George the Teenager

Well, its been thirteen years in the making but the day arrived on the 8th August this year. (I'm a little bit late with this post!).  My first born's first born became a teenager!  Surely, it hasn't been thirteen years since the apple of  my eye entered the world!

But yep, it has.  Look at him.  He is a teenager.  Look at those beautiful big green eyes.

Look at that cheeky smile.

And look how handsome he is with that dimple in his chin.

Even so, he's still just a kid to me.  It doesn't matter that he's as tall, if not taller, than I am. He's getting taller by the day too. I don't reach down to give give him a hug any more.  His arms don't go round my middle any more.  They go over my shoulders now.  

 The first of my three little treasures and I love him to bits and always will.  Full stop.

Blackberrying Along by the Canal

A couple of weeks ago now, during our walks along the local canal William had commented several times on how many blackberries there were on this stretch of the canal and that we needed to pick some.  He's partial you see to apple and blackberry pie and crumble.  So we decided we'd go blackberrying and after telling Charlie what rich pickings there would be he was up for it and eager to come with us and find himself some whoppers.

However, Charlie's excitement was short-lived and disappointment was beginning to set in. He wanted to fill his tub in the first few minutes but we had some walking to do before we would find any worth picking.

It took just a little bit of encouragement for him to carry on...

...and it wasn't long before he found a few of those wanted whoppers

Soon it was going well and the tubs began to fill up.

Unfortunately blackberrying isn't without its hazards.  At one stage Charlie reached into and under a bush and stuck his hand into a pile of nettles.  Ouch!

The fluffy clouds reflected on the water were picture perfect I thought.

  

Still going well.  I think this photo looks very autumnal.

Billy's tub was practically overflowing!  I have to say he collected the most.

On the way back now but it's difficult to stop picking blackberries once you start.  There's always just another bunch of them that catches your eye.

And one last whopper.  Look at this one, grandad!

Lots of Canada Geese.  There's always a gaggle of them here.

Halfway back to the car and a little breather was taken.  This is one of those photos that just pleases me.  Don't know why in particular that it pleases me.  It just does.

A couple of days later I made the pie and the crumble and there's still half a tub of blackberries in the freezer.