My lack of posting has, very simply, come down to a lack of things to talk about. Its the weather. The last few years I have posted about the Christmas Fayre in the town but this year it was a washout. To their credit despite the storm they refused to cancel as other towns did but it was reduced to a small hall with some stalls which lost its allure very quickly. A shame but the weather is unusually bad for this time of year.
My youngest daughter asked why we could not go for a drive. No point. Rain, rain and more rain. I got so frustrated one day I took a walk alone through the woods in the rain and mud and soon found myself mid air with legs kicking to come down with a splash. The whole of one side of me was caked in mud and then the rain stopped. One day I was so soaked in a storm (Barney I think) that my waterproof boots were full of water and I had to take off my woollen had has it had become too heavy for my head and fallen over my eyes and so I had to carry it home cold and wet.
And with all this rain my camera stays at home. After my wife broke my little camera in the rain I am more wary of the wet and so the slightest bit of rain and my camera stays at home. For this reason I have not been taking any photos with anything other than my phone which is waterproof but has a poor camera on it. It has not made for anything worth posting I am afraid.
A short post, a check in. On the subject of falls I did have another fall which has made me rethink my adventuring. It actually followed yet another fall- I see a pattern emerging. I passed some council workers and while some were sweeping leaves one man had what looked like a push lawn mower but it was sucking up the leaves like a vacuum cleaner. It seemed a lot of effort and expense for leaves. When I was down at Bothwell Bridge strolling down the path and without warning was suddenly on my back. Leaves. Wet leaves to be precise. It has made me more cautious.
But this rethink came with a day when I decided to go off the beaten track. Now that I am in more control of my panic and not being dictated to as much as to where I can go I am inclined to take more risks. One of these risks was down an embankment to the river Clyde. It was a steep embankment but I got down fine to take some photos- on one of the dry days. It was only when I decided to climb back up that I had problems. I had to grab hold of a thick tree root above me to hold on to as I planted a foot to push myself up. Trouble is I was not looking down. I had put my foot on a rock covered in moss which skidded straight off and there was a thud as my knee hit the ground and to top it off the shift in weight was enough to snap the root off in my hand and drop me on to my side.
Panic. I stood up and not only was my knee sore and throbbing but I could not put weight on it. I was at the bottom of an embankment I could not get back up and at least a mile from a road- if I needed picked up. And I had good reason to panic. I did not give into it though. Thankfully fairly quickly the feeling returned to my leg and although sore I could limp along the river bank. After about 10 minutes walking I found an area where I could climb up and finally get home. No drama in the end but it was a warning I feel to take a bit more care in future. I tend not to say where I am going when I go out because mostly I don't know until I get there. That is even more reason to take more care.
No harm done and judging by the weather there will be no more adventures until the new year. A quiet time ahead. We away the snow that has coated the north of Scotland but yet to make its way down here. Snow is good. Snow makes the world look different and that would be a reason to go out with the camera. For now we wait for the storm to pass.
