Usksider's Photo Blog

Well I think it's time I posted the second part of today's Bear cartoon.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Good!

This is a quite a large video, so please be patient...

Bear meets ET (Part 2)

In case you missed Part 1

It's a bit of a tradition in this house to walk on one of our local South Wales beaches on New Year's morning; this year it happened to be the beach at Ogmore.

We left in sunshine, but the clouds started to gather as we drove with a promise of more rain. God knows we seem to have had plenty just recently, but 2007 seemed destined to carry o where 2006 left off.

Anyone who knows the beach at Ogmore knows the River Ewenny runs into the sea at the right-hand side of the beach beyond the life-guard station and ramp. The recent rain meant the river was in flood, with gallons of fresh water tumbling into the salt.

The rain water had also cut its own rivulets through the sand as it had run down from the village at the top of the beach creating some quite interesting shapes, especially along the edge of the river where there was a mini sand cliff-edge.

The early morning sunshine and blue skies had given way to strong winds and cloud cover by the time we found ourselves walking along the beach, but it was still a beautiful morning and the ozone rich air was quite special.

The wet sand mirrored the darkening skies above. Some lovely fluffy white cloud edges merging between the clear sky and the heavier stuff following on behind.

As we neared the far end of the beach the colouration of the light was almost what you'd expect from early evening as the clouds obliterated the Sun; quite stunning given the time was still around midday.

The rain came soon after this was taken and as sheltered between some rocks it started to hail so we headed back to the car to make our way home. Our walk had been truncated a little, but it was most pleasant nevertheless.

A final interesting touch for the day was the snow-storm we ran into around Cardiff. So New Year's Day and we'd had the whole gamut; sunshine, wind, rain, hail and snow. What a great start to the year.

Today's Bear is in two episodes so if you enjoy Part 1 this morning, make sure you check back later for Part 2!

Bear meets ET

Well that’s it then it’s all over and done, thank goodness and we can start getting back to a more ‘normal’ routine once again.

Christmas came and went, as it tends to do, in a flurry of spending, eating, drinking and merriment. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but it happened anyway and in truth it was less stressful than some I have known.

Most of us recuperated and were hit a week later by the frenzy of the New Year’s party: more senseless eating and drinking to excess. In this house the champagne stayed in the fridge along with the chilled flutes.

We sat watching Ice Age and Ice Age 2 – The Meltdown and the midnight hour slipped by amid the bangs and crashes of fireworks some fool set off in the street outside. A brief ‘phone call to wish a Happy New Year and I was in bed by 12:15 with my book.

So much for the end of 2006.

Now we have 2007 and what do I feel about that? Well not very much if truth be told.

Does today herald a new beginning in my life? I doubt it.

Have I made pointless resolutions that I’ll only break within 72 hours? Not a single one.

Am I looking forward to going back to work tomorrow? Not one bit.

Bugger!