Give me shelter

I read a British Blipper yesterday who said they hadn't seen any ladybirds this summer. My apologies; I cant remember who it was. 

So when I spotted (intentional pun) this wee beastie today I just had to Blip it. I stood and watched for 10 minutes as it crawled all over this fence post until it found a crack large enough to slip into. 

Presumably it was seeking a snug place to protect it from another sub-zero night. 

It reached -4C last night, and I guess for any small bug to be alive today it must have been well-sheltered.

The decks Chez Mima were skid-pans until the sun reached them late morning, so both Bean and I walked very tentatively across them to reach various cabins. The final rain shower was at 9pm and when I let Bean out for her bedtime pee at 9.20pm the sky was already clear and chilly. 

As a result the car was also frozen solid and in order to break in and switch on the engine I had to pour warm water over the driver door handle to defrost it. That is a first here.

Of course the icy morning heralded a glorious day, as shown in the extra where a dog snuffles on a walk, with the snow-covered Kakanui Ranges in the background.

I had a very long chat with Nicola the physio and we congratulated each other on our respective success sorting out my back. It continues to improve bit by bit, and she was phlegmatic about the recent tweak. It is going to happen. I came away with positive reassurance.

She reckons full recovery will take at least another three months of steadily increasing my exercises and activity. And she is absolutely sure that the neurosurgeon will not recommend surgery, based on the MRI results. She remains available for appointments if something goes wrong unexpectedly.