Battling against the wind

The wind howled round the house last night, waking me several times, and it continued to blow a gale for much of the day. I woke with a headache and a runny nose - I think my listlessness over the past few days has been the onset of another cold, which seems to be going round the family. Both Ben and Alex have really sore throats again.

We cancelled our visit to Dorset tomorrow (due to a a combination of feeling below par and a forecast of rain), and then I spent much of the day report writing, with a bit of time in the garden with Pete removing more vegetation from the  fence line and making a start on tidying the greenhouse.  We gave up when it actually felt dangerous!

In the late afternoon I went for a brisk walk along the river, which almost had waves on it. I heard the kingfisher, but it stayed well away from me, but this heron was a little more obliging. It did have some trouble trying to fly into the wind. A shower blew in as I was heading back to the car, but not before I'd spotted a couple of sand martins over the Rowing Lake. They clearly think it's spring, even if it feels more like winter to me...