Fence

A pretty horrible day with snow, sleet, and hail this morning. But in a bright patch just after lunch I took myself off to the pond at Wester Craigs. Just a pleasant small pond witha few ducks and a pet cemetery and a tree carving. There's also an old cemetery where "unclaimed" inmates of the old Craig Dunain hospital were buried. But new since my last visit is this fence - I think it's a monstrosity. There are a number of nesting boxes (for birds) in the trees and also some feeders (birds and red squirrels?). So the holes are for viewing. I preferred things as they used to be - it's not as if this screen is a small part of a much larger lake. To my mind it takes away a lot of the charm. It's also a sign of how environmentalists are managing the outdoor experience and letting us know the experts are in charge. On the left of the screen you can see a notice which warns people that they are on 24 hour CCTV. Which perhaps means they were able to seize the miscreants who carved their initials on a nearby tree as young lovers have done for generations (LK, AK, JK, TMK, TM, and DK you'd better watch out for the knock on the door. We know who you are). Wasn't it 1984 where not even the woods proved to be beyond the reach of Big Brother? Next time I go I may find the screen is all round with a notice saying you have to go round widdershins. And all visitors would have to watch birds and other wildlife in a controlled way. Just my rant for today. After going round the pond went a few hundred yards down the road to have a look at the old hospital (it was a psychiatric asylum) and see how the conversion to luxury flats is progressing. At which point it started to snow again so beat a hasty retreat.