It was really cold!

In order to blow the cobwebs my husband and I decided to visit Wakehurst Place which is not too far a drive from our house.  It was just a couple of days into the new year and the weather, though dry, was really cold!

One of the views we had promised ourselves was that of a huge tree near the main house which had been decorated with loads of light bulbs which were to be lit every afternoon just prior to the closing of the park.  We got there around 3.30pm to walk around a little whilst waiting for the lights to be switched on.  Boy, was it cold! It was OK at first as we were well wrapped up and the sun was still throwing its last rays on the house and surrounding areas.  Amazingly, there were still a number of visitors walking about looking like us, waiting for the lights to be switched on!  Here you can see a view of the front of the house from across a lake with about three quarters of an inch of ice.

Even the birds were finding it hard work.  At one stage we saw some seagulls fighting over some bread that had been cast on the ice only to be slithering all over the place!

Ducks and moorhens were trying to manoeuvre across the ice to reach the bread that visitors had thrown for them.  If you look closely here this moorhen has found a large crust!

All this was all very well but when were the lights going to be lit?

 

Here the sun was shining on this tree and creating a lovely pink colour accentuating the branches towards the top of the tree.

Finally!! The lights were switched on!  It was hard to photograph since the sky still held the last of the daylight.  Still, you could see vestiges of the moon to the upper right and judging by the clear blue sky with not a cloud in sight we were due for a very cold night.

Best to return to the car to put the heater on and whilst driving home we looked forward to a hot cup of tea and the remainders of the Christmas cake to warm us up!

Christmas lights

One of the things we love to do just before Christmas is to take a walk in our neighbourhood to 'inspect' all the Christmas lights that folk have put up on their houses, in the garden etc. We did notice that this year, possibly due to families with small children moving on or a change in circumstances, was that there appeared to be less lights around. A shame really as it always evokes some of the magical feeling of Christmas, doesn't it?

We have always been pretty conservative with our decorations, even when the kids were young. Here is a picture I took the other evening from across the street of our abode. The light on the side of the house is actually a street light and not part of the decorations!

The window to the left is my workroom.

We have a couple of small windows at the side of the house and always place a flickering light in them to make it more cosy looking.

I think you can just make out the Christmas tree in our front room which we placed in the bay of the window.

In case I don't have a chance again, I just want to wish you all a wonderful Christmas! Don't forget it will be a time to make that ultimate sacrifice of helping to eating all the food, including the chocolates! You know your assistance will be rewarded, somehow, somewhere!!!!!!