Not everyone’s cup of tea I know but this looks like my idea of heaven. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/17783499...

Made a quilt for a WW2 plane enthusiast 😊

My little old man fast asleep in a sun puddle.

Morning dog walk. The sunshine and cloudless sky promise a later warmth that it is too early yet to feel. A grass verge is abundant with purple crocus, their vivid colour accentuated by the frost around them. I notice the roof of the building where the swifts nest and long for their return.

Morning dog walk. A thrush sits high in a leafless tree, its clear song carrying far across the town. The first of the blackthorn flowers bravely leads the way towards the profusion that will soon overwhelm the spiny branches. The swollen river speeds towards the falling spring tide in the bay.

Friends of ours flying to Australia tomorrow via Dubai. Or are they?!?!

My brother-in-law lives in Bahrain. There are no planes flying so he can’t get out. 😳

Postie’s been. I’m guessing this might be a bit of a harrowing read.

She’s not very well. Her IBD has flared up. One way and another she’s just not having a good week.

Morning dog walk. We walk a tree lined path to a symphony of birdsong, a welcome reminder that despite the dismal morning spring is approaching. The low cloud causes water droplets to hang from the branches and has obliterated the surrounding tree covered hills, isolating the town in a grey mist.

The gloomiest of gloomy mornings 🤨

There is an old man we often meet when out walking. He walks with a stick & always carries a shopping bag. Inside his shopper are 3 bags - one contains big dog biscuits for all the big dogs he meets on his travels, one contains small treats for all the little dogs he meets & one contains bird seed ❤️

Morning dog walk. Gulls on the river seem to sit in formation like a dance crew poised for the music to start. As we pass the baguette shop the animal lover behind the counter attracts my attention and mouths “Two minutes”. We wait by the door and she brings small fresh chicken pieces for my dog.

We have a vets appointment at 12-15. She is to have a Librella injection which always makes her scream and she has a lump on her head which I’m guessing might require a needle biopsy. She also has another health issue which may require a blood test. 3 needles in one appointment! 😱 I am dreading it

Couple in Sainsbury’s. He picks something out of the chiller. Her - “Oh I’ve got a thingy for that. When we get to the thing remind me I’ve got a thingy.“

Carlingwalk Loch

Morning dog walk. The song of the thrush combines with the sound of the river tumbling over the weir as if to awaken the town to this glorious winter morning. The much needed sun dazzles as we walk and the frosted surfaces sparkle, throwing off the stone grey dreariness of recent overcast days.

Morning.

Morning dog walk. As we walk down the river a dog walker on the opposite bank keeps pace with us. We meet on the footbridge as if doing mirror image walks. A garden we pass is suddenly noticeable as the splendour of new Rhododendron flowers brighten the dull morning. Rain begins as we near home.

I can actually see the sun and the sky! It isn’t overcast. It isn’t raining. It isn’t dismal. What’s going on?

Both happy in their own individual doggy way 🙄

Morning dog walk. A thrush sits high in the poplar by the supermarket & serenades the morning shoppers. Barely detectable drizzle dampens us as we walk. The river is low & slow & chuckles as it flows over its stony bed, its last raging flood forgotten except for testimony strewn along the bank.

Morning dog walk. As their owners stop to chat a young pup bounces excitedly at an old dog who wags an amiable greeting but declines the invitation to play. A man with a hand-held meter wades through the wintry river while his colleague stands on the bank directing a remote controlled device.

Morning dog walk. In a brisk wind the clouds move swiftly across the sky causing those of us beneath to be in intermittent sunshine & shade. At the stonemason’s yard a giant carved eagle lies supine, its history unknown. Its granite eyes are blind to the world around it, incongruous for an eagle.

Morning dog walk. My dog greets a friend with expectant glee & she obediently opens her backpack & brings out a chew stick. As I pause to look in the window of the canine rescue charity shop a volunteer nips out with a biscuit for my dog, who is increasingly pleased with how this walk is going.

I saw the rain dirty valley you saw Brigadoon I saw the croissant you saw the whole of Sassoon #NationalCroissantDay

Morning dog walk. The icy breeze and wintry drizzle stiffen my face as we walk. A pair of chaffinches, a blackbird and a collared dove sit harmoniously on separate branches of the same small tree while a Great tit calls nearby. Snowdrops, crocus and primroses bring spring to my neighbours garden.

Just seen this in a shop window. I’d have bought it but the shop was shut. ☹️

Morning dog walk. We head to the river, appreciating its varying but constant presence. As we pass the baguette shop my dog’s excitement at finding the door open is rewarded when a staff member comes to hand feed her chicken. Two crows dig into the carefully tended grass on the bowling green.

It is impossible not to be upset by what’s going on in Minnesota at the moment. But it’s equally impossible to look away. 😢

#BigGardenBirdWatch Robin 2 Coal tit 4 Chaffinch 4 Blackbird 2 Dunnock 2 Blue tit 3 Sparrow 6 Blackcap 2 Collared dove 2

Look what postie has brought me! Thank you so much to @biggreenbooks.bsky.social #BuyaStrangeraBookDay

Morning.

Morning dog walk. The river, refreshed & swollen by a day of rain, glides swiftly & cheerfully along its course. The heron sits in a tree on the bank & stares intently into the water. Conspicuous leaf buds on branches silhouetted against the sky are another welcome herald of the changing season.

Morning. It appears to have stopped raining.

I read a poem on here this morning about someone considering moving house. It was about the memories and their history in their current house. Now I can’t find it and I’ve no idea who posted it. Does anyone else know where I can find it?

I try my hardest to avoid the news and politics and all the arguing and misery but it seems it’s impossible lately to avoid Trump’s rambling madness. Could somebody please give him something shiny to play with for a while so we can all get a couple of days peace from it?

Morning dog walk. The dustbin lorry is parked up behind the bakery while its high vis crew sit cheerfully in the sunshine and eat breakfast. A skein of geese passes overhead, the birds flight brimming with noise and purpose. Someone has dressed the statues in the public garden in kilts.

@aim2gtc.bsky.social ManFlu replied to me 😂😂😂

@aim2gtc.bsky.social How’s the man flu today? Any better?

Morning dog walk. The river flows gently and peacefully, its banks strewn with stranded evidence of its recent flood. The first Great Tit of the year sits high in a tree, his call announcing the advance of the spring months. A single early flowering daffodil gleams from the damp, brown earth.

So we’ve made it to half way through January. Only another six months to go until it’s February.

Morning.

The first snowdrops 😊

The river, swollen with rain & snowmelt, has rampaged its way through the night leaving disarray in its wake. A tide line in the car park is evidence of its disorder, uncontrolled like a weekend city centre reveller. A young gull paddles through the residual flood water looking for a morning meal.

Morning dog walk. I wonder why a solitary long-tailed tit is companionless in a tree on the riverbank until I discover the rest of the flock nearby. Two dogs find their walks paused as their owners stand and discuss events in America. The sun’s effort to break through the cloud ends in failure.

Morning.

Morning dog walk. A dusting of snow brightens the mood of the dull morning and the whitened paths show evidence of earlier walkers. A heron lifts off from the riverbank with a raucous cry as if the day has suddenly displeased him. A cat sits on a front door step waiting for access to the warmth.

Morning.

Morning.