Shapwick Heath

Another rather gloomy day weather-wise with the threat of rain but, undaunted, we set off for a walk at the Shapwick Heath Nature Reserve after breakfast.

We walked a footpath we haven’t taken before into one of the remoter parts of the reserve to the hide which you can just make out on the far side of the lake, just above the clump of reeds in the middle of the photo, camouflaged by the trees behind it.

Typically, I hadn’t checked my camera battery before setting off and it ran out just as we got to the hide, so I missed the Great Egret that flew gracefully across the lake and the swans that laboured into the air shortly after.

People often think the Somerset Levels where we live are rather boring with the flat landscape, vast areas of reed beds and peat diggings but I love the peace and quiet of the reserve here, its big skies, vast stretches of water, gnarled waterlogged trees and the variety of bird life it harbours. That’s why I’ve tagged it for today’s Wide Wednesday Challenge - that, and the fact that Tess doesn’t like having her photo taken. Otherwise, of course, she’d be the subject of my blip!