The Japanese Garden

It's almost exactly four years since our first visit to the Japanese Garden at Cowden and I took almost the same photographs.

The newt showed up, damselflies and froglets all in seasonal activity, the waterlilies their spectacular best and the sun and cloud illuminated all in their own way. But neither goldfish nor leaches were seen, compared with last time.

The bridge features in many photos, frequently with people walking across - today I was lucky to have it to myself, though the garden was quite busy. This was taken from the north shore of the pond.

The cuteness factor was provided by Dabchick (aka Little Grebe) chicks following the adult, which dived and appeared somewhere else entirely, so much peeping and dashing about ensued. See extra for full cuteness.

The early rain came to nothing and we were able to cover the whole site with waterproofs firmly stuffed into our backpacks.