Back again.

Like the proverbial bad penny I'm back again!, think it must have been writers block or something like that!.

Been out and about with Marjorie this week and met up with various people we both know and had chats with, I've also been to the Dog groomers this week with Pepe, luckily the snow wasn't too bad in Oldham, had checked with Son John to see if the roads were OK.

Here is my lad all washed, shampooed and trimmed.

People often mistake Pepe for a Pomeranian, but as you can see here, they have a bit more of a pointed snout, still very nice though!.

Whilst on the subject of dogs here is a picture of one of John's Cockapoos, Max having is 15 minutes of fame and he was in last weeks edition of Dogs Weekly, they were running a section on the growing popularity of Cockapoos, the fact that they don't moult must be very appealing!.

   Back to the lake this week I saw a pair of Tufted Ducks at Etherow, which I'd not see there before, only on the river at Bakewell, perhaps they had come to shelter at the closed waters of Etherow as it  was very windy that day.

Not a very good picture but you can see his nice black and white plumage, it was with my pocket camera as well!.

On the modelling front, after not being able to get any Eye Nuts for my "J" Class boat stand decided to go with the Domed nuts that were already on it and bought some metal strips from B&Q, for a couple of quid 

Cut them down into four end pieces, then drilled out some of the holes and fitted them to the rods with the domed nuts 

 An extra washer and screw to stiffen things up and then the ropes added!.

So I'm getting there with the refurbishment of the "J" Class, next will be the rubbing down of the deck and hull ready for re-spraying, though after the scare I had with the chest infection in early December I'm putting that off until this cold snap is over and I can get out in the garden to do that job!.

Bargains of the week this week are 

A dehumidifier bought from Aldi at £29.99, £99.99 at B&Q but the Aldi one is working fine and great for the job I want it for!

Bargain 1

Been to Homebase on the way home from the lake today and there was this nice Arachnid Cactus, was £10 on the ticket under the white ticket which put it down to £3.33 and today to £1.66!!.

Can't be bad hey, I'm all for a good bargain, must get round the charity shops for a nice pot for it now!.

At the lake today it was dry but very cold, still plenty of people out walking and feeding the ducks and geese

A few pictures of the wildlife today 

Robin on the landing stage.

Cormorants in the trees on the islands drying their feathers out, found out this week on Winterwatch that  their feathers are not as waterproofed as other birds so they can dive into the water without the feathers keeping them from diving deep, so need a drying off period.

Moorhen walking in the trees.

Male Mandarin. 

 This little fellow wasn't wild just getting excited as his humans were in the Cafe

Well thats all for now, promise it won't be so long next time.

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Can a cross eyed teacher control her pupils?.

Should single crabs have nippers?.

Is it cruel to sew buttons on flies?.

I've started a new diet, "No more eating my own words, swallowing my pride, or putting my foot in my mouth!!.

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It's the way I tell em!

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