Autumn's loving embrace

Autumn has arrived, and the maples are particularly lovely - couldn't resist putting up this early morning pic of the entwined tree-couple that greets the last leg of the way to the Lake house. No progress on the house renovations as we have been waiting for the planning permission. I go and visit though, put the stove on and commune with the poor house, telling it the sorry tales of the bureocratic delays - the worst dealings, ironically, were with E-on: the more multi-national the companies, the more difficult is to get through to human beings, etc etc. But I am told the permission should come in by the 15th Oct. Not that we can do much in a hurry but at least I'd like to have the bathroom working before the Winter hits us. For which we do need the permission as it involves burying a waste-tank in the grounds. The old lady who lived there before us had neither running water nor a loo, save for a hut some 100 yards down the bottom of the garden. We are getting quite fond of this arrangement now we got used to it, but I wouldn't like to have to shovel my way to it through a meter of snow once it comes :-) So - fingers crossed.