PEAR TREE LOG

pear tree log: I started this blog to keep my younger son, Jonny, in touch with life in Lincolnshire, while he spent a year working in China. That year turned into five! Now he is home and training to become a physics teacher. This is simply a patchwork quilt of some of the things I enjoy - life in rural Lincolnshire, our animals, friends, architecture, books, the gardens, and things of passing interest.



Friday 26 July 2013

Claythorpe Watermill

We live within a few hundred yards of the watermill but
I have never paid my fee and gone inside for a proper look around.     
 Instead I have been like a child 
standing with my nose pressed against a sweetie shop window, 
as I stood on the bridge outside 
and looked in.


When I am rubbernecking
I sometimes take so long
that Toby dog stands up on his back legs 
to peer over the bridge
eager to see what has caught my attention.

It is beautiful.


The watermill has recently been sold.
The new people very generously dropped off cards
to all the local villagers,
inviting us to call in and visit
for free!
That was an offer I couldn't refuse,
especially as it has coincided with Jonathan's holiday
at home.


It is no longer a working mill, alas.
However, there is a very nice bygones area.
The grounds are beautiful,
but the main attraction is the wildfowl
and animals.


Peacocks and other ornamental birds roam free
and look spectacular.
On more than one occasion they have called in to visit Pear Tree Log gardens.
Their keeper has had to come along on a motor scooter
to shepherd them back up the road.
It is amazingly effective
and great fun to watch.



Ming Ming certainly gave her camera a work-out!


When we reached this section I had to smile.
For a couple of years I was convinced that there was a pink flamingo
in the grounds because I could see one as
I walked the dogs past the trout farm.
Then I decided that it had to be a plastic one,
because it never seemed to move.
I felt a bit of a twit for having been fooled by it...


Dreadful photograph, for which I apologise, but can you see the flamingo?
It turns out that I was right first time round
it is alive and doing very nicely indeed!


Again, this photograph doesn't do this very handsome bird justice,
he is gorgeous!


We enjoyed coffee and cakes in here,
one of two beautiful tea rooms.
The great news is that our free ticket gains us admission for one whole year!


The only down-side, for me, is that there are birds, including Snowy Owls, caged in small aviaries.
There are two wallabies in a compound
and a pair of marmoset monkeys.

I have no doubt that they are all beautifully cared for,
but it is not how they should live.
That part upset me deeply.

I will reserve judgement until I see what the new people do to enrich their quality of life.

We have Jonny and Ming Ming with us for a few more days.
The weather has been superb, for the main part.
I will post about the tea ceremony and show you some of the wonderful
meals which Ming Ming has cooked
at a later date.

Thank you all for your comments, they are very much appreciated.
I know Ming Ming enjoys reading them too
(so does Jonny)
just don't tell him that I told you.
x

7 comments:

  1. Oooooooh,a peek at the Mill.I feel like I've been in the secret garden! Like you, I would be upset at animals in cages. We have Snowy owls here,they are the only diurnal owl and should be running across a snowy landscape in pursuit of a mouse!
    Jane x

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  2. What a lovely place to visit. Can you hear the peacocks from your place? I know they can be very loud and annoying. The fancy chicken was just beautiful. I've become very fond of chickens now that the neighbor's hens drop by occasionally from the other side of the wooded lot. They are so dedicated to finding out what is just beneath the surface of the soil. I'm glad you're having such a nice time with your son and Ming Ming.

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  3. It's all so lovely. Do you suppose the animals came with the mill and are there making the best of the rest of their lives.

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  4. Such a lovely visit to the mill . . . the birds were gorgeous. Not a fan of the cages though . . . Happy you are enjoying your Jonny and Ming Ming . . . a special time indeed.

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  5. On rare occasions when I ask myself what I would liked to have done instead of painting, the answer usually comes back as Miller and Baker. A lovely old water mill with its own bakery.... what a life.

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  6. It sounds like a lovely place to visit, but, I would also be upset about the cages.

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  7. Sounds and looks like a lovely visit. Glad you got to see inside at last! xx

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