January sunshine on Dartmoor

Blue skies over Dartmoor in January

The southwest of England must have been the best place to be, this winter.  We have enjoyed several consecutive days of blue skies and sunshine; the ground is almost frozen so is firm to walk on yet not rock hard.  It is great walking in areas where the ground is usually quite boggy, and being able to walk over the top without sinking.  Dave took Tigger for a couple of miles exercise today close to Sheepstor and Burrator Reservoir, and took the above picture.... of a sea of dried grass, unspoilt by humankind!

Judy, with little Callah the terrier and Judy's mother, all opted for a slightly more sedate stroll along by the East Dart in Bellever Forest where a surprising number of huge pine trees have come down, probably when we had a day or two of strong wind a few weeks ago.  They had the place to themselves; the big advantage of walking in January!  They then took the car the long way round to get home - turn right out of the Bellever Forest car park, following the little lane towards Widecombe, and then turning right before rejoining the Ashburton/Dartmeet/Princetown road, and eventually turning right again along the Postbridge road - a rather beautiful circular tour, to make the most of the winter sunshine.

The Cherrybrook 2017 - New Year, new blog!

We are finally sorting out a few jobs from the never-ending to-do list, and one of these is to bring our "blog" up to date.  Dave started a blog way back in 2011 or 2012 with the very good intentions of keeping a regular record of our activities, but as with many good intentions, other priorities took over and our blog never really took off as we intended.

So, a new year, and a new start.  As I write, the snowdrops are beginning to peek through, the daffodils are starting to grow, and that dreadful mole is pushing up his 30th molehill in as many days! Dave is sanding down the wooden window ledges prior to oiling them, and Judy is stocking up the cupboards ready for our Spring visitors.  It seems as if the to-do list grows as quickly as the daffodils!