Wet and windy Christmas

Hope you all enjoyed Christmas!  We had a lovely day, but the weather took a turn for the worst so we didn't get a walk with the dog in time.  The heavens opened for literally one minute, resulting in hailstones - here is a piccie showing the stones after a few seconds of rain so it isn't really as impressive as it was at first.

Charlie has really got the hang of opening his presents (usually just a chew) and here he is doing just that.  Trouble is, sometimes he buries them under the cushions on the sofa.

 And here is the Christmas cake our daughter made - the first Royal iced cake she has done.  I think she made a great job of it, but we still don't know what it tastes like as we never seem to have any room to eat it.  It weighs nearly 4 kilos...should keep us going in cake well into spring!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my friends, family and blog pals -  and best wishes for 2014 - may all your dreams come true!

Our little wood

We're very lucky to have a little piece of wooded France - about a couple of acres of mixed woodland, deep in the larger Perigord-Limousin forest.

Our wood is crescent shaped, running by the side of a neighbour's lake, with a little lane running between - perfect for walking the dog and getting some fresh air -  and gives us plenty of opportunity to hunt for mushrooms, collect a bit of firewood and gather holly and ivy.

Having a bad hip for some months I'd stopped long walks, but now the hip is much better, we have started walking again - about an hour a day if we can find the time.  Winter is actually my prefered season - in the summer, there are always far too many other things needing attention - and, it's too hot!

Our little poodle, Charlie, loves it here - but he won't sit still long for a piccie, so this is just a black blur as he jumps up to investigate a large hole in a tree - there was obviously something living in there but Charlie couldn't reach it!

 

Our neighbour has put up a scarecrow to keep away the heron from his precious fish - you can just see it

We don't take any prisioners either - the kids are dragged out with us, plus their respective boy/girl friends

and I get them to look for edible goodies

But all too soon, the sun goes down, time for home