Beauty and the beastly

Hut steps installed first thing... Tough working with bare hands and metal when the air temperature is close to zero.
By the time we were finished the sun had made an appearance and we fancied a takeaway lunch, so we headed in the direction of a most favourite place.
Sadly others had also had the same idea, I've never seen Mardale so packed with the road double parked in many a place. I was glad we'd not gone in the van as it would have struggled, an emergency vehicle would have no chance. There were far far more cars than there are local people....
But.
Haweswater was looking utterly resplendent in its autumn colours. The waters are exceptionally high with many trees stranded a ways from the shore. We wandered round to Riggindale, Missy a riot of activity in and out of the bracken, impossible not to be infected by her sheer exuberance and joy. On the way back we popped into the Rigg, always an atmospheric place to explore... When we emerged from the trees the sky had turned grey but it mattered not one jot.