Reflections

 The light was so beautiful around the lake at Trentham yesterday.

It's been a week for reflections as we entered the second week of January.  We started the New Year with a funeral and now there will be another.  Our neighbour who had suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for many years had been bed bound for the last year and in and out of hospital.  She lost her partner of many years to Motor Neurone Disease in February 2020, just before the first lock down.  On Christmas Eve she was taken into hospital with Flu and another infection I think they said Sepsis.  Anyway, she lived through all that until last Thursday evening.  Her brother rang us on Friday morning with the news.  We had been looking after her cat and dog whilst she was in hospital.  Both animals have now found homes, not with us as we didn't want to take on any more animals at our age.  The cat is just a few houses down the road so we will see her around. The little dog has gone to a young couple who already have a pomeranian, I'm sure he will be happy in his new home.

We will have to wait and see what new neighbours will move in when the house is sold.  We have been so lucky to have wonderful neighbours on both sides over the last twenty eight years, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it may continue.

I've also been delving into the 1921 census now it is free on Ancestry.  I've been looking for siblings of my grandparents and found quite a few of them.  I later followed up on a link and found two very sad stories in the Hodgetts family.  My paternal great grandmother was a Hodgetts. I found her brother's  death due to a pit roof collapsing and the marriage of his daughter followed a year later by her death, probably in childbirth and the deaths of the twin boys within days of each other. 

Oh dear this post has got a bit maudlin.  

Here is a photo of a female pheasant taken as we walked around the lake yesterday.  There are three of them and they can usually be spotted in the trees between the lakeside walk and the monkey park.

I have registered to participate in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch again this year.  Goodness knows how many years we have been doing this but it always something to look forward to.  We've had some different bird visitors to the garden during the cold and icy weather including Siskins and Long-Tailed Tits.  There have also been Starlings about again.

All for now.  Take care.