A clean Sweep-Brushing the Cobwebs away

I walked down to the sea at high tide today. The wind has died down considerably but the waves were still pounding against the railway line. It looks as if my eldest  son won't be able to travel up to Carlisle by train on Friday. Some parts of the track have been damaged and if not repaired by the end of the week he will have to go by bus from Workington to Carlisle. One of the down sides I suppose  of living in a beautiful but remote community.

The fields seemed to be more full of sheep than normal, it transpired , when I spoke to my neighbour who is a farmer  that the high tides had torn down the fence next to the railway line and he can't let the sheep roam on the marshes as they normally do at this time of year, yet another unanticipated expense providing extra hay for his flock

Another victim of the storms appears to be our Black Rock hen Wilma who disappeared during the night. Her Coop door blew open and she is no where to be found. She's very vunerable as she has a limp and doesn't venture far.Despite my repeated calls she hasn't appeared and I'm wondering whether she has been taken by a fox. There were signs that a hen had been attacked in the field behind our house today but it wasn't Wilma- we obviously  have a fox or badger on the prowl.

Whilst it rained intermittently during the morning I cleared the decks. Down came the Christmas Tree and the decorations. Thank you cards were written and paper work was thinned . I needed to clear my head.It's the start of a new school year but it's easy to get in a rut particularly when the days are dull and rainy and no one feels like going out.

I find if I tidy through our books I find things I'd forgotten and often my son takes a renewed interest in them. I'm going to clear Facebook and my email account too. I spend far too much time surfing the net and replying to messages and I want to be more productive in 2014..Here's to  a busy new Year!