Saturday Sunset

The sun goes down as we light our fire and have our tea and then dinner in front of the TV. And then an early night.

Under the Weather

We're taking it slow and easy today, hoping health will improve. A quick trip to dispatch internet sales and buy some groceries and the weekend paper and that's it. Back to the couch and laying low. And enjoying some jelly beans to keep spirits up!

Afterglow

I fell asleep on the couch after dinner. Woke up to spend a penny and the fire was still going. Got some blankets and tucked myself in again, quietly so I didn't wake the missus, and then watched the glow until I nodded off again.

Greedy

The missus caught this squirrel having a go at the seed feeder.

squirrel - écureuil - eekhoorn

 

Warmth

Both the missus and self have caught the itchy throat and runny nose that's doing the rounds. She could stay home on doctor's orders while I work from home on a Friday anyway, so we've got the heating up and taking it slow. She's made courgette soup and a bowl of that brings some welcome warmth to hands and throat.

Roadside in White

Snapped from a traffic jam while underway to a client in the Netherlands. Where a fresh powdering of snow made everything look fresh and crisp. It never reached Belgium and was gone by the time I returned but I enjoyed seeing it while it was there.

 

Red Spread

The missus has opened a pot of the red prune jam she's made. It looks as good as it smells and as it tastes. Yum.

Xmas Salmon

We thawed some of the smoked salmon I bought from an Englishman I met at the barber's just before Xmas and he did a splendid job of smoking it. Deliciously so! We still have some more left to look forward to as well.

Sunny Afternoon

Sun is streaming through the windows and frost has gone. It's nice to sit in the light. 

Frosty Morning

There's ice on the water basin. And on the top of our picnic table. 

There's bluetits and coaltits looking for food and feeding on the seed balls.

bluetit - mésange bleue - pimpelmees
coaltit - mésange charbonnière - koolmees

Tea Time

Tea and cookies and magazines in front of the fire. Good.

Confused Nature

More signs of Nature being confused by the weather. The rhododendron is already starting flowers. 

The Forsythia still appears to be on the right schedule (above) but the apple bush is already starting to bloom. That's six-seven weeks earlier than last year...

Long Shadows

The sun is out in a blue sky. Still low on the horizon.

Chased Away

I saw a squirrel eating what looked like a large nut near the water basin. By the time I'd sneaked into the kitchen to get a clear view, two magpies had arrived and chased it off. Though carrying away the nut in its mouth.

squirrel - écureuil - eekhoorn
magpie - pie bavarde - ekster

Feeding Now

We didn't see a single bird on the seed balls when there was snow, but now the snow is gone they're all over them. A magpie this morning, which saw me before I had a chance to sneak a picture, and plenty of bluetits and coaltits like the one above. 

magpie - pie bavarde - ekster
bluetit - mésange bleue - pimpelmees
coaltit - mésange charbonnière - koolmees

Cold Morning

Seen on my way to work this morning and snapped while the old Alfa was warming up: contrails in the sky. Produced by hot jets in a cold sky, and lots of jets there were by the looks of it. 

Hunt for Sale

This English hunting party is sadly too large to go with my trains so will have to find new pastures. One of various lots I'm preparing for sale online. They never got a chance to find a fox either. 

Breakfast

Yum! 

Blessings of the Internet

While sorting through stuff in my room downstairs, I came across this lovely artwork again. My late Mum was excellent at cutting silhouette bouquets like this one, which she gifted to friends or displayed at home when I was young. This one had what remained of a clip-on frame from a frame maker in The Hague so will date from the early 70s. 

Three little strips had detached themselves, two of which I found close by and could glue back in place. A chap at the large DIY nearby cut me a new pane of glass in less than five minutes, so that just left two little clips to find to have one on each side again. Nothing on the large online retailers' sites, but a photograph of one of my clips fed into Google image search found me the right name and manufacturer and from there a seller on eBay UK who still has them available - 50 years later from when the silhouette was framed!

 

Going

Snow is going, ...

... going, ...

... gone.
Raining again today.

 

Fresh Bulbs

The missus has put three new bulbs in our cute little cooler. I think hyacinths. A sign of Spring arriving soon. 

In the background is Happy Monkey's self-portrait, cut from the London edition of the Metro newspaper when this portrait was front-page news. I liked it and framed it up as a (very) distant relative.

Snow with Crow

crow - corbeau - kraai

 

Back to White

On Saturday morning we woke up feeling a bit cold. And a look outside showed frost was back and so was the snow. Fickle weather... 

Back to Green

As promised by the Belgian Met Office, snow was replaced by rain. And white gave way to green in the garden.

A Fresh Layer

More snow arrived today. Where it comes in many shades depending on light and time of day. Let's enjoy it while it lasts - there's rain forecast for tomorrow.

Tracks

Seen this morning on my way to work: tracks by birds, a cat and myself!

Holiday Sunset

Dusk falls on the last day of my holiday. Back to work tomorrow... 

Bye Bye Xmas

Lights are packed away and the tree given a spot in the garden.
Whoever harvested it didn't leave much root but we'll see if it survives.

Covered in White

Snow always provides an extra layer of beauty to the garden.  

Salt

It's turned into a busy day. The missus brought back a bag of salt which I spread along a path through the snow up the hill, using the holes at the bottom of a flowerpot to sprinkle the stuff evenly. I finished just as more snow came down (visible against the paving). Moon boots are recommended in this weather!