Birch. Moss. Breeze

As this rather dull and dreary winter drags on, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find inspiring scenes in the natural world. Today, I mistimed my afternoon walk, setting out just as it started raining, and missing a glorious rainbow while driving to Old Sulehay NR. 

I squelched my way round the wood - the clay plateau is now patchily under water - and somehow managed to make an error of navigation, which meant that I emerged at the opposite end of the wood and had to walk all the way back along the central ride, which is a mud-bath. By the time I got back to the limestone quarry the sun had dropped below the horizon and it was getting breezy, so I ended up doing an in-camera movement shot of my favourite silver birches. The brilliant green is the carpet of moss which clothes the quarry floor in winter.

While I was out, Pete and Alex had been cooking an amazing goat curry, ready for a celebration birthday meal with Chris and Lizzy - my second in a week. We had a lovely evening, which ended with us all sampling a bottle of alcoholic bitters brought back from Ghana. It was certainly unique - phrases used to describe it included soil and mould from the rainforest floor, the defence smell of millipedes and urine and sawdust left to fester for a fortnight. It's supposed to be medicinal but I don't think I'll be trying it again!