Colds and cold

On Sunday night bumble bees invaded my nose and my head filled with soggy wool. The first winter cold...and a growing sense that the December deadline for Disney artworks was looming nearer. Tried to work but couldn't. Warm bed and cats the only option. I became very aware of the precarious position of freelancing, when time is money and there is no company safety net. Then the snow arrived. And the news that I can relax about the deadline because the project people are away on a business trip...so yesterday we escaped to to the woods with a Thermos of hot chocolate.

The pathways were scattered with pheasant tracks and deer prints. Scurrying in the undergrowth from foraging birds and the trees dripping a musical splattering of melting snow. We headed for the end of woods, where the stalky pines are lined up in eery regiments. There is a cold, stern atmosphere here - thickly layered pine needles muffle footfall. Foxgloves and Fly Agaric thrive in the acidic soil. If fairies live here, they are dark, trollish creatures, lurking in rotten, mossy stumps.

The sun was a fleeting visitor and the chill fell heavily. The only animals to be seen - some young milkers foraging in the fading light.

This morning, the snow is melting and my cold is - almost - gone.