FESTIVE SCENES

We had pre-Christmas power cuts:

On Christmas Eve, I collected a fallen holly sprig....please excuse disgusting window.....it has since been cleaned!:

Unfortunately, most of the berries on the tree had been blown off in the previous days' gales.

OB put out the traditional glass of whisky and a mince pie for Father Christmas, despite having not believed in him for two years. My mother told me he didn't exist from birth. Nice. 

Christmas day brought lovely presents, including 'London in a Matchbox' in OB's stocking. More fiddly to construct than you would believe:

The Christmas revolving chickens:

A Christmas day walk with the dogs:

It rained:

Trigger had his Christmas dinner (an apple and a carrot chopped into the usual). By the way, the bunting is there to try and stop him jumping the fence:

It snowed:

Jack is a hot dog and washing still needs to be dried, even on Christmas day:

Boxing day brought sunshine:

Some of the Christmas snow settled:

It rained.....again:

I can't resist a nice bunch of lichen:

There were icy puddles too:

The dogs had fun in the sun:

Ponies relaxed:

I'll be glad when everything gets back to normal to be honest. Until next time, here are Snippet and Jack looking like Cerberus minus a head.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Happy Christmas to you all and thank you so much for all your support, comments and effort following my blog over the last year. It's a pleasure and joy to know you all. Sorry I haven't been posting so regularly recently - things have been so busy here and the weather is appalling! We're flooded in today, with the lane impassable with a foot of water at least. We hope to get out tomorrow. Until next time, post Christmas I should think, here is Snippet in the snow from last year. xx

ARK REQUIRED

It really is very bad up here today. I have no pictures as no sooner is the door opened, everything is drenched. Luckily, I left Trigger here last night and intend leaving him here until the storm subsides. This morning, when I went out to feed him at 6.15am in the pitch dark, it was raining so hard and blowing such a gale, that I could hardly walk. I was wearing a head torch with my hood up and all I could see was beautifully illuminated raindrops, hurtling towards and into my eyes. It was so bad, I managed to overshoot the field gate, ending up in the top field closest to the open moor. The lane to our little hamlet is deep in water so driving in a normal car as treacherous. We had a load of wood delivered today and when the trailer tipped up, half a gallon of water poured out before the wood started to appear. There are dripping coats everywhere and the poor dogs have only had two sessions of stick throwing at the bottom of the drive where I could shelter behind the bridge over the stream out of the wind. I was going to park the car down there while the wood was delivered but I was worried it might get washed away....seriously. More forecast for tomorrow. Oh dear. I hope things are more clement wherever you are, but I fear a few of you are going through the same. So, the following pictures are from less torrential days since my last post. I managed a puddle for the first one, but, as I said, no chance of a camera surviving this. 

A bit wet here - the shape of things to come

Stone rows

We disturbed a sleeping foal

Foal/yearling number 3

Beautiful light

Happy dogs

Ponies on the move

The moorland side of the wall of the top field I was talking about

Now the big lower branches have been taken off the dangerous tree by the Orangutans, we can see our house when out walking! 

Hungry Chaffinch

Nervous Sparrow

Perfect Robin

I heard a review of 'The Great Train Robbery' on Radio 4 last night which said the first of the two films should be watched in conjunction with the second, despite there being an element of style over substance involved, even though they felt the second far superior. So, I'm sitting in front of it now and am already seeing what they mean. Far too glamourous including two near perfect Jaguar cars (OB would know what model they were) screeching away from a robbery. The lack of gritty reality in these things drives me mad. Ronnie Biggs' recent death was rather untimely. 

Our Tourettes party at the weekend went really well. OB really enjoyed it and it was great to talk to the other parents going through the same stuff. Good to talk to adults with it too, some of whom lead difficult but fairly normal lives, with jobs and partners. All the things we worry about for the future.

So, until next time, unless our internet connection has been washed away, here is a TERRIBLE picture in the dark, which I've tried to lighten rather clumsily, of Snippet in front of the Christmas tree. 

RETURN OF THE BIRDS

Firstly, Thank you so much to everyone who commented on the last post about OB's Tourettes. He was really touched and loved the idea of Internet Aunties. It feels so much better for me to have told you what has been troubling me for so long. It's incredibly helpful to know I can talk about it here rather than keep it all in. I really really appreciate it. 

Back to the birds. They've been absent for so long but are definitely back now all the berries have been eaten. So here is the Great Spotted Woodpecker (female):

Nuthatch:

Blackbird:

Chaffinch (male):

Robin:

Chaffinch (female):

Yesterday, on doctor's orders, I tried to really relax during my walk with the dogs, rather than rush it, worrying about, well, everything. I took a lot of pictures of the dogs and did as good a job of relaxation as I'm capable of at the moment. Snippet was less camera shy than he has been recently.

Doggy Twister

Morning sky

Fabulous Devil's Matchsticks

Not sure what this lichen is. I can't find it in my lovely, yet obviously not very comprehensive book. These next three are of Crottle or Cudbear Lichen, which covers so much of the rocks here:

My stick:

I loved the colour of this pony's mane:

Tomorrow, we are all going to our South West Tourettes Group Christmas party. OB loves to meet the other kids (all boys) who have the condition too. It can be quite stressful for us as we look into the face of the possible future with the older ones. Being very suggestible, OB picks up tics from the others. The whole thing is a kind of tic-sharing forum. Anyway, we are all taking something to eat and I made these biscuits....I fear Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry would have something derogatory to say about them. Not exactly a good or even bake!

After that embarrassing baking revelation, I had better get on with the wrapping of presents and final few cards. The tree is up and decorated but until the presents are all under it, I won't take a photo. So, until next time, have a lovely weekend and here are the dogs, lost on the grass.