We wanted a walk...

No explanation as to what the intent is here. The trees felled don't appear to be diseased. Lady Hunter Blair's walk was a peaceful walk up one side of the linn and back.
We then had a quick drive past where we lived eight years ago... luckily saw one old neighbour..many changes of course..and looks like our old landlady is moving in to the cottage we lived in. Well, it is a shepherd's cottage...and he is a retired shepherd...

You can just see the roof just left of centre in the first photo...the last was our view across the valley.

I don't think that we should go back again...we have literally moved on. We married in the local village, just over three miles from the cottage.  That was really the close of our time here as we no longer have lawns we cut there.

A walk into town

 A Tonka toy doing  "U" turn!!

 A pile driving crane working from a wooden platform on piles..... historically there was a row of shops and houses there...but at a point where the main force of the river flow hits

 Local shop

 And into the River City...

 Home again after joining in on a track training session this afternoon..yet another beautiful sunset.

Boxing Day Walk

 Too windy for the bike, and just ok to go in the car...we went to Alloway and parked near the mouth of the Doon river, where the gulls were sheltering from the wind.

 Over the river is the fisherman's bothy.  The swan family was sheltering as well!

 
 Over the Millenium Bridge at the southern end of the Lang Scots Mile

 Here came a few hundred runners racing along the promenade...the annual 10k Turkey Trot

 There is plenty of sand...not all where you want it...say a few words and feel it between your teeth,the wind was more than a breeze!

 ...and sand where it should be!

 Air in Ayr..and a stop for coffee and stroopwaffel...

 and a hope as we cut across the old racecourse that we'd get back to the car before the rain....

 No!!....but it was only a short squall this time...

 Bellisle Park Gates..these ones by a gatehouse cottage are nolonger used.

 over a wee burn...

 to the River Doon, that swollen by rainwater too.

 and then back by the bankside footpath to the footbridge.

Making the most of the daylight..fighting cabin fever!

apples!

We had a short walk today,  up the road, down an old road,now a track,across a bridge over the burn then, as the track disappeared...
across the field..and despite being up a slope, it was sodden after the amount of rain we have had.

We reached the top of a small hill,where we could then see laid out all the other farms around our home, plus a small farm track hidden in a dip that we hadn't realized was there.

Across a patch of rough ground and we picked up another old track, lined with wizened and gnarled trees.....many bearing fruit......

Crabapples...ripe and ready and still hanging on!!   We filled our pockets with fruit then headed for home as fine rain showers began.
Around another field margin to pick up another old road,now beneath earth, which goes along rather across the main valley, then down the nearest old track to home. We picked up fallen ash and apple branches on our way to keep ourselves warm in the evening.

The tarmacadamed roads now go along the Dyrock valley by us and up over Guiltree Hill from Kirkmichael to Dalrymple.     The old tracks laid with stones go across and up to the latter road from the farms.  I should think that the valley road is relatively new.

Apples!...The pink spots are their natural colouring,quite pretty. 
They are being washed in water with a dash of vinegar, then they will be joined in a preserving jar with vodka, sugar and some Geans ( wild cherries) from the freezer...picked last June.   
They'll be ready for the next Winter Solstice celebrations!!