Today Thelma & I ventured over to Staffordshire, to walk along the canal there (and do 7 geocaches!) We visited 2 canals - the Staffs & Worcs Canal which was lively & thriving and the the Hatherton canal which is not navigable and a bit unloved - but it was on this second canal that we saw most wildlife.
Today's photo is this butterfly - which amazingly stayed still long enough for me to capture this shot. 
I was really after a photo of a heron which we saw - but he kept tantalising us, because as soon as we got close to him he would fly away, about a 50 feet along the canal as if to say - 'see if you can get me here' and of course I never did - this is the best shot of him - with T's back taking up most of the shot!
This is the difference in the two canals - this one above is the one left to nature and the one below left to humans! Both equally as nice in their own way.
Today's photo is this butterfly - which amazingly stayed still long enough for me to capture this shot. I was really after a photo of a heron which we saw - but he kept tantalising us, because as soon as we got close to him he would fly away, about a 50 feet along the canal as if to say - 'see if you can get me here' and of course I never did - this is the best shot of him - with T's back taking up most of the shot!This is the difference in the two canals - this one above is the one left to nature and the one below left to humans! Both equally as nice in their own way.There was plenty of other wildlife to see - a field of bullocks - he looks cute here - but wasn't so when the whole herd were charging around the field!
I really like this shot of a dried thistle - but I need it the other way for my POTD
and this way does not look as impressive.
Today we visited Nant yr Arian and what a fantastic place it was. There were lovely long walks through the forest - some with great views over the valley right down to the coast. But the highlight of the day was the feeding of the Red Kites at 15.00hrs. We were having lunch on the cafe balcony when we saw the first birds starting to arrive at about 1/2 hour before feeding time.
By 3 the sky was full of the birds - it was a fantastic sight and my photos don't do it justice.
When the warden threw down the food at 3 they dived and swooped and it was quite a spectacle to behold. Red Kites were nearly hunted out to extinction in the 1900's as the Victorians thought they were vermin, but thanks to preservation methods and schemes like this in Wales - they are making quite a dramatic return.
The forest really encourages visitors, with excellent parking, food, cycle trails and these lovely sculptures dotted about the place. We are definitely going to return to explore it further.
Even the smaller birds are spoilt - the warden says this giant bird feeder gets through 3kg of bird food a day - it was covered with smaller birds having their lunch all the time we were eating our lunch!
I have never been to a deserted village before and I am sure that without geocaching I never would have done. There was a long steep walk up a rocky track to get to it - but what a treat lay in store for me when I arrived. I was able to walk around the old deserted & tumble down homes and imagine how the workers here used to live. Their houses were very small - just a tiny square room with a large fire place. I expect the winters were pretty harsh up here 100 years ago.
And there were even the remains of the outside loos!
Its quite sad to think that a village & community can just vanish - leaving behind just rubble.
But this deserted village has a secret - 
