​At Tesco’s, while grabbing an Easter egg and some hot cross buns for the weekend, I spotted this little chap on the toiletries shelf. I wondered what prompted him to be abandoned there.

​My glass Easter egg; I haven’t treated myself to a chocolate one yet.

​Daffodils and forsythia at Trimdon church.

​I have to be careful parking my car at home as the ‘wild’ area at the back of the houses is blanketed with daffodils and primroses. So pretty!

​Teaching Mr Blue Skye how to take selfies. As you can see, his patience is wearing a little thin.

​A day of heavy winds and rain. Looking out to the garden through a rain-streaked window.

​The sun shining through the hallway annd casting a spectrum on to a photo I took, and had printed on canvas, of a ginkgo tree in Virginia Arboretum.

​A few puffs of cotton wool in the clear blue sky, yet only a couple of hours later, the rain was pouring down again.

​Spider plant in the lounge, which unfortunately, Tricksie Treat likes to chomp on.

​Strange weather on the way home. Heavy skies over a dark sea, hailstones and bright sunshine all created an amazing sky.

​Out for the count.

​A pair of jackdaws silhouetted against the sunset, taken from my office window.

​Walking around Jesmond Dene, Newcastle, we saw a huge tree covered with pairs of shoes. Apparently, an ‘art installation’ by students.

​A summer haze over the River Derwent at The Land of Oak and Iron.

​Golden daffodils at the feet of slumbering trees, not yet woken by the harbingers of Spring.

​A beautiful spring afternoon sky on my way home from work today.

​Gravestones used as a wall at Trimdon village church.

​My walking shoes, dried after a good soaking on the beach on Saturday, have a huge crust of salt on them. This will be hard work to remove.

​Kielbasa is not an easy find here, compared to the U.S., but I was directed to a Polish shop near work, and now have some Polish treats for the week. 

​Spending a lazy Sunday afternoon hanging out with the moggies.

​Some of the sea glass I found at Hawthorn Hive today.

​Shot hurriedly through the car windscreen, the view of the sea at Hartlepool, as I drove to work.

​A family heirloom, that I brought over for a dear friend in my container, is finally back in the family’s hands. Mission accomplished!

​Soapsuds at the carwash today with Spencer the Sportage.

Mar 10, 2026

​There’s a lot of solar farms being installed around Teeside. I’m guessing because the fields get flooded so often, thus is a way for farmers to earn some money. The mud is horrendous.

​This topiary is outside the Sedgefield Racecourse. It’s a steeple racehorse and rider, and it’s pretty cool.

​An interesting mural that I passed in Chilton. 

​A unique bar and restaurant on the beach in South Shields. You take a lift down from the carpark at the top of the cliffs. 

​I’m really hoping the farmer is going to continue pruning this hedge, otherwise it’s going to really bother me every time I pass by.

​This chunk-a-lunk is a happy chappy because he’s got a full tummy and the central heating is on.

​Take me home, country roads…my drive home after work.

​Found a lovely reverse painted lamp on Marketplace for a steal. It looks lovely in my lounge.

​A beautiful sunrise on the way to work this morning.

​Watched Epic, an Elvis film by my favourite director, Baz Luhrmann. It was incredible, and will be a DVD purchase when it’s released.

​Walking with a group from the moors down into Blanchland.

​The Groverake Mine, north of Stanhope, on the Pennines. The last mine headgear in County Durham.

​St Peter’s Church in Byers Green.

​A lovely walk at Croxdale today, led by Andy. The snowdrops were in full bloom.

​A fabulous walk with Andy and his two friends, called Dave, across the moors above Blanchland.

​An alleyway in Peterlee with the scoria bricks that I love. 

​A walk around the Washington area. This is the Victoria Viaduct, once the main train line from Newcastle to London. Plans are in progress for it to be used again for the Metro.

​At Saltburn, fossil hunting, while walking along the beach to Redcar.

​Both Mr Blue Skye and Tricksie Treat like yoghurt. Here is TT enjoying her teaspoonful of oat and walnut Activia. 

​I stopped to grab this view on my way home from work. Still very damp and misty. The sun shone just briefly.

​Driving to work, it’s lovely to see the sun and blue skies again.

​A neighbour left a huge parsnip on my doorstep, so I promptly made a parsnip and potato soup. Sprinkled with grated mature cheddar, it was delicious. A sentiment Mr Blue Skye obviously wanted to share. 

​After this morning’s 6.5 mile walk, I decided to drive to Weardale and check out the moors in snow. I got to Tow Law and gave up. With the snow and a thick fog, I couldn’t see anything beyond this fence…

​I saw these today and had a chuckle. The pet dressing business has gone a bit far, but there’s plenty that have money to waste on such trivialities. Poor pets!

​Driving to work this morning. It was all gone by lunchtime, when we had hailstones for a while. Of course, all of this has just added to the copious amounts of mud and flooding we now have.

​Looking west across a rainy valley towards Ferryhill.