Sometimes The Magic Works ........

…… and sometimes it pokes you in the eye.
I was just about finished typing todays entry here and the whole damned lot vanished …… again!

So ….. let me try again.

I picked up the infrared camera this morning so most of my pictures are in black and white with a couple being left with the 'false colour' to get the benefit of the blue skies.

I ignored PD's pleas for a short walk, which is just as well because I would have missed my main Blip shot which I really like.

There was a tree downed by the wind last night and  is going to act as a bit of a dam in the stream as it collects all the debris but I can't see it causing too much of a problem for quite some time. This one has been down for quite a time but seems to have moved a bit (no idea how).
I couldn't see anything on the screen when I took this - I was just going by how much flare there was. The 'ice crystals' are actually moss.

After passing The peeled tree (I suspect it was hit by lightening in its younger days which caused the bark and sapwood to explode leaving it looking like a half peeled orange) I came across this poor fellow. Last night's high winds were obviously too much for him in what was, I believe, his diseased state. He has been snapped at about 10' - 12' off the ground and was one of the beech avenue trees planted on the access to the manor house which puts him about 200 years old.
Such a sad end.

I nipped out to see our local councillor (head of the council now) at his surgery this evening about the environmental vandalism by the mountain bikers (since I never got a response to my e-mail …. which he wasn't happy about). It turns out that they were aware of it (he didn't say how they became aware) and are already taking steps to rectify it. That might account for the 4 workers having a fly fag and coffee I passed nearby this morning.

SWMBO still hasn't reached vertical and up until a short time ago had had a couple of mouthfuls of tea and a slice of toast spread over 48 hours. However, when I got back from seeing the Councillor, she did ask for a couple of bits of bacon and an egg followed by a couple of spoonsful of ice-cream so I think she is on the mend.