In the pink

The last few days has seen a slight curbing of my activities, due to my careless use of a knife the tip of my left forefinger is no longer where it should be. For several days I had been working on a very pink hand bag and whilst cutting the final piece of leather I sliced off the tip of my finger and it's attached nail. Isn't it amazing how such a minor injury can have such a debilitating effect, although right handed, it would seem that my left forefinger is used for almost everything that I do. Any way, I did manage to complete the offending bag albeit somewhat more slowly than anticipated. I told you it was pink! The following day, a local farmer here, offered me three wood pigeons that he had shot as part of his pest control regime. Neither of us had eaten pigeon before so I jumped at the opportunity to try something different. I removed the breasts from the birds and diced them while Pat prepared the other ingredients before putting it all in the slow cooker. I have to say that it was both very tasty and very filling. I have tried a little fishing but again returned empty handed, I believe that during the recent cold snap, when the river froze over from bank to bank many of the fish left the small river here for the deeper water of the nearby river trent and as yet have failed to return. So, I'm afraid that's about it for now.

Warmth on my face

I like mornings, the quiet, the stillness, the solitude and yesterday while the world was rushing about to get to work I went for a walk accompanied by Meg and my camera. The temperature was -5C and our feet made soft crunching sounds as we walked across the grass. I have no idea how many photographs I took but here are a few. On our return to the truck the frost had begun to thaw as the sun climbed slowly higher and for the first time in months I could feel its gentle warmth on my face. For ten minutes or so, I sat on the step in the doorway and savoured this almost forgotten feeling before setting about a morning of domestic chores outside. The truck had its first wash for several months now that the water was not going to freeze before it hit the ground, Megs bedding was given a good airing and I fettled my fishing gear before going off in search of fish. No fish............but I really couldn't give a damn, it had been a lovely day and bringing it all to close was as dramatic a sunset as one could wish for.