Rain moving in

The forecast for today was pretty grim but at least it would be about 10 degrees warmer.

I annoyed the dogs first thing by doing some admin and also preparing some bolognese for the slow cooker before showing any signs that I might be even thinking about a walk. We eventually set off and it was totally exhilarating with the wind gusting strongly for most of the time. The sky kept changing into varying tones of grey and it was easy to see the rain moving in from the west, sometimes completely obliterating the hills and then pulling back to reveal them in the distance once more. We were very lucky today as the rain seemed to skirt the hills and avoid the moor where we were walking so it was easy to keep my head up and watch as the gusting wind took control of the sky and landscape. I love this particular view with the racy sky and the hills looking distant as they are gradually engulfed by the rain showers. These hills were covered with a thin layer of snow yesterday. The small conifers in the foreground were planted about three years ago and one day will obliterate this view - so I am enjoying it while I can.

Both Cara and Bruce seemed to revel in the wind and were dashing about like mad things, so much so that at one stage I noticed that Cara had stopped and was holding up one front paw. My immediate thought was that she had broken or sprained it by charging at speed and with careless abandon into the dips and hillocks on the moor. I had a good look at her leg and it seemed that TLC was all that was needed and satisfied, she bounded off again. However I was so intent on watching to see if she could put weight on it properly that I slipped and fell backwards in ungainly manner on the muddy hillside. To my amazement she came dashing up to see if I was OK. Such reciprocal care from my canine friend was very touching!

Once home I put a radiator into the shed to try and dry off the large wet patch in the roof timbers. It would be galling to have put new asphalt onto the roof only to be sealing in sodden timbers underneath which might eventually start to rot. Time will tell! I also checked on my worms following the very cold night and they seemed to be quite happy and had produced another litre of liquid gold for me to syphon off ready to give a boost to my plants once diluted.

The wind has not abated, in fact the reverse, and it is also raining hard now . A good night to stay in and watch the Strictly extravaganza.