Still hanging on

Cold and damp, one of those days when the sun never quite manages to permeate a thick layer of cloud. Morning dog walk on the Common with MrM and Louie - the camera came out of its case briefly for a few shots of these beech leaves.

Afternoon walk in Beanly Woods in the hope, again, of seeing red squirrels. We didn't - but we did see several groups of deer, that very quickly disappeared deep in to the woods as soon as they sensed us approaching. We walked up the forestry track, climbing over several fallen trees along the way, casualties of the storms in December.   Dozens of trees in the wood had been uprooted by the winds, or simply snapped in half.

Higher up the track the trees had been "harvested", and the landscape was incredibly bleak. Piles of blackened, burned branches and thousands of tree stumps in an otherwise barren landscape leading on to the moor, with a backdrop of leaden rainclouds. (Mad Max came to mind!) The footpath back down was '"interesting" - so little-used as to be non-existent after the first few yards.

Fun evening in the Black Bull with our friend Andrea (and half the population of Belford) - Broom Bezzums were playing. They're very good, but a pub wasn't the best place to see or hear them! Looking forward to listening to the CD...