Finally this week, Wednesday aside so we won’t talk about that, there is some respite from the rain which means there are more signs of activity in the lane. I am not sure what a collective noun of horse carers/stable ladies is but here is an impromptu meeting in the middle of the lane – the beauty of it is that you can just stop and have a chat without too much worry about holding any passing traffic up. I must have tried to take this picture about half a dozen times but every time a rather hairy black creature wanted to be in the frame, so in the end I left her there!

The sunshine makes everything so much brighter and prettier. Here is a view down the central path of the racehorse stables – could almost be spring!

And as if to enhance the view that we are finally heading out of the dark months and into the light, the sheep are back in the field at the top of the lane. These guys are pretty much “teenagers” so are a bit hardier than baby lambs. It is a beautiful site to see them on the hill around the tower.

Oh – and if you could just pose for the camera please?

And it is not just the sheep that are enjoying the sun. Tom and his playmate Flash – I think the official term is “companion” – are out and about away from the shelter of the corners of the field and enjoying the warmth and the grass. Flash is an ironic name as he doesn’t move very fast and tends not to bend his knees even when he runs. But he is a dear little thing and does his job well.

Fingers crossed for more dry weather !!

Just when we thought that the storms may have passed, along comes another one – can’t even remember the names any more, it feels like we must have gone round the alphabet at least once already! Really strong gusts this time around – the bench below is pretty heavy but it was completely uplifted off its feet!

As the year goes on, hopefully more nature photos of things growing and enjoying the environment will become more prevalent. In the meantime, here is another visitor to the lane. There are a lot of pheasants around at this time of year and I managed to capture this handsome fellow,  grazing around in the horses’ field.

Given the location of the lane, we get some lovely open vistas to view including clear skies at night – some of those to be featured I’m sure – and rainbows when the conditions are right. The strange thing about the one below was that the sky all around was blue apart from one large cloud – you can see the clear sky on the right.

Finally, later in the week, some proper winter weather and we awoke to a beautiful frosty and somewhat misty day. This is from the top of the drive looking across to the copse at the other end of the farm.

Finally, you have to be prepared for slower journey times around here – often getting caught behind tractors on the roads nearby. Sometimes it’s horse boxes – this is very much horse country – and here’s one coming back from an outing, heading to the stable yard at the top of the lane.

One of the things about living in an unmade up lane is that the council don’t pop round and repair the pot-holes as they would on a normal road. Come to think of it, they don’t do it on a normal road very often! The difference is that they will never do it, rather than once every couple of years or so. Consequently, it is up to the residents to take it upon themselves to keep the track relatively passable. The normal process is that someone with the heavy duty equipment does the work and everyone else chips in towards the materials although occasionally small repairs just get done on the fly. Recently, some of the damage done by the recent storms has attracted attention.

I’ve introduced one or two of the characters who share this environment with me and here’s another one – Spooner the cat. It’s a great environment for a cat to live in. It looks like he is having a relax in the field below but on closer inspection, he has actually popped out for a take-away, of which there are many opportunities.

I have saved the more ghoulish close-ups to protect the squeamish!

I have mentioned before about the small racehorse stable next door and here is a food delivery arriving! Not quite Tesco Direct but just as handy! The supplier is the local thatcher who also grows his own hay. In case you are wondering, the vehicle at the front of the picture is a poo-picker – for horses of course. Well, you wouldn’t expect the stable staff to wander round all those fields with a shovel and a wheelbarrow! This little beauty is towed along behind a quad bike.

And as reminder of the mild winter we have had, here is one of the many groups of daffodils which are flourishing quite happily on the verges in early February.