Parklife

I met my brother, sister-in-law and nephew in the park today for some fun and photos. He had a great time roaring around the place and playing on everything.

Autumn colours

I went to Harcourt Arboretum this afternoon to try and catch some of the beautiful changing colours of Autumn. There are some beautiful acers there, whose rich red foliage catches the light just wonderfully at this time of year.

Some pictures:

A bright autumn afternoon

The weather was miserable on Sunday morning - grey skies, and rain drizzling down all morning. By the afternoon, though, the sun was out and the countryside was bathed in that gorgeous, warm autumn light. I thought I'd make the most of it and head up to a local spot, Brill Hill, where there's a recently restored windmill and beautiful views over the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire countryside.

Blenheim Horse Trials

This weekend, the Blenheim International Horse Trials were being held just up the road from me. I love horse riding, and although I don't have the time or money to keep it up myself anymore, I love going along to events like this where you can watch the top event riders in the world compete in the beautiful setting of Blenheim Palace.

Usually the cross country takes place on the Saturday, with the showjumping finale on the Sunday, but this year there was additional cross country on the Sunday, which I went along for. It worked out well as there were hardly any crowds and a bit more going on to see.

Here are some of the pictures from the day.

A very photogenic young man

I was looking after my nephew yesterday and took the opportunity to get a few snaps in whilst he played in the garden.

Luckily for me, he's happy enough to pose and give me a quick smile!

Oxford Botanic Gardens

Summer here has been a bit of a washout so far, but yesterday we had a bit of sun, so I went to the Botanic Gardens to make the most out of it and to get some photos.
I could have spent all day there; it was so tranquil and beautiful, especially in the summer sun. Here are some of the pictures I took...

Goodbye Mogalina

My beloved tabby cat, Mogalina passed away today.

I've had her since I was 16 when she turned up as a stray at the vets where my mum worked at the time. She has had a lot of health problems over the last couple of years. Her achilles tendons on both legs were damaged and she was on medication for an overactive thyroid gland. Still, she was always happy and content so long as she had somewhere to sprawl out in the sun.

Last week she didn't come home, and after days of searching for her, I got a call from the vets this afternoon saying she'd been brought in after being hit by a car and unfortunately she didn't make it. I don't know where she's been for the last few days, but she was found quite far across town. It's not in her nature to stray far from home, so I guess something wasn't quite right with her.

Whatever happened, my Mogslie will be very much missed. Goodbye Mogalina x