Dogwood

I was fascinated by the brightly coloured dogwood bushes planted alongside the airport runway. With a clear blue sky, it seemed to make a rather good abstract - spoiled only, perhaps, by the perimeter fence. For some reason, it put me in mind of 'the most expensive photo ever sold', a photo of the River Rhine by Andreas Gursky (see HERE) which sold for $4.3 million in 2011, and which is now the second most expensive photo ever sold, having been beaten by the $6.5 million paid for a photo by Peter Lik in 2014. If anyone wants to offer me $2 million - a bargain price - for 'Dogwood', please get in touch!

Tarnfield Park

I don't know when they started calling it 'Tarnfield Park'; it's always been known locally as Yeadon Tarn. I haven't been there for a while and I'd forgotten how much higher up it is. Here in the valley the snow soon melted but up there it was still very icy. My walk was more of a slide and a slither on the icy paths, which had been tramped down and polished by many feet. It's a very popular spot with families and dog walkers, as the wide tarmac paths are usually good for kids' bikes, pushchairs and wheelchairs. Despite the cold, there were still plenty of people enjoying the mile or so circuit of the lake, which was almost completely frozen over.

The lake is normally used for watersports and one end has been developed into a small nature reserve with reedbeds and ponds.

It adjoins the Leeds-Bradford Airport main runway, so walks are enlivened by sightings of taxiing aircraft.

All the waterbirds were down at the far end, where there was a small area free of ice, perhaps due to its proximity to the town centre of Yeadon and the nearby buildings. Unless they were after the bread that people were throwing, the swans seemed to prefer standing on the ice to being immersed in the cold water. It's always comical to watch the ducks sliding about; they seem a bit puzzled by the ice.

Quack, quack, quack

These ducks were going quackers, paddling in the mud and play-fighting. The mud on the female's neck and back is the result of some amorous behaviour on the part of one of the males! Looks a bit smug now, doesn't he?!

My online photo group theme for May is 'Three' so this could well qualify as a possible entry.

Peerless pieris

It's a case of win some and lose some for the houses bordering Yeadon Tarn. Win because the setting is so attractive, looking out across the lake, lose because on the other side is the airport with its attendant traffic and noise. From a distance I thought this vibrant coral red was an azalea in bloom, but on closer inspection I realised it's a pieris and the red is the new leaves, not flowers. Glorious colour though.

Big bird

An added attraction to Yeadon Tarn is that it lies just at the edge of the runway for Leeds-Bradford airport. Seeing such big planes taking off and landing still gives me a mild thrill. I vividly recall standing by an airport perimeter fence with my dad when I was little, watching planes, in the days when it seemed unthinkable that we'd ever be able to travel in one. I think Leeds-Bradford airport is probably busier with holiday flights in the mornings and early evenings. There were only two large aircraft landed in the hour or two that I was there, though a few smaller planes were whizzing about too. They don't seem to bother the wildlife.