This photo, despite being uninteresting is interesting because…

1. It’s got a Cornish tin mine in the background – Wheal Phoenix. This mine raised over 4000 tons of tin and 80,000 tons of copper during its lifetime. Not bad eh?
2. The water lying on the field in front of the mine building isn’t usually there. The whole moor looks like an extension to the Atlantic ocean this morning despite being 1000 feet above sea level. I have NEVER seen so much surface water here in the years since we came here.
3. This hoss was obviously feeling lonely and in need of comfort because it approached us! I’m not known for my love of horses but even I scratched its nose as it so clearly wanted our company.
4. As I put my camera back into its pouch a few moments after taking this photo, the heavens opened and it snailed so heavily that I thought we might die of exposure. (Snailed = a mix of snow and hail, all delivered parallel to the ground in 30mph winds!) The hail was like having a thousand needles thrown at you at once.
We took the dogs for a walk – the first time I’ve felt up to it for days because of my bad back. The sun was shining although it was blustery. By the time we’d got the couple of hundred yards up the road to the moor while Lola tugged, yipped and did her pirouettes of excitement, all of which while tugging my arm out on her lead, I realised my back wasn’t as much better as I’d thought! We got onto the moor and I hobbled along with DM lambasting me for being such as idiot as to attempt it. I gave in and agreed it was time to turn back as the clouds came scudding over.

This photo was taken about half way home and I reckon we’d only covered about 1/3 of our “standard loop” distance – perhaps around a mile, maybe a tiny bit more. After the snailing began, I thought we’d never make it home and we may not have done if DM hadn’t valiantly volunteered to manhandle both dogs when they had to go back onto their leads. I struggled down off the moor and onto the road, then took charge of Lola to give DM a break and ended up trying to direct a bloke in a car to the Cornish Cheese Company’s farm (Cornish Blue), which is a mile or so from our house but he’d already driven past it so I had to explain how to get back to it. It took forever and DM was extremely grumpy because the weather was dire and JD flatly refused to walk the last hundred yards home without the rest of his family. Eventually I got the bloke on his way and managed a bit of revenge for the hold-up by the full length muddy dog print, paws, legs, tummy and tail, all down the side of his car from where Lola tried to get her five pence worth too!!! Is that in bad spirit? I suppose so but as DM said, he did have a satnav on his dashboard!

I wish I’d thought to ask hoss to give me a ride home.