Sharp Frosts And Chilly Winds

 .....and not too many people about on my early morning walks.

Some mornings I've been pulling on my boots before daylight, though not every day, I'll admit.

On the days I've viewed proceedings from the kitchen window, while preparing my porridge, the sky has performed some technicolour acrobatics, though when I've been out the shades have been subtle and hard to capture - it's tricky to maintain the faint pinks in the sky and the bluish tinge of the pre-dawn light while still showing the whiteness of the hoar frost.

Some of the recent flooding remains and passing traffic has thrown spray over the roadside vegetation, giving some exotic ice-sculpture. I used to see this sort of thing alongside waterfalls in the days when I used to lead Christmas holiday walks in Wales.

The familiar farm track near Moor End gave chilly views to the south.

Plants and bubbles were trapped under the thin ice in this sheltered spot.

Passing the "tractors' graveyard", I noticed a hole in the hedge and poked my camera through to take a few pictures. The composition, with the two disc-harrows in the foreground, is pure chance; I was able to choose the framing but not the viewpoint. I keep hoping I'll one day see the farmer and ask if I can go in and photograph some of these rusting machines.

On the way back I took the frozen, muddy track alongside Shepreth Moor, which is still largely under water - or under ice, to be more accurate. The frost was still persisting, as it would all day.

And those are the only satisfactory photos I have to show you of my recent wanderings.

*******

We haven't had many music selections recently so here's a little tune that sums up our lives at the moment.

There are many forms of protest music apart from the obvious protest movement of the sixties. A lot of old blues music is a protest in that it remains jaunty, despite the terrible conditions at the time. For decades there were few black people willing to sing the blues at all, as it was seen to be representative of their past enslavement. But there have always been a few who were willing to celebrate this music, and one of the more recent ones to appear is Jontavious Willis, here singing his adaptation of a 1950s song for the modern day (the original was about dangers from Communists).

You could be having a good day

As jolly as you can be

I bet you'll get the blues when you turn on the TV...

Take care.