Happy Monday

The start of another week, and our eldest daughter arrives home today for a week's holiday, so that will be lovely.  Middle daughter has excitedly gone to her Good New Job and I am so pleased for her.  We saw our son at the weekend and they will all be here for the mass dental appt. on Wednesday.  Wish she DID come to the house, but T will want to go round allthe charity shops in Llandeilo, so that saves us a seperate trip. 

Possible snow is forecast for tonight.  Deep joy.  Yet it feels very mild out right now and room temps are up to a high of 15 degrees pre heating.  With heating they struggle to make an extra degree, but we have to ration the heating oil and have very little very dry wood - it is still trying to dry out from last summer . . .

I spent several very happy hours reading and note-taking on Edward Thomas's walks and exploits.  Since my husband was busy watching rugby all Saturday afternoon, this was a pleasure even more gratefully taken.  Someone had written that he walked "on the edge of consciousness".  In my work on him, I would say that it was closer to the edge of sanity . . .  Thelma - your McFarlane book is a joy.  I will HAVE to get my own copy, though hardback rather than Kindle, which was my initial thought, as it's £9.99 on Kindle and £12.50 or so on Amazon in hardback.  I loved McFarlane's take on Thomas's emotional constipation and how Helen's selfless incorruptable love brought out the worst in him - seemingly tempting him to greater and greater emotional browbeating of her in an attempt to break her love - since the more she loved him, the deeper the guilt he felt.  Having personally seen this in action, I know it for its total negativity. 

I think spring cannot really be TOO far away now (always the optimist) as the catkins are out on the hazel, and just starting to relax on the Alders.  The river has brought us a perfectly-sized Alder tree to cut up for next winter too).  The Sparrows appeared to be mating in the rambling roses this morning and the Great Tits were calling to one another.  As I drove here, a Redwing eyed me from a hedgetop and there are flocks of them and their friends the Fieldfares in fields hereabouts, and joy of yous, even some Lapwings, which I think have to be one of my favourite wild birds (they remind me of Arab horses).  I can remember whole field-fulls of them from my youth and yet now they are scarce.

Celendine leaves out now, so hopefully flowers not too far behind.  With each passing winter, I long for spring to arrive - even the tiniest signs in the hedgerows.

Yesterday's car boot sale brought me a Henry Williamson book I had been looking for, a slightly damaged (inside lid) Torquay pottery jam jar and lid, and some hessian and fur fabric oddments.  £2.50 spent . . .

Right, I need to return and scrub a bath.  You would not believe the blue rings on the bath from the combination of high acidity in the water and high copper content too. 

BTW Pat, a hogget is a lamb approaching a year old - 10 mths or so - and stronger-tasting than lamb.  We love it.

We are off for the day in Hay-on-Wye tomorrow, so I shall be absent from on here.