>But not the oak in our back yard.
Then slowly, slowly we watched the leaves change colour.
Those leaves hung on and hung on ...
Eventually, a few of them fell, and most of them gravitated to the pond.
But then we had a really wet weekend, with a lot of wind.
A sunny winter's day
But it happens every now and then. The sky clears, and we get to wander on the beach.
Nothing quite like a vacant beach. This is Preston Beach, rolling on to Paignton.
That's Paignton Pier over there. And back this way, some lovely rock pools to play in.
One of the nicest things about Preston Beach in the winter is this little kiosk - that actually stays open.
Young Madeleine in there serves great coffee and bacon baps and the like. And while we sit there and enjoy our meal, all sorts of interesting people come by to chat with her and grab a coffee or a snack too.
Musicians and all sorts of interesting locals. And because this is England and the people are friendly and we can speak the language we can enjoy a bit of jovial banter with them.
Time to stay indoors
Of course there are still a lot of days when it's too wet to go to the beach.
And no students.
So lots to do on the computer.
