Spires

This view shows how the village sits at the boundary between two landscapes - the flat Vale of York and the undulating scarp of the Wolds.  This is the Park, maybe once a Deer Park, with standard trees, mostly planted perhaps in the 19th century, and where a number of chalk springs emerge and coalesce to form the beck that flows through the village.

The weather was changing as I descended the slope, and shortly after I got home there was a light fall of snow.  The last couple of freezing days have the advantage of freezing the mud on the scarp, and for once I didn't have muddy boots.

The Park is always a birdy place, today there were flocks of fiedfares and starlings feeding on the grassland in the sunlight, green woodpeckers were yaffling loudly, and a kite spiralled overhead.  Best of all, several agitated blackbirds led me to a hole in a mature tree, where a brief hoot confirmed the presence of a roosting tawny owl.

Back at base the builders were enduring the low temperatures as they continued the work of insulating the roof.  Within a week the windows and doors will be going in and anyone working inside will be very snug.  But now in the freezing cold, C was keeping them happy with a flow of tea, biscuits, scones and bacon buns.

I couldn't decide whether to blip the landscape format shot or the portrait format, so I've included the latter as an extra.