Season's cheer on a cold and frosty morning

Festive scene in lights at a neighbour's house

I HOPE you're all having a nice festive break (even if you've had to go back to work on some days) and are looking forward to the New Year.

I confess I haven’t done quite as much walking as intended. You know how it is; there’s been family around and films on the telly, and food and the occasional drink and more food and  . . . well, you get the picture (basically, insert any excuse you like to remain slouched on the sofa tucking into mince pies and whatever!).

At the beginning of the week, I really didn’t feel like going out at all. Along with others at this time of the year, I was battling a headache, sore throat, cough etc. My voice was not so much ‘alluring husky’ as ‘irritating raspy,’ although at times I was unable to speak much at all; virtually silent, in fact – which some around here would count as a blessing!

But, as is often the way, once you get up and go, you actually enjoy it more than you thought you would. It’s the getting-up-and-going in the first place that often takes the effort.

I did a ‘power walk’ on my regular route that I know takes half an hour, but have since done a couple of more leisurely strolls. That’s the beauty of walking, you can take it at exactly the pace to suit your mood – and energy level – at the time.

How the environment changes with the seasons. A noticeable difference now, of course – at night-time, at least – are the homes bedecked with Christmas lights; in some instances, you can hardly see the houses for the glow! 

Santa's still glowing in some homes!

Early this morning there was a sparkle of a different kind, with a fresh coating of frost. Although it was nippy, it was quite refreshing, and gave a sense of season's cheer. The ground was extremely slippy, so you wouldn’t have been able to walk fast, even if you’d wanted to. I took a leisurely walk around a local park.

I didn’t record it on my cardio app (my last stats were for the 23rd). It was more ‘mooch’ than ‘march,’ and I stopped to snap a few shots on the way, so it would have been a rather odd read-out. I enjoyed the more relaxed approach.

As for my good intentions of doing more? Well, it’s nearly the New Year. I can always make some nice new resolutions and put my best foot forward, so to speak, with even better intentions for 2014.
Until then . . . another mince pie anyone?

This morning's view of the streets.

Overlooking a frosted park.

Early morning shadow and light.

Fence patterns in the frost.

No, I really mustn't. I've had enough . . . oh, go on then. Just one more!

Silhouettes, molehills and beacons mark the way

THERE was a nip in the air when I set off this morning, but it wasn’t unpleasant. I wore woolly hat and gloves, but towards the end had to take them off because I was too hot!

I didn’t leave as early as I’d intended because my mobile needed recharging: and I can’t do without my little cardio app that’s on the phone! I mean, how would I know how much fruit’s worth of energy I’d used? This morning I burned 228 calories – three apples’ worth! Yay! Three apples! That’s a bit more respectable than the tomato or two I notched up the other day.

The sun was a delight. As it rose the sky changed from a pinky blue to more of a creamy silver-gold, transforming trees into silhouettes as it did so. Not much fun for drivers at this time of the year, though, as it streams in through the windscreen at a low angle.

Tree silhouettes against the early morning sky

There were people up and about, dog walking, calling to the newsagents for their paper, or delivering them on their newspaper rounds; and the moles appeared to have been busy overnight, too. There was quite a long row of neat mounds, like buttons along the roadside. At least it wasn’t somebody’s garden! Moles can wreak havoc in a short amount of time, with their hills and tunnels (which can eventually collapse). Did you know that poisoned bait is sometimes used to try to get rid of the moles? According to Tom Clothier, a man who seems to know about these things, it doesn’t work very well because the bait is peanuts which, apparently, moles don’t particularly like? Well, I never knew that! In  fact, I'd never even associated peanuts with moles. You certainly live and learn when you go for a walk!

You see things differently when you're on foot rather than driving around in a car, especially at different times of the day. Even Belisha Beacons can take on a whole new perspective in the dark early hours; though beware if you try to photograph them at that time of the morning - you may get one or two funny looks!

A range of silhouettes - from the heavy to the delicate!

Molehills like buttons along the roadside

Fastest milk float in the West?

Worm's-eye view of a Belisha Beacon (above and below).