Perched...

Another quiet grey November day, that started with fog and scarcely brightened at all...

After nearly missing the train last Monday, Alex and I set off for the station a little earlier. Of course there was no hectic crush today, and the ticket was purchased in time to for him catch the earlier train, which I assumed was standing on the normal platform. It was only when I was leaving the station that I realised I had confidently told him to get on the London train, which doesn't stop anywhere else. By that time, the doors were shut and he was on his way - he hadn't noticed it was the wrong train, being half asleep!!

Fortunately he's a very laid back soul and took an upbeat view of his unexpected 'adventure'. They didn't check his ticket on the train, and he managed to persuade the middle-aged lady at the barrier at King's Cross to let him through without paying any excess. He then purchased a ticket to Biggleswade, got a taxi from the station to college and only arrived a few minutes late!

Pete and I have spent the whole of the day cleaning and re-organising our living room, to make me a proper working area. We've managed to get rid of some more clutter, and though it's still a work in progress, it's beginning to look good. After lunch I escaped for an hour's dog walk along the river, where the whole world felt dank.

There were lots more hammock-webs all over the vegetation, and a few new fungi, including a clump of shaggy pholiota. But I liked the stillness of this female mallard, perched on a branch so that you can see her amazing orange feet. Ducks so often get overlooked in favour of the showy drakes, but I think they are equally beautiful, though in a more subtle way.