Ice

Woke up to see the sun - luxuriated in bed for a bit and then got up so we could walk up to the local shops for some bread. The rain had melted most of the snow and it was a nice bright day.

When we got back I refilled the bird feeders and pottered round the garden a bit. This huge lump of ice had formed in the water feature by the pond. It was probably about 8 cm deep and had lots of pretty bubbles trapped in the thick ice. I added more kitchen scraps to my new compost bin and gave it all a good stir. Not sure that much is happening yet due to the cold conditions.

Went upstairs with the binoculars and sat by the bedroom window to do the RSPB garden bird watch. Saw quite a few different species -the black cap turned up along with a goldfinch, 4 greenfinches, a chaffinch, robin, dunnock, blackbird, woodpigeon, blue tit, great tit. collared dove and a couple of magpies. A cat patrolling the garden meant that there were some quiet bits in the hour-long count.

After lunch we tackled some cleaning jobs. Husband took downstairs while I tackled the bathroom. Listened to Animal Farm on the radio while I scrubbed the shower screen. You can see through it now - it won't last.....

Went out to a party in the evening and met up with lots of my old work colleagues. Some of them I haven't seen for a while and it was good to catch up with their news and find out how they are getting on with new jobs. We're hoping to meet up again in a couple of week's time to catch up and drink gin.