I awaken within the night to a new dawn
From a dream now forgotten reality unfolds
To sleep and to dream is our brief concept
But as the new day calls we can only answer
For tomorrow begins when I open my eyes

There was never much hope...just a fool’s hope
That the skies would open under greenest trees
Reward a life lived in hope with a briefest glimpse
Of what would be missed but now savoured

Still comes the rain and I must wait some more
Take time to now feel the world arising to growth
Watch frogs in amorous union under the falling rain
Wait till the sunshine in May to begin to live again

Tuesday 26th Feb 2008

Can’t believe it is March this Saturday...can you? Our big assessment at work passed off relatively smoothly so I can relax till August till we get another one. It’s going to be a busy year at work though but then it always is.

Weather at the minute is cool and wet. Gone the long sun filled days of the other week. Still the heavy frost has also gone and I must go and visit the ponds to see if the frogs have been. It used to seem really important that I witnessed the exact day. Probably because I kept a journal of all the changes seen in the garden and could note the variation from year to year. It was so much easier to do when I worked shifts and had time in the mornings and afternoons. I miss that so much. If I could choose now I should work 6am to 2pm or 1pm till 9pm every day. Flexi-time working seems a long, long way off in our company. I don’t think they trust people to do the work on their own and yet I should think we would work harder as we’d be happier.

Just bought a gadget which allows me to connect to the internet from any location there is a mobile phone signal. In theory I can now update my blog during my lunch hour from my laptop. Seemed like a really good idea when I signed up for the 2 year contract but I‘m not so sure now. I’ll give it a go soon. When the days get a Little warmer I can write from the garden....that will be cool.

Have a great day

21.02.2008

Been feeding the birds religiously all week while the temperatures have been below freezing. Because I’m doing it with such regularity the birds seem to attune to when the food is put out and sit on the wall looking through the window. I at first thought it was imagined wishful thinking but it is true. I shall try to get some pictures (and I already have tried) but it is difficult not to scare them away. I’ve been putting out a lot of food each day while the temperatures have been below freezing. Partly to make sure they have enough after the playground bullies (squirrels) have finished. We’ve just come out of a long spell of very cold weather now and it’s back to rain and cloud but much warmer. Should be the ideal weather for the frogs and I expect to see some frogspawn in the ponds very soon. Can you believe it is almost March...no neither can I!

We have a big audit at work this week and because it is my core area of responsibility it has been a little stressful. Luckily there don’t appear to be any major problems and it finishes today. Going to have another attempt at stopping smoking this Saturday along with Nick. Still if the not smoking has faltered the not eating meat is going great. I do find it immensely challenging to vary my diet and find new things to stimulate the taste buds. When I read stories like the huge recall of beef in the US that is going on now I feel I have done the right thing. Sooner or later we’ll all be eating a lot less meat anyway as simple arithmetic will take over and with a rapidly expanding population there simply won’t be enough land to support that number of animals. It’s probably not that far away. The statistics on the number of animals killed globally to feed us is absolutely staggering. It’s a bit like the universe too big to comprehend. Am I banging on...time for a subject change.

My new cooker arrived yesterday. I bought it with my long service award at work. The award is a cash bonus for completing 30 years (now nearly 31). I am not sure about it yet as I really liked my old cooker and had over the last 23 years achieved a symbiosis with it. However it was time for it to go but I shall miss it.

Here’s to a great weekend (whatever you’re doing.)

Lots of contrasts in the weather here at the minute. Gloriously warm sunshine through the day leading to amazing sunsets in the evening and then a bone-chilling frost at night. I took a photo of the sunset last night when I got home from work. The moon is nearly full and as I left work it sat clear and bright in a cloudless blue sky. I shall try to take a photo of it tonight. the moon is so difficult to photograph well.

The birds are having a tough time of it but I feed them every day now just to make sure that they haven’t any problems. Perhaps they become dependent on the food but then it is even more important to continue to do it.

I removed the Amy Winehouse video because it has been pulled off the YouTube site for some reason. Shame.

Enjoy the pictures from the drive Nick and I did on Saturday from Skipton to Kendal. Love the long horned cow and all the stone walls and it was such a beautiful sunny day. Weather is set to stay sunny for most of the week with -5 temperatures at night. (It was -7 last night.) I don’t hold out much hope for the olive staying green but it may re-grow later.

Have a look at the link below from the Independent. I haven't watched the videos and probably best not to as they are probably upsetting. But it makes you think. That's got to be good. I shall certainly never buy any of it.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/exposed-the-long-cruel-road-to-the-slaughterhouse-781364.html

I miss you when I realise you are like the breeze when it is absent from a summers day. Then the world is still but no music is brought from the world to my ears. You are the music that plays within my life invisibly and when it has stopped the silence overtakes any quiet solitude I may have desired to find. For that is the paradox of love. You only ever miss its siren song when it has gone.

Things are getting close in the democratic camp Hilary

While rantings of the UK bishop from Lambeth plain to see

The eastern worlds shadows of nonsense darkens so much

Because nothing ever changes the ancient wounds to touch

The new year days grow lighter so fast in this second span

It takes all that I am to remember that I should be a man

Tuesday 12th Feb 08

We are having some beautiful weather at the moment with clear blue skies and endless sunshine. It is the fourth consecutive day of this weather and we have one more tomorrow and then all back to normal. Not that it matters at work but the mornings and evenings are pleasant and when I am walking around the mill it is so pleasant. Not that I saw much of it today as I was in a meeting most of the afternoon. I did manage to take some pictures at the weekend though so I’ll put a couple on tonight.

Thursday 07.02.2008

Sorry haven’t written anything for some time...not very consistent of me. Partly it was due to losing the internet connection for around a week. Strange how the modern world works and one has to ring somebody in India to get things put right. Boy are these foreign call centres infuriating. It seems a crazy way to run a business. Claudia Winkleman wrote a very funny piece about it in the Independent yesterday. I’ll try to find it online. Got it...read it please

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/claudia-winkleman/claudia-winkleman-take-it-from-me-778469.html

Elsewhere all the signs of the coming spring are manifesting themselves a little more each coming day. I especially enjoy the expanding brightness of the evening and morning. Coming home from work in daylight is uplifting and there is months of it to come. I always imagine at this time of the year what it would be like not to have to go to work again till October. Every day spent watching the world and making peace with it all. Nice dream. I also miss Jenny at this time of year because we would begin to walk around the lake towards the end of February. We could go and make it back before it got too dark.

I haven’t been up too very much over the last few weeks. Work is busy but I did buy a relatively cheap electric piano and have been reading a teach yourself book. My mind is full of crotchets and quavers...it’s all so complicated at first. I would like to be able to play some music though so we’ll se how it goes.

Hope you’re well and it’s getting a little warmer. Take Care