It infuriates