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Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

Beautiful Ellesmere this morning, low sun and long shadows...

A wooden sculpture depicting the word "Sshhh" situated in a woodland clearing with blue sky behind the trees

A large tree within a woodland casting shadows over the leaf covered path. A dog walks along the path. There are bright green leaves on the trees contracting with the shadows.

Conkers and fallen horse chestnut leaves lie on the ground, the sun reflects off the conkers and highlights the golden orange colours in the leaves

Two swans, and other water fowl, on a still blue lake, a dark line of trees fringe the lake and above there is clear blue sky with silvery sunbeams which reflect on the water.

September 21, 2025 at 9:42 AM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

On the second week back at school, when youngest is at her most tired so far and the Arriva bus tracker app looks like this... Rural bus services are a joke.
Thankfully my elderly mother has been able to give them a lift.
@helenmorganlibdem.bsky.social

A screenshot of the Arriva bus app showing that that the bus due has been cancelled and the next bus that would get children to school is in nearly 2 hours.

September 11, 2025 at 7:34 AM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

My parents neighbour has just put up a flag... A Union Jack flag with "Stop the boats" written across it.
Feeling a bit sick right now 🤢

A union jack flag with "stop the boats" printed across it erected in a Shropshire village.

August 31, 2025 at 4:52 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

Ellesmere this morning. No further words necessary!
#lovewhereyoulive

The perfect reflection of the sun shining in a blue, almost cloudless sky. Reflected in a lake with a line of trees along the far side also reflected in the glassy still surface of the water.

March 16, 2025 at 10:03 AM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

Off to the office, it's not a bad commute!!!

A view of the River Dee, N.Wales, from the viaduct. Looking upstream, river centre foreground, bare trees on bank, sheep in field on right. Hills in background including Dinas Bran castle. Blue sky with clouds.

March 13, 2025 at 7:59 AM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

Today looked like this, it was a good day!
N.b. the pack is huge because she's training for her Silver D of E expedition

A person wearing a large blue backpack strides out across heather covered moorland. The heather is full coloured as it is early spring. There are mountains on the horizon. The sky is blue with whisky clouds in it.

March 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

What a fantastic day at the Bionet conference in Llandudno today. Such a great lineup of speakers, fantastic hosting from Venue Cymru and above all a fantastic sense of purpose from the amazing people in the room.

The screen on stage at the conference "Bionet. 2025 BIONET conference - connecting communities for people and nature." Also logos of among others Conwy Council, Flintshire Council, Denbighshire Council, Wrexham council, Welsh government

February 1, 2025 at 9:09 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

Youngest daughter decided the dog needed to be a sunflower, I don't know why but creating the sunflower has taken all evening and the dog tolerated it for enough seconds for me to snap a picture!!
#BorderColliesofBlueSky

A black and white border collie looking whimsically into the distance whilst wearing a sunflower design around her head.

January 15, 2025 at 7:49 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

In May 2024 we made it as far as Hay on Wye, three hard days of walking.
Today I have booked the accommodation needed to get us to the end. We will reach Sedbury on 30th May 2025. The girls will be 11 and 14.

A bench with a Trangia stove set up on a picnic bench in the foreground. Grass and a hedge then a small green tent. There is a hill in the background.

View of road into Hay on Wye with the gable end of a yellow building and a blue and white cloud sky.

January 12, 2025 at 1:33 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

On 2nd June 2021 my girls and I left Prestatyn on our first Offa's Dyke day, they were 7 and 10.
In August 2022 we reached the halfway mark. The switchbacks left their mark on eldest daughter's rapidly growing legs and she needed physio so we missed walking in 2023.

A woman and two girls sat on a concrete bench with blue sky.

A woman and two girls,looking hot and sunburnt, carrying backpacks. A parched grass hillside in the background and a wooden fingerpost pointing left and right. The sky is blue with white clouds.

January 12, 2025 at 1:33 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

On 1st January my girls and I started the @spinerace.bsky.social Virtual Spine Challenge.
Youngest is taking part in the Sprint which is 43 miles, eldest is doing the Challenger South which is 108 miles and I am doing the Challenger North which is 160 miles.

Grey sky and bare trees in the background behind a woman wearing a colourful knitted hat, a teen girl wearing a dark hat and blue waterproof coat, a younger girl with curly red hair wearing a purple waterproof coat. Everyone is smiling.

Blue sky over a viaduct with sunlight lighting up the arches, there is a canal alongside the viaduct, it is out of the sun but the canal is reflecting the blue sky.

The arm of a canal lock in the foreground with a canal stretching vertically in the centre of the picture. There is grass and winter trees on either side. The sky is white cloud with some blue sky showing.

A Trangia stove and kettle on grass and leave with a path and cloudy sky in the background.

