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Morning walk with my dog. Cold, cold wind blown rain. The park deserted, the woods where forest management has taken place. A sea of broken branches & mud. On higher open ground the wind turbines humming like a passenger jet. A breath taking, hard core sort of a day. Dog loved it, home now for tea.

I invested in a small electric heater for my greenhouse last year, keeps the temperature above freezing and helps with the damp. Well worth it to see the plants thriving on a cold and miserable Januaru day like today!

Woke at 3, came down at 5, nodded back off in chair at 6. Grandson videocall at 6.25. We do a Thursday breakfast club, we cook & eat breakfast together, 2hr time difference where he is in the world. No school till 10. 1hr 15mins later he left for school. Now beyond sleep in greenhouse with coffee. 😂

A world set against a cold grey sky. Bitter wind with icy rain making an appearance. The delicate beauty of lichen on bare hedgerows stands out on this grim January day. Some white through to yellow, the delicate fronds reaching skyward. I only ever seem to notice it on days like this.

Ive been in a different place for 7 hours. Out of contact with the here and now. What happened, what did I miss?

Winter's grip holds on to us tight. No mistaking where we are in the year. Autumn seems in the distant past, spring far, far away.

I've not been to the tropical rainforest. I imagine outside my house is what it's like. Apart from trees and it's only 6 degrees. Everything is drenched, there's no rain. The moisture seems to be in the air, a thick swirling mist everywhere. A shining film of cold dripping water reaching all parts.

youtu.be/Qg1ZP2cRcC0 I've decided to walk West to East across Leeds. First of four videos as I head from Pudsey to Garforth

The Christmas lights in town are still on. Not just still up but still on. Proclaiming Christmas loud and proud, morning, noon and night.

The Great Hall at the University of Leeds. It is a Grade 2 listed building opened in 1894. At the time the University was known as The YorkshireCollege. The building cost £22000 and at the time incorporated the main library of the college. It is still regularly in use today.

All Saints Church, Sherburn in Elmet, parts of the church date to around 1120. The field in the foreground is a scheduled ancient monument. Where what is known as Athelstans Palace was situated. King Athelstan was the first King of a unified England.

Stepping out from the warmth of home my dog and I enter a surreal winter world. Cold, dark and damp. Not a breath of wind, fog closing in around. Hundreds in the houses near us yet there are no sounds, just the birds. They are simply magnificent, in all of this they sing their little hearts out.

My journey to work, a blanket of dark grey envelopes the world. The only colour, green fields, headlights and red tail lamps. The only sign day is breaking, a lighter shade of grey. Last week snow, the week before, stunning sunrise and moonset.

@imcmillan.bsky.social I left the twitterverse when the spaceman arrived. I missed the interactions. Blue sky world didn't feel the same. Imagine my surprise when I found he himself had arrived from sunny Sth Yrks. Time to begin again page 1, day 1, brand new book, finding words to have with my tea.

I wake to the familiar sound of rain pelting against the roof and windows. That coldest January sort we seem beset with. The blocked gutters on my house and the neighbours are pouring. Soon the rain stops. It's oh so still and very very dark out there. 6.42am 17 January 2026