for this relief

much thanks from the birds of Blackford Pond for this small and vulnerable patch of as yet unfrozen water... this large pond is almost completely frozen over leaving the coots, moorhens, swans and seagulls bereft of ready access to drinking water...bemused, they slide about the surface, remonstrating noisily, and in the one other unfrozen patch in this local pond a swan, a mallard, several seagulls and a coot jostle overcrowded for position....we need to do what we can to feed our local birds while this cold weather lasts and not forget that fresh water is equally vital for them. My friend Jessie, a fellow cyclist with whom I was walking today, spotted this little corner and its telltale prints. I like the delicacy of these and the hopefulness of the evergreen in a frozen landscape.