More moors. 💚 Look at the light!

Been up the Usual Medium Sized Monday Night Hill, not the Summer Special Monday Night Hill. I've missed it, in all it's medium sized glory. 💚

That stray bit of the Peak District that lives in Oldham looking proper moody. 💚

Bit of Clough Porn from Dove Stone, if you like that sort of thing. 😁

Bell heather (erica cinerea), out well before the ling up at Dove Stone Moss. Lovely and vibrant on a grey day. #wildflowerhour

Bit of bog asphodel (narthecium ossifragum) for #wildflowerhour By Greenfield Brook, down at Dove Stone, Oldham way. Dipper on the rocks as well, but that moved too quick for a photo.😁

WhatsApping Mum, to ask if she's with the Other Side in Schismgate (she loves a Latin Mass) and also, does she want anything from M&S later. Priorities. 😁

Serena Williams is not *very* much younger than me and she's playing at Wimbledon against a 20 year old. And I'm in a small heap on the sofa after a quite energetic yoga class. 😁

Neat bit of stone step squeeze style stile for @lakesstiles.bsky.social Top of Pendle, hence the discarded bags, as water was passed and midges swiped.

Emerging from a hard day at the coalface* to discover we seem to have deified Andy Burnham. So that's nice. *Laptop

I have to go to London for two days next week (forecast: heatwave part 2, 32 degrees) and my colleague just told me he can't make it, as he's on holiday in Braemar that week. I have never felt a spike of envy so pure and furious. 😁

A #wildflowerhour variety. Marsh woundwort, tufted (?) vetch, yellow water lily, bramble and a yellow vetch to the left I wasn't close enough to be able to see properly. On the bank of the Leeds Liverpool Canal in West Lancs.

A belated aquatic entry for #wildflowerhor. Common Arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia), wonky photo taken from the kayak, Leeds Liverpool Canal in West Lancashire today.

Finally cooled down enough to go out for ice cream. 😁

We almost kayaked straight past this heron without noticing, he was so still and poised.

Right, that's quite enough of *outside* now. Mum offered me a glass of lemonade, rather than a cup of tea. Truly, it is the apocalypse.

Fresh, shiny witches for #FingerpostFriday Get your fresh shiny witches here! (Or by going left or right, as instructed).

Went for a run/walk at 6am, spotted a cat sunbathing on the roof of a car. We are all extras in a Tennessee Williams play now. 😂

Not sure if I'm working from home in Greater Manchester or an extra in a Tennessee Williams play at the moment.

Ogden Clough, auditioning to be the set for the Teletubbies.

Went up the hill to see if it was cooler on the top. It was! Lovely breeze, curlews, snipe, pipits, kestrels and a lone oystercatcher guarding the reservoir at the bottom. 💚

Oh God, it's too hot and I'm too busy for politics. Channelling thoughts of cool, wet grass.

Melilot being gloriously tall and yellow, from a west Lancashire rough verge for #wildflowerhour

Have been applying mist coating to the recently plastered living room. Actually slightly gutted my Friday morning yoga teacher didn't get to see the back bend I used to get to the trickier bit of the ceiling. 😁

Right. I am, sulkily and sufferingly, heading off to the Trafford Centre to spend my hard earned cash on summer office clothes (not technical clothing or poncy yoga leggings😥). Pray for me. At least there should be air con.

Best comment on the Makerfield bye election so far. 💚

Live WhatsApp updates from Mum today. She lives opposite a Makerfield polling station. "Lots of voting going on." 😂

That's half the nation popping out to do some gardening, then. 😂😂😂

Arrived home from a work event, glancedd at the football on the telly and said "what's CPV stand for then?" Now emotionally exhausted. 😂

As well as "see it, say it, sorted" we now have "stand back, stay safe" and I'd just like to politely request, if we have to do the alliteration, can we have a little break from s please???

My expression, facing Monday morning after a week off.

Been over to sunny Ramsbottom for dinner with friends. Actually was sunny, cracking drive back o'er the moors.

Been up to Mum's, working in her front garden whilst studiously ignoring passing Reform canvassers. Who studiously ignored me, probably because I wielding power tools next to her "Vote Andy" sign. 😁

You have to squint a bit to see it, but from the air, all the shiny tower blocks make Manchester look like a mad, modern stone circle.

Malmo's Twisted Torso building. Completely mad close up. Shouldn't be possible.

Oresund Bridge stuffs. 💙

I have been over the most amazing bridge in the world. 💙

Chairs and mushrooms at the Danish Architecture Museum. The mushrooms are the building materials of the future. As well as looking very lovely and frondy.

No matter which country you're in, the call of the 2p cascade cannot be resisted.

Traveled all the way to Copenhagen to be told to Visit Manchester. 😁

Spending my morning being lightly patronised by an excessively chirpy and rather useless Zara customer service bot. Considering just making all my own clothes from now on. How hard can it be??? 😁

Brown hare, pine marten, curlew, kingfisher, marsh fritillary, frog. 💚 Bet the bloody dolphin wins. 😁

I'm one word over my word count, so that's it, from now on Greater-Manchester is hyphenated. Sorry world (except Stockport). This is entirely why we should never have created devo areas.

Enticingly cool and green temperate rainforest-ish squeeze stile from Kentmere valley, for @lakesstiles.bsky.social

Startling and lovely Foxes and Cubs in Kentmere valley today for #wildflowerhour. From above photo as after 13 miles of hills I didn't fancy crouching down. 😁

When you rashly say to a friend "yeah, we should do Kentmere sometime" but she's the sort of person who sees 'sometime' as 'this week'. 😁

Several work calls already, mostly focused on whether the London lot (putting up with a hot commute for an air conditioned office) have it better than the regional lot (no commute, sweating it out with fans/wet towels/shut curtains at home.) There has been no decisive conclusion.

Still 26 degrees at 7pm, so took the kayak for a jaunt up a shady bit of the canal. Pink skies, a riot of cow parsley, gave some territorial swans a very wide berth.

Absolutely love this.

Enervate and effervesce. 💚