Murky.

The valley has been filled with cloud all day long. From indoors it looked very gloomy indeed but once I got outside things weren't so bad. After cleaning out the hen house and putting down a bed of fresh wood shavings I spent most of the day cutting back the sedums and artemisia in the scree garden and making a start on removing the leaves and moss from the stones. A summer of neglect has let the moss grow unchecked and weeds have also appeared. I foresee many happy hours on my hands and knees getting the scree garden back into shape.

It was peaceful out in the garden. Every now and again the air was filled with the sound of high pitched chink, chink, chinks as a flock of some small birds took over one or other of the surrounding trees. At other times I was serenaded by a solitary robin hoping that I would do some digging and unearth a few worms.

By mid-afternoon my back had had enough and the cloud had settled right down to ground level so that gentle rain was falling. Time to go indoors and relax. I have been referred to the hospital as I still have hip problems which don't appear to be associated with my back problem. When I rang the first available appointment  was in January!