January 11, 2025 at 7:38 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

Actual WhatsApp message from my Mum this morning.... A curious blend of the early 20th century and 2025...
N.b. the paraffin lamp is to stop everything freezing up...

A WhatsApp message: Morning. Can you pick up a bottle of paraffin for the lamp in the outside loo. Ta X

January 11, 2025 at 1:45 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

Thank you Theatre Severn, we had a ball! The perfect memory making Christmas gift for my parents.
#pantomime #sleepingbeauty #Shrewsbury

A brightly coloured stage filled with characters dressed largely in pink depicting the characters from Sleeping Beauty pantomime

A glitter ball mounted high in the ceiling of the theatre with light bouncing off it giving out beams and sparkles of light.

January 4, 2025 at 10:36 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

I can confirm that sailing on the Conwy River was rather chilly today 🥶🥶🥶 but I did it - to help Dad prove to himself that he was well enough to do it. There was nearly a mutiny though!!!!

The foreground is part of a sailing boat with a corner of sail in the top left, the water beyond is a muddy brown and has a shadow of the boat on it. The background is a thin line of land and dark clouds.

A blue sky with white clouds, a silhouette of a bumpy hilltop, muddy brown water and in the foreground the silver winch on a sail boat

January 3, 2025 at 7:58 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

I had a go (and didn't get called out for spying on my neighbour!!)

A dark night sky with a bright dot in the top right which I believe to be Venus in the centre is the moon which had a bright crescent to the bottom right quarter (about 1 - 7 on the clock face). There is the slight silhouette of a chimney in the foreground.

January 3, 2025 at 7:31 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

Well that's a lovely way to start the year!!! The best colours were earlier before we went out but we had a lot of fun on top of a hill whilst looking for the Aurora.

Dark sky with pink hues of aurora borealis

Dark sky with mainly pink hues of aurora borealis but also some green showing

Faint red aurora borealis with three people silhouetted against the sky

Night sky with spiral light in centre against a horizon

January 1, 2025 at 8:29 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

Today is a day to try out Christmas gifts...
Eldest daughter wanted a 65litre backpack so took that on a test expedition (walk) this morning.
Youngest daughter had a scooter and some Technic Lego both of which are being used today (not at the same time!)

Teenage girl with red hair, wearing black trousers, walking boots and a blue waterproof jacket faces away from the camera. She is wearing a blue Osprey backpack. She is stood on some tarmac with a large hedge alongside it and a garage in the distance.

Foreground has a child in a purple waterproof jacket with the hood up, black trousers with left shoulder towards camera and looking towards camera with a smile. They are stood with their left foot on a push along scooter and right hand holding the handlebars. The scooter is mainly black with bright pink on the wheels and bright turquoise on the handlebars. They are on a lane, with grass in the middle of the road. It is foggy. There is a dog in the distance.

Partially built Technic Lego model on a white table with a Christmas tree in the background.

December 27, 2024 at 3:37 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

Boxing Day walk and I end up working!!! Well just some quick record making using #INNSMapper of some suspected Knotweed. I'll pop back in spring to check.

December 26, 2024 at 3:21 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

One of my favourite Christmas things this year is the later morning walk which is giving me daylight and bird song.

A view of silhouetted trees and hedge line reflected in a pool. It is slightly misty. The sky has a bank of cloud at the horizon which is peach in colour, above that the sky is blue. This is also reflected in the pool.

December 26, 2024 at 10:29 AM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

After an afternoon at Powis Castle looking at their Dickens Christmas Carol offerings I came home to this in the post... I sense a theme this Christmas!!!
Thanks @shroppiemon.bsky.social

The cover of "A Christmas Carol Film Locations Stroll Six"
"A delightful way o'wondering the owd parts of Shropshire an' learning about our sebunctious county"
"www.memoriesofshropshire.co.uk"

December 21, 2024 at 9:30 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

We had a wonderful festive afternoon at Powis Castle. The castle is decorated with a Dickens Christmas Carol theme and after dark the courtyard is lit up with Christmas Carol images being projected onto the castle wall. Absolutely beautiful.

A short haired black and white border collie sat on a path with grass and trees immediately behind her and in the distance the red stone constructed Powis Castle sits against the sky

Looking up, at the bottom of the image is some green grass, then brick and windows of an orangery, above that is a terrace with a stone balustrade and yew trees then above that is the red stone of Powis castle with castellations framed against the sky

It is night time, the sky is dark. The building of Powis Castle is lit up with a projected image depicting the Ghost of Jacob Marley standing Ng over Scrooge from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

It is night time, the sky is dark. The building of Powis Castle is lit up with a projected image depicting an analogue clock

December 21, 2024 at 8:23 PM

Jen Heard

@jen-heard.bsky.social

After last week's "final" festive shopping trip being cancelled due to the storm I have made an attempt today instead. Abandoned the kids at the cinema and endured December shopping chaos. I deserve this hot chocolate.