By Slanted Light

I'd half-convinced myself that it would pass us over and be all disappointing - but this is what I woke up to! I went straight out to take some pics with minimal footprints in them! *g*





The pics are all looking rather blue - I guess that was just the light this morning! And even though I watched it dripping off the fenceposts all afternoon, it stayed until it got dark - and it's supposed to get to about -5C tonight, so I'm guessing it'll still be there tomorrow morning (and icy...) as well. *g*

Not-birdwatching again yesterday...


I finally took my big camera out with me for a walk, hoping that I might come across some of the local wildlife again... and I did. *g* I've startled this deer into running away a few times now... and then we stand and watch each other for a little bit. I was a bit surprised to see her alone.

When I carried on down the track a bit I realised that her friend had just hung back for a while... ...and of course she too went bounding away! They're roe deer, I think, going by their rather distinctive bottoms - not quite sure about the evolutionary value of popping a bright white target right there, but hopefully it's working out for them! Roe deer are properly native to the British Isles, they've been here thousands of years...

When I looked up there were skeins of birds in flight... ...and looking down in the hedges there were sloes, more than I've ever seen before. I'm thinking of picking them and having a go at sloe gin... *g*

It's looking pretty wintry to me.

The deer hadn't gone too far, and I spotted them again on my way back.

And here is where I live - which I really am feeling quite lucky about in these days of "lockdown". ( Minor rant )

On the bright side, there's hope ahead with the vaccines being developed, and cross-fingers enough decent people in the world that they'll outweigh the others, although it does always seem to be quite the battle.

And Christmas is coming. *g*

1. ( The mould update )

2. I've been watching The Detectorists, which my brother recommended. I'd heard of it, but sort of connected it to The Office, which I didn't like (the connection is Mackenzie Crook, who was in The Office, but wrote, directed and is in Detectorists), and so ignored it really - but it's bloody brilliant, and I love it to death! It's a sharp but gentle comedy, filmed in a way that makes England look just amazing (probably because it was filmed in Suffolk, which I've always loved) and I keep putting it on repeat. I might also be eyeing up a new hobby... *g*

3. It's tax month. Queue dread-tummy and panic-face (well, ever since the returns were due back last April, to be honest...), but bravely sticking to my decision that if I had to be self-employed again, I'd get someone else to do them for me this time. So I did. Which was it's own panic-face, but... I'd massively massively over-estimated what I'd have to pay! I can afford to pay them! And deal with some other stuff! And... have enough to perhaps treat myself to a new hobby... *vbg*

4. Work continues blah, exam work is now contracted to continue blah, tutoring has vanished after all, and I'm still waiting to hear back about the food saving re-application.

5. I've started work on my Mt TBR for this year - Darkhaven by A.F.E. Smith, which I thought someone had recommended, but is actually signed to me by the author, suggesting that I gave into one of those author-tables somewhere... can't remember where... But it's good! I'm enjoying it, actually. Not that I'm signing up for Mt TBR or any reading challenges. I'm trying not to succumb to counting how many books I read this year...

6. And when I finally dragged myself out into the world today, this is what it looked like today!










And - and - I saw a kingfisher! My first kingfisher ever! The most gorgeous flash of blue, as it zipped around the Bishops Palace moat, and then went and sat on some greenery on the wall - me cursing that I'd not brought my proper camera. In fact I thought there were two, and apparently there are two there, so it might have been. A kingfisher! *g*

So really I should be saying less blah, and more don't-I-live-in-a-lovely-part-of-the-world... *g* In other news, we're down to -3C tonight, but sunshine is forecast again tomorrow!

I actually finished two day's work in one! It turned out to be the best assignment I've had for ages - straight-forward proofreading rather than secondary-translating, good English, written by people who know what they're talking about and how to say it - bliss! It was even kind of interesting - and there was mention of fanspace. *g* Thank you, writers! I can have my whole weekend after all! *g*

Last set of pics like this for a while though - the temperature was on the rise today. Below freezing still when I got up, and for most of the day, but then the trees began to drip, and now it's 5C above freezing. *sighs sadly* No more clear night sky either, it's all cloud. But I managed to nip out before that happened, so...




And - my flist is full of Pros-y gorgeousness, my dreamy Pros-y card is right in front of me (and I have time to email the artist now!), and - it's the weekend! *vbg* I've no idea what I'm going to do yet, but it's December, so it will involve Pros, and Christmas-y things, which is good. *g*

Happy weekend!

...weird weekend. It started well - will hopefully end well - but I went to bed at about 1am this morning and found myself awake around 2.30am and couldn't get back to sleep after that! I eventually gave up and got up and watched it get light, but now I'm sleepy and don't dare go to bed cos I won't sleep tonight. Ack!

I did go off for a wee wander yesterday though, to Stourhead, which was feeling very pagan in the winter light. There were giants of trees...
...and pools and groves...

( and grottos where lurked silent gods... )

It did, it did, it did! It was snowing before midnight, though when I had to wake up at 4am it'd stopped and all was hushed and covered...


( And then when I woke up in the daylight... )

So it's time for a cheerful-look-at-how-pretty-the-world-is type post after yesterday's whinge, I think - and it was also very much time to get out of the house for a wee bit today too, cos the home-hospital-home-dentist-home-hospital-home route is really kind of dull... *g* And as I was driving, even though it was to an old favourite place about 20 minutes away, I realised that it's been ages since I've been out! Well, by my standards, and London (cool as it is) notwithstanding. So - a picspam of winter in a garden of prettiness!

The Winter Walk, and my favourite copper birch...

( Bare branches and delicate blossoms... )

And then tonight has come the promised snow...

...and tomorrow will be beyond imagining.

Well it won't, I imagine it'll be pretty. And that there'll be more photos. *g*

Today's sunrise, courtesy of that nice man at the BBC who actually said it was likely to be very pretty this morning... *g* The moments I saw were definitely pretty, though I think yesterday's sunrise had the edge as far as colour went...

I got my car back yesterday, and she now seems to be going again as if there was no tomorrow (which I hope is not what I have to worry about when the MOT comes around!). Today's adventuresome lark is another trip to the dentist, although I'm not entirely sure that what she's going to fix did have anything to do with recent face-ache, which is mostly better now, phew... But she might as well fix it anyway, right? *sighs*

On the bright side, it means I finish work early, and I'm also not tutoring tonight, so there's potential for oooh, time off! If, that is, I can manage to proofread my way out the other side of this rather dense document... It should be quite interesting, but she's killing it quite well... *sighs*

Aaaaaaand... nope, I think that's me, procrastination over - dense document, here I come... *sighs more*

Oh dear - on re-reading this, I really don't have anything to complain about, do I? *g*