Up to the Highest Height

I'm boring you again, sorry. 

This morning we rose slowly.  The kids had been teaching all night.  Boy from 12 til 6, and then a nap; J from 12 - 2, 4 - 5  8-9 or some assortment.   We time our rising so that they finish their classes down stair and transfer up to the upstair for the 9-1 shift, while we busy ourselves downstair. 

We had breakfast,and then headed out for shopping and a quick drone flight.   We had heard that kids were using a local field as a skating rink just now.  We don't have any of the snow, but is has been frosty for about 8 days straight. 

We drove past, and there they were.  No figure skating today - there were about 15 of them playing ice hockey. 

Cars were parked on the edge of the road so there really wasn't any where to park.  However, I had my sights on something else.   Along the smugglers trail there is a path past an old church yard, and on the opposite side of the road, a  puddle.  Well it started as a puddle - it's now a fully fledged pond, and it gets bigger each year.  

I thought it might be interesting from above.    It wasn't really  - all the wildlife is hiding.  Some days (in the old days when we travelled...) I could go past and there miight be up to 7 herons, and any number and assortment of ducks.   Nothing to day. Too cold for life. 

But next to where we parked, Crosbie Kirk 

The council are doing it up just now, and I was very pleased with my positioning, so that you didn't see the portaloo and the big piles of rubbish and portacabin which are sitting around the main entrance. 

I love the fact that the workmen are using two paths and never straying very far from them.   This is the first time I've seen inside the kirk. I've often stopped outside the walls of the graveyard - it's always locked, due I think, to the state of disrepair.   But I'll happily cultivate the daffodils and snowdrops around the grounds :-) 

I think this is going to be my modus operandii for the drone.  I'm going to look at things I can't see in because of (a) my short arse, or (b) because of locked gates and walls. 

(there's a big house behind the pond, where one of Ayrshire Lottery winners once lived.   It wasn't a successful house - the knocked down the brick wall you can see to the rear of the field, and replaced it with a wooden fence, and were told by the council to re-erect it, in brick.  While the council were examining the rebuild of the wall - they also noticed that they had erected sevel outhouses in the garden - all without planning permission.   Additionally they had the worst taste in Christmas Decorations I have ever seen.  this very beautiful secluded part of the town was lit up like Blackpool Prom from the start of December until New Year. Thankfully this year, with new owners, it was a far more subdued affair.