Windows

Weatherwise,  the last week has probably  been the worst one of the winter here in Yorkshire. . Grey skies and plenty of rain. It has been difficult to get out. When working in schools, whole days could go by without me looking out of the classroom window. Of course these days with intercative whiteboards, many modern school rooms have to be permanently shielded from daylight by blinds. Most unhealthy. Sometimes the evening cleaners might say to me, "It's been an awful day" or "Hasn't it been lovely today?" and my response would be, "Has it? I hadn't noticed".

Most of this past week I have looked out at bedraggled birds seeking sustenance in our soggy garden or fellow citizens hurrying by on the footpath with hoods pulled down or umbrellas raised.  But this morning - Saturday - sunshine poured from a cobalt blue sky for two or three hours before the familiar greyness returned.

Naturally, I had to take some pictures. The top one is of the bay window at the front of our little house. You can see our recycling bins and my car parked on the block paving in front of our exclusive residence. Below there's an old friend sitting in a sunny window. It's a cactus that we have parented for almost thirty years now. If I don't twist it around occasionally the prickly cactus fingers will bend over as they reach imperceptibly for the light.The tall one is the mama.

At the back of our house I am looking through the glass above the kitchen door. It is such a sunny morning that the contrast between the shadow cast by our house over the garden and the brightly sunlit houses on a parallel street is quite severe. You might just be able to make out our pet sheep Beau and her cute lamb Peep grazing on the lawn.

 Next to our kitchen door we have a steel board where fridge magnets cluster - souvenirs of places visited. And this is also like a window because each magnet provides memories of somewhere else - a window on the world.