An ill wind

We are up and eating breakfast by seven fifteen, outside the dawn breaks clear, but very windy, the trees bending under its force across the field, while I drink my coffee in the Garden Room. Later, after a shower, we collect Dolly and Teddy from Cherry, dropping off Andrew's birthday card, before we travel to the Westwood. The wind is even stronger than last week and is howling down from the North and the dogs and I are glad to take shelter in the woods of Newbegin Pitts. Fortunately there hasn't been much rain this last week and the ground has started to dry out, so I don't need my Wellies today. In Telly Tubby Land we visit Ygdrasil, the ash tree Felicity planted, she is now just over two metres high and her ebony black buds are silhouetted against a sky of pure ice blue. Once on the common, the dogs are swapped on the lead and once we are beyond the protective lee of the trees, the howling North wind slams into us head on. I have to walk with my head down, to stop my hat blowing away, and my fleece scarf is pulled up around my ears. A large branch has been torn off a horse chestnut tree and I expect there will be other casualties of this wind. At Black Mill Dolly comes back to the lead and the four of us push on towards Newbegin Pits, a small wood a hundred metres to the North of the Mill. Once in the lee of the woods, the wind subsides and it is quite pleasant sat on a bench in the sunshine, although the wind's roar can be heard overhead. After a few minutes respite, the dogs become bored, and we continue on a path parallel to Newbald Road, until we regain the car. After dropping the terriers in Cherry, Norman and I drive home and make lunch. Normy has Bakers biscuits and I have pie and peas, having slow cooked dried peas with the last of the smoked gammon overnight. My grandad had a horse called Polly, that used to pull an ice cream van in summer, in the nineteen thirties, but in winter ice cream was replaced by pie and peas. Eventually Polly went lame and lost a leg, but my grandad, Percy, kept her and looked after her until she died in old age. She had been named after his sister, great aunt Polly, who looked after him when his father died, when he was only six years old. He passed on his soft nature to my dad and I guess he passed it on to me. A business minded person would have sent the horse to the knackers yard! After lunch I play around with the drawing app and try to depict the ash buds against the sky. Finger drawing is as skill that I haven't yet mastered, but I compose a little haiku,

Ebony ash buds
Against an ice blue sky.
Old bones yearn for spring.

And then another,

Even mighty Trees
Bend before The Lord of the North.
Ears and noses hidden.

At a quarter to three we drive to Sam's, park and then walk to Saint Mary's and wait in the playground for the children to be released. Louis runs out half naked again, his coat open and wearing no sweater, I guide him back to the classroom and retrieve his jumper from his book drawer, which I insist he wears. Then better protected against the wind and the odd shower of rain we make our way to Molescroft Primary, where we collect Laura and then travel together back to Sam's. Laura has Norman on his lead and he walks nicely with her, but refuses point blank to let Louis lead him, because he remembers how rough he was when Louis was younger. I have brought ante pasta for Louis, in a Tupperware box, as he is always starving after school, so as soon as we are indoors, he sits in the playroom and demolishes the lot. I drink tea and chat to Sam and then sit in the lounge with Laura, Louis and Norman until Rebecca returns home from her special school in Goole. She has a friend, Jack, staying for tea and the two of them play computer games on the TV using a Wii computer. I have never seen Rebecca so happy, talkative and animated. We leave at a quarter to five, drive to the leisure centre and leave Normy in the car, whilst I take Louis for his swimming lessons. The leisure centre changing rooms are packed, as always, with harassed mums burdened by discarded clothes, everyone in a hurry. It reminds me of the Army, rushing and queuing, rushing and queuing. After his lesson, we drive back to Sarah's, Alice lets us in, Louis wants to show me his model football players, so Norman and I stay for half an hour, before driving home to Tickton. Norman has a gourmet dog tin for dinner and I am boring and just have some more peas with the other pork pie. Pip phones, shortly after seven to ask if I will collect the dogs early tomorrow, as her Mum has been taken into hospital, I agree and tell her I hope her mum gets better soon. Later I read and then turn in for ten.