Kew - almost sunny

 It was much milder today which made a change and there was even a hint of blue sky and sun...

the bedding is starting to grow too in the Palm House parterre beds

as we came in, we were told the Princess of Wales conservatory is closed (for the orchid installation)

the statue on the corner of the  path in front of the Palm House was looking decidedly under the weather and rusty!

we headed round the back of the Palm House towards the lake first off 

more patches of blue! (not in the forecast but definitely  not complaining)

the clouds behind the trees though make it look like a black and white photo.  love it.

we were pleased to see our friend the heron at the lake, he's been missing a couple of weeks 

he moved to in front of the benches

this crow was sitting on the top of the bench Kim was on..

as we approached the lake crossing, the two swans swam from under the bridge and headed past us to where we'd be sat on the benches!

they were so serene.  

crossing the lake, I noticed 3 gulls in a row on the posts

I had to make sure I moved the phone to my right hand pocket in case it fell out into the lake as I was leaning....

the swans had climbed out of the lake and onto the side 

photo-bombed by a gull! 

the other side of the lake 

reflections

we walked up the other side of the lake towards the woodland.  I stopped to change lenses and the coots thought i was getting food so were pecking at my bag on the bench!

Kim was ahead of me so I didn't know she'd caught them   the coots are getting under my feet

two Egyptian geese and a load of pigeons followed us along the path towards the woodland

we were delighted to find Goldie, the golden pheasant when we got there.

he was dashing about from under the trees, on and off the benches, across the path and all over...

he had a good look at Kim changing her lens..

the tits were busy too,  and a robin but I didn't get a good pic of him 

parakeets, too 

Goldie in the undergrowth again

after Goldie left, we headed back towards the Pavilion restaurant for our drink.

this lovely bench needs a good clean, it's covered in muddy bits of greenery so no sitting down 

there were lots of crows around (Kim had monkey nuts)

and even after they were all gone they still followed us

it had got a bit more cloudy again now 

but it wasn't cold so we sat outside 

I had hot chocolate again.  after I drank it I ate the frothy layer with the spoon!  

as we came out of the loo Kim had noticed the reflections and made me go back... should have stood right in the doorway and did a "Harry Worth"  (showing my age here... unless you're as old as me you won't know what I mean!) 

then it was the short walk to the Temperate House 

there were a lot more flowers out on the African Hemp

the tubs of narcissus in the middle were more open too 

we didn't think the pineapple had grown at all ...

but the jasmine up the pillar in the final section was stunning and you could smell it from the previous room

we walked round to the Davies Exploration house as Kim wanted to go back to the lake to see if the swans were still there

my favourite daisy is back flowering, hurrah

on our way back to the lake just before the treetop walkway we saw some large groups of snowdrops under some trees 

so we went mud gathering on our boots to see closer

also some crocus - Spring definitely on the way! 

there were a few people at the top of the walkway but we didn't join them

no sign of the swans on the water, but gulls on the posts again

this feather was clinging to the branch on a dogwood at the far side of the lake

the heron was still there though 

we headed back along the grass (gathering more mud)  to the Palm House

trying to wash some of the mud off in a puddle...

 I headed home 

Kim carried on a bit, and saw several cormorants on the Palm House pond, shame I hadn't stayed!

thanks for looking - see you next week (bring your brolly, I think we'll need them)