Rodley seen from Framilode church

I made my first trip to Glouceter today to buy some fresh tofu, and took the opportunity of stocking up on Indian supplies as well, so we have lots of poppadums again. The tofu came from and Chinese emporium and they had hot red chilli paste, several types of soy sauce as well as my favourite Thai sweet chilli sauce in large quantities. Culinary life may now return to normal.

I drove down the A38, tasking the long route home, to go down to the banks of the River Severn at Epney, as I wanted to let my eyes gaze over the wide waters. I watched the martins skimming the insects from above the water and the went to watch them flying in and out of their nest under the eaves of the church spire at Framilode.

I walked along the bank for a short way but because of the very tall reeds and grasses I had limited views across the river. But I did find one narrow trail, probably made by fishermen which took me down to the edge of the tidal muds. As I stood looking through the gap two Little Egrets flew across the river and landed on the sand bank opposite. On the left there is also a gull. I think this is a classic view of the landscape around here and looks particularly lovely at the moment, with the herd of cows in the rich verdant fields and dotted trees marking the remains of old hedges.