Thursday, and they predicted snow!

Touch wood, it hasn't come as yet, so I rather hope that it will remain on the East side of the Pennines for once. I think they have had a bad time over to the East, but all we had today was quite normal and rather wet rain.

I didn't post yesterday because I had a lot of other things to do, and I am rapidly running out of time today, so I thought that I must post something, just to show that I have not run away again.

I noticed that we had a new resident in the Close this morning, so I thought that I would introduce him to you. He's very quiet, but no trouble, so far. How long he will stay around the area I am not sure, but it could be anything from a day to a week I suppose. Here he is.

I suppose that he is called Frosty, but who cares really. I have not seen a full size snowman around here for a very long time. Considering that the two girls who live in this house are now in their late teens. Mind you, it was probably their Dad who made this. A hopeless romantic and a workaholic.

The other picture that I thought I might share with you shows the Dinting Viaduct from the footpath alongside the River. You can see the top part of what was once a mill pool for the Calicoe Printing Mill, but that was long, long, long before I moved here. It is now a repository for rusty old wheelbarrows and a handy place for the local Heron to keep his fish stocks. Some ducks live on here in the summer but at the moment it is frozen solid.

This is the river bank that has been declared out of bounds by the local foam manufacturing company. That company, I shall call them Joiners,  make foam for beds and things and are an American Company. There is an enormous piece of unused land that they own, but for many years has just been used by the dog walking community as a field where we can let the dogs run. A few weeks ago signs went up all over the place announcing that it was private land, dogs must be kept on their leads and such like. Today I could hear the sound of trees being felled. And all for what. No doubt they want to turn that field into yet another housing estate. Seventy years ago I am sure that the factory management could have handily found employment somewhere in central Europe.

Sometimes I am so glad that I am not young. The world that this is turning into is not one that I really want to belong to very much. Still, here is the second photo, and, with luck, I shall see you tomorrow.