsteps of thy soul"

EBB was bedridden in her darkened room when Robert Browning read her poetry and fell in love with her because of her writing even though they had never met. She eventually agreed to meet him, her health improved, they married and moved to sunny Italy.