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Snow! Chasing sunsets and a golden escapee

You either love or hate snow.


If you were to ask my children, they would probably be of the opinion that I fall firmly into the hating-snow camp. But this isn't - always - true.

Yes - the over-protective curmudgeon in me hates driving in it; or trudging through it in an attempt to arrive at the school gate with Littlest, rather than get there and find she has stopped somewhere en route between car and school, dreamily ambling between snow-laden trees looking for "fairy footprints." I also hate falling over in it; don't like it's disintegration into wet, greyish slush, or worse, yellow slush, and am not that keen on snow ball fights.

However, I do like the definition snow gives to the normally undefined - such as the old cart-wheel above; the way it outlines branches of trees; blurs contours and turns the world black and white; and how it somehow softens noise.

Suddenly, on a snowy walk, I can see what the dogs are smelling - rabbits!




A ploughed field becomes a thing of beauty




That 'path less travelled' (Blog post on 31.12.12) takes on a pristine, cold, don't-tread-here-and dare-to-spoil-me beauty, while the one much travelled is full of bear-prints; rugged welly sole-prints and ... dogs.




Where all furrows lead to home - but we have to follow the footpath




And I get to chase sunsets - New Year Resolution ... tick!




Bertie Baggins ... I reckon it's time to use his actual name - much less confusing! ... rather over-enthusiastically chased the sunset. Or perhaps he chased it faster than I was able to keep up (did I plan a dietary/exercise resolution this year?) And slipped his collar. Strictly that should be slipped 'out' of his collar, but he made little effort to slip back in: "I didn't mean to escape, Mum. Honest!"



Watching the snow fall now, I have a growing suspicion that snowman-building; sledging and snow-ball lobbing will all be occurring in the morning ... hmmm ... oops! - what part of me thought it wasn't a good idea to do my daily shovel-poop-scooping patrol of the grass? Too cold today - brown skid marks tomorrow. Yuk!


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