Red Village

It was my turn for breakfast in bed this morning but when Tony pulled back the curtains he spotted the village below coloured red so I had to get a quick blip before my porridge arrived.  According to our local weather forecast, it could be down to more salt crystals in the atmosphere.

The decorating ladies arrived and Tony and I walked down in to Bingley to catch the train to Leeds.  The train stopped at Saltaire....and didn't start again.  Some excavating had been taking place further along the  line at Apperley Bridge and a suspected wartime bomb uncovered.  The rail and road network ground to a halt.  We had the option of a very roundabout way of reaching Leeds via three stations, two trains and a walk across Bradford or turning round at Shipley and going back to Bingley.  We chose the latter and stopped off for a cuppa and snack at the Craft House before walking home.

Meanwhile the Painting Angels are doing a great job of the upstairs.  It was looking very tired up there and it already looks cleaner and fresher, and that awful yellow woodwork is slowly disappearing.

Tony planted the recently purchased primulas into the big pot at the front of the house, the cyclamens having not survived the horrible wetness, and then went up to the allotment to do some jobs.  He also replanted the dozen or so mini oak trees, rescued from the verge, which we think were a result of a lost hoard of squirrel acorns.  I took a close look at the rockery to see what was appearing - a blue anemone and a couple of tulips, then had a good recorder practice attempting to get to grips with several new flats.

I am reading 'The Overstory' by Richard Powers at the moment, a hefty tome, and very much enjoying it.  It is a number of short stories, all about folks and trees, and I have learned a great deal from it about dendrology.  I haven't finished it yet but I believe the disparate characters will come together towards the end.