Spring has sprung . . . not

The bright spell we had before this current stormy weather tempted me and the dog out of our armchair/basket and into the countryside.

We had a couple of walks which were chilly (with frost) but nice because of the bright sun.

One such walk, we discovered an old threshing machine decomposing in the corner of a field. It made me think about the days when dozens of men would be working the fields around the village, when there were up to a dozen pubs (none now), shops (just a small post office today) and a real sense of community (definitely none now!).

I was brought right back into the 21st century by an equally decrepit piece of machinery lying in a nearby hedge. Dumping your unwanted items in the countryside seems to be the way you get rid of them nowadays. I wonder how long it'll take this motorbike to rot away completely - probably never will.

Our noses were assaulted when we came across a farmer spreading muck on his field - poor dog, her sense of smell is thousands of times more sensitive than mine. In fact, the smell wasn't too bad as we approached as we were upwind but it got worse as we went around the field. Also, the next day, the wind changed towards the village and the place stank for a week!

I don't think it has been a particularly bad winter, but the rabbits have obviously been hungry, devouring the bark on these young trees . . .

Finally, we found some more frosty teasels - one of my favourite photographic subjects.