This is the weather the shepherd shuns

This is the weather we've had over the last couple of weeks while I've been off the blog circuit....

Spring in all its glory: the buds are swelling, the birds are singing, the sun is shining...

Then what happens? We are returned to Winter!

Now, there was a time (when I was much younger) when I loved Winter - loved the crisp coldness, the frozen ponds, but as I get older and my joints get stiffer, I worry about slippery pavements and steps (and roads). I appreciate the need for a good, cold Winter spell and, being reasonably prosperous, we're no longer in the situation of not being able to afford coal or central heating - earlier in our marriage, we had no central heating and had to forage for wood and make coal briquettes out of coal dust, but that all seems a long time ago, but I still look forward to Summer each year. Long Summer evenings in the garden with a good book and a glass of cool white wine... aaaah!

Anyway, after the return of the freeze, we got guess what... fog. Dank and cold and simply depressing. Molly, who had just had a haircut wasn't at all pleased. She gets more eccentric every day as it is. She pesters to go for a walk, but as soon as she's out, she wants to come back. On the way out, she's always lagging behind, looking longingly towards home. On the walk back, she's way ahead and runs into the house as if she's been lost for years! We think she's agoraphobic.

Today it's raining, though we're promised a better weekend. I can't decide whether to go to the Ownerships Boat Show at Braunston (see http://www.ownerships.co.uk/ though the website is the worst site I know of I HATE Flash-based websites; they give webmasters a bad name) I edit a small magazine for the Ownerships boat owners, so I think I ought to go and take some pictures, but it will take up the whole moring and there's lots to do. You'll get a better idea of the boats I'm talking about here http://www.flickr.com/groups/narrowboatsharedownership/pool/

So, what have I been up to while I've not been writing the blog? I've been finishing the latest stained glass project, a window for the kitchen/dining room door. It's just about ready; all it needs is a good cleanup (the studio as well) and fitting into place. Perhaps that's what I ought to do tomorrow morning....

And just to finish...

This is the weather the cuckoo likes,

And so do I;

When showers betumble the chestnut spikes,

And nestlings fly;

And the little brown nightingale bills his best,

And they sit outside at 'The Traveller's Rest,'

And maids come forth sprig-muslin drest,

And citizens dream of the south and west,

And so do I.

This is the weather the shepherd shuns,

And so do I;

When beeches drip in browns and duns,

And thresh and ply;

And hill-hid tides throb, throe on throe,

And meadow rivulets overflow,

And drops on gate bars hang in a row,

And rooks in families homeward go,

And so do I.

Thomas Hardy - Weathers