At last, the sun! But of course with a biting wind as some compensation. Featured is the Old Manse in its winter glory and makes Huttonian wonder how practicable it is for two old fogeys to continue to rattle around in this mansion only occasionally reinforced by the young and very young. Yes, a slight early case of itchy feet coming on-so any preliminary offers in excess of half a million in Scottish Bank notes will be carefully considered-No Mr B from Belfast I am not interested in a similar amount in Northern Bank currency-yes I realise that their £5 note is still legal tender but I am worried about where they have been-in some cases the paint is a bit flaky and surely its the Queen's image rather than Mr Adams that we should be admiring?

Looking north is no hardship in the January sun. The contrast between the sun lit uplands and the shade in the garden is too much for the digital to cope with. The pond glinting in the foreground gets no sun from late October until early March and it is perhaps fortunate that the finer points of the garden are obscured. A smaller garden in our next home will be a sine qua non.

PS sharp eyed bloggees will note that the snow people have gone. Couldn't take the heat.?  ¶ 10:45 AM