Aah, Christmas. Just the one stabbing this year (brothers - pencil, nothing out of the ordinary) and one minor penknife incident ("It's not a bad cut, don't worry"). Early on Christmas morning I sat down heavily on a chair that wasn't there and then mere seconds later an unmanned drone hit me in the head. Other than that it was almost uneventful. Flower sticks proved a great hit. About forty baubles and three pounds of pine needles were knocked off the tree, but otherwise an excellent idea. Next year we'll be ready for flaming flower sticks. That's where you set the ends alight. And possibly the tree if it gets a bit on the dry side.
Boxing Day is a wonderful thing is it not. All of that glorious fresh air. Down at the beach every dog in a ten mile radius was scampering about. The biggest boy spotted a duck bobbing up and down in the waves. It turned out to be a young female eider, a large sea duck. You can see a (captive) male in this post (last photo). You wouldn't normally expect to see one around here, so it was a good spot. She dealt with the crashing waves beautifully. Riding over the top until a huge one came, then diving into it and surfacing on the other side. Apparently she's been around for a couple of weeks now. The herring gulls hassled her quite a bit, but she seems unharmed. She is a first year duck, so fairly new at it all. Let's hope she survives and finds her chums. There are probably some up on the Gower coast in Wales. A short hope for such a speedy flyer.
We walked along as far as Birnbeck Pier. Opened in the mid-1800s, it's now completely derelict and incredibly spooky.
If it wasn't all collapsing into the sea it would be a great setting for a dark and twisty tale of murder. It really is a frightening place. It would be lovely to see it restored though.
Hope all have survived Christmas unscathed. Have a good week. CJ xx
Ooh there's something about an abandoned pier, isn't there? Spooky indeed. Your Christmas sounds wonderful. We walked in the woods today and it seemed that all the dogs in Hampshire were out in force.
ReplyDeleteConsidering all the knives forecast for your Christmas it sounds like you did well. Great beach photos.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have got away lightly accident wise.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I thought "boxing day" was when you took all your ornaments off the tree and re-BOXED them. Now I know it's walk on the beach with a lot of dogs day! I depend on you for all I know about English life. I got Dayle a new chef's knife for xmas and he already cut himself with it. Boys. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
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*H*A*P*P*Y* *N*E*W* *Y*E*A*R*!*
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Good post and pictures. I'm glad to see you all survived mostly unscathed in spite of several minor mishaps.
ReplyDeleteThanks, and you too. Flighty xx
The pier certainly does look spooky but interesting too, imagine what it would have been like in its heyday. Glad to hear you survived Christmas relatively unscathed. We went for a long walk along our local canal yesterday, everyman and his dog were out, it was glorious. Fiona x
ReplyDeleteGosh that pier does look spooky. Checked out the flower sticks link and laughed at the alternative name - devil sticks or is that only when they are lit? Hope the eider duck finds her friends.
ReplyDeletePencils. Dangerous beasts. The walk looked lovely, very bracing. We did a 10k race on the 27th in ice. Also bracing. Here's to a wonderful New Year xx
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a typical weekend chez CJ :-) Glad no major injuries were sustained and I hope your bottom and ego are not too bruised. We didn't manage to convince anyone to come out in the storm with us so it was just Richard, the dog and I facing the outside world on Boxing Day. Definitely the best day of the entire Christmas period. Enjoy the remaining festive days! We are gearing up for the biggest ever Hogmanay party... not sure if I can quite cope with the thought. xx
ReplyDeleteIt would be fabulous if that pier ever was restored, such a shame. There is nothing like a bit of fresh air. Your photo's are fabulous. Have a lovely new year!
ReplyDeleteooooh...i bet that pier is full of stories. and a ghost or three....
ReplyDeleteglad you had a good Chrimbo...same here, although without woundings...xoxo
Oh, I do hope that the pier is restored!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
No blue lights and sirens, then? Phew. Just the one slicing here. Nothing dropped off and luckily, red is such a festive colour. Enjoy these last days of 2016.
ReplyDeletedrone attacks happened here too. it's amazing how well they shred tinsel............
ReplyDeleteI resisted buying a whittling knife and chose a fire starter kit. probably more dangerous in reality.
These photos are so beautiful, CJ. We had a minor knife accident too. It was kind of funny (I know, I'm so mean) because he was afraid to tell us. He probably thought we'd take the knife away, but we didn't, we just warned him to be more careful. Now, if his sister had been the one to cut herself, you would have heard the screaming all the way over there where you are, that's the difference between my two!
ReplyDeleteSuch a gorgeous day out! I survived Christmas and New Year's and am so happy it is all over and packed away! Happy New Year CJ!
ReplyDeleteI had to look up a bit about Boxing Day. I certainly like the idea of tacking another holiday on to the end of the year. I honestly wish Christmas went until mid January. The flower sticks seem like the perfect gift for boys around the age of yours. The pencil and pen stories made me laugh! Boys are wild, but fun. I always love the pictures you take of the sea over there. It's so beautiful and mysterious. Like the disintegrating pier.
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