Mikes weather bits & Photo Blog: Did a rock leg_end die? & Oh dear, muddy boots for Boris

OK already! the rock leg_end David Bowie has shuffled off to Mars.

The headline about the Daily walk to beat back pain is definitely a good idea and Sally will testify to this. The headline though is a bit of a dud because similar copy was by the same reporter in Sept 2015

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Flood Chief Quits in shame is all over the Mail this morning, i wonder how long it will be before the amount he is "paid off" will hit the headlines, no wonder he's smiling. Listening to him on the news yesterday i can only describe him as "dull" and cant imagine how he got the flood job? - - -

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Angela Merkel looks like she could be in for a bumpy ride after getting this migrant thing so wrong - - -
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wood collection go's awry

it looked a dodgy prospect as i inched down the track towards our stash of wood to collect some for No 1 Daughter (the elder)

I'll just put 2 wheels off the track to turn around, oh no you wont! I "USED" to claim i had never got a Land Rover bogged!

Barely a couple of feet off the track and Boris sank into the mud, i tried putting wood under the wheels but all to no avail. I had to enlist our friend Jim with his Hilux to give me a tow back onto the track.
Getting back up the hill was nearly another "event" as he lost traction in the middle of the track even with the diff lock on. After sliding back down i used a slightly off line approach and scraped up to the top.
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with all the mud around i decided to take a different route up to the Nine Ladies , driving up the road a mile i parked over the river from Caudwells Mill the River Wye at this point looks brim full with the mill in the background

walking up the 1 in 4 hill I get a close up of Peak Tor, some of the past casualties have been replaced with fenced in new trees

just before turning South i get a great view of the flooded fields by the river and Haddon Hall sticking up above the surrounding forest

more flooded fields below the Chatsworth land on the hill

a little respite from the slope as i walk along a bit of a road. Looking North over Peak Tor Chatsworth land abounds

more of a hill takes me to shadow of the trees before the top of the Nine Ladies hill

finally in the watery sunshine i make the stone circle

i wander off towards the stone folly

because i'm going to take the steep way down into the quarry in the hope of missing the muddy track. I needn't have bothered because i slipped into my backside in the mud on the way down!

turning back North i make my way across the farmland

these Larch have looked dead all last Summer, they now look to have a new lease of life

just to the left of the larch I spot movement and there are a couple of Norwegian Fallow deer nibbling at some foliage or other. I have marked their position, clicking on the pic will enlarge it

more views of the flooded fields. this is an area Sally uses for her morning walks but its out of the question right now because of the mud

almost back at the van I spot 3 different hawthorn bushes with new leaf growth on. I noticed that all of them were on the East of the road which wouldn't get hardly any sun this time of year while the hedge on other side of the road, bathed in sunshine didn't have a leaf!
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In the afternoon doing a bit of a tidy after building the new seat/step i notice a small flock of gold finches taking advantage of our birdfeeders

as i lined up to take this pic they were joined by a flock of Long tailed tits. they too were feeding with gusto on the feeders. Maybe they think its going to snow a well!
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Here's a great rain radar pic timed at 07:30 from Netweather showing us (under the dot) in the middle of a long streamer of rain cloud at the moment
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