Tree House

Today was much busier than I actually intended. I was up early (just after 6 a.m) to take my brother to the station and it was only just above freezing with a hard frost for the first time since last winter. Can't say I particularly enjoyed scraping the ice off the car at that time in the morning!
After I had dropped my brother off for some reason I decided it was a good idea to go for another early morning run when it was still only 2 degrees C. I had several layers on but I could still feel the chill of the icy cold air - it was actually rather invigorating!
Once I was back indoors it was time for a hot bath and breakfast before I had to head into town to finish shopping for my sister's birthday in a few days time. I settled on the new autobiography by Billy Connolly (my sister is a big fan) called "Windswept and Interesting".
I didn't have any luck getting a shot whilst I was in town so in the afternoon I decided to head back out to Teston Bridge Country Park, where today's image was taken. I managed to find a spot on the river bank where I could position the house (actually its several houses) with the large tree in front of it right in the middle of the frame. I love it with the combination of the reflections in the water and the dramatic sky.
I'd also heard reports in the local press that the Environment Agency had laid a road across the park as it needs to carry out repairs to a nearby weir and gantry. To provide access for its machines it has created a 3.5 metre wide track right across the park and fenced it off from the public along with other areas and removed the grass surface.
I was really shocked to see it in person - what had been a beautifully peaceful meadow with a view across to a medieval bridge now has a wide track straight through the middle of it and is covered in fences, dirt and machinery. As one regular user of the park stated to the local press "Its just like that Joni Mitchell song - they have paved over paradise to put up a parking lot". Where I took my shot from is one of the few areas that appears to have been unaffected. Surely this could have been carried out in a much more sensitive manner.
After I got back I still had time to do some dinner prep and listen to a podcast on BBC Sounds called "Fake Heiress", about the rise and fall of Anna Delvey, who conned New York high society into believing she was a multi-millionaire heiress, before it was time to pick my brother up from the station.