Now that snow is falling on my blog until 4th January 2013, falling faintly through the universe, I have posted some seasonal photographs.

Before I get onto the main subject I thought I would share this rejected Christmas card.  At some stage in the Photoshop editing process I became bored with the image; it was taken down one of the local lanes but in the end I thought it looked too much like something from the top of a biscuit tin.  Returning to it a few weeks later I am loath to discard it altogether.  The fine words from James Joyce did survive onto a different version.

I have been blogging (horrible word) for a few months and now seems an appropriate time to introduce the neighbours.  We live in the wilds of Northumberland but we are still part of a modern multicultural society – near neighbours include Highland Cattle, Longhorns and Llamas (or are they Alapacas, I am never sure):

It is perhaps unkind to be rude about the neighbours but these Llamas don’t look to be the sharpest knives in the cutlery drawer, but then again, looks can be deceptive.  This final picture contains the inevitable sheep, looking unusually grubby against the white, white snow.  This is facing southwest across the Tyne Valley; the river is on the right, shining brightly as it temporarily changes course before heading into Newcastle, the Shields, Tynemouth and the North Sea.  The picture was taken just down the road from where these poor unfortunates suffer the rigours of a northeast winter.