Brevity and beauty.

Ravishing, glittering day. Freezing cold: three degrees with savage wind-chill. Took the red mare for a walk. She has slight mud fever and is a little sore, so we are on remedial walking to get the circulation going in her sadly puffy fetlocks. A lady stopped, looked out of her car window, and shouted: ‘Oh, but she’s so beautiful.’ So that made my day. Did a madly knotty piece of work which almost had my brain falling out of my ears, so there is no functioning cerebral cortex left for the blog. It’s shameful I know, but I must heed my limitations. Once the brain goes out the ear, there is no remedy, except sitting very, very still in a darkened room. I may, if I am exceptionally brave, read a book.

I hope to be functioning more efficiently tomorrow. In the meantime, here is some visual beauty for you, on which to rest your tired eyes. This was Scotland in the late morning, looking south and west over the Dee valley, as I went up and did my HorseBack UK work:

And, at home, the Best Beloveds: