199. New Year thoughts . . .


We took this on Sunday towards the end of a glorious walk on Kinder. As we descended down Sandy Hay towards the reservoir and home I got to thinking - day-dreaming really - about the year ahead and my hopes for it.

Get the new bed for my line of apples cordons completed, finish off the duck pond and drainage project, maybe hatch a few chicks if Flash and the broody bantams can strike up some kind of working relationship.

But bigger stuff too. I hope to publish one of two books that I have written.

In all of this New Year dreaming, it s increasingly clear to me as I get older that I am likely to be disappointed, and that although I may have some small victories I am likely to suffer setbacks and encounter considerable difficulties along the way. And of course, there will be as-yet-unseen new hurdles to surmount.

That is life - small battles, small victories and many defeats.

If you want to read something that captures that point powerfully and eloquently then read John Williams' Stoner. A quite brilliant novel.

Best wishes for 2015.

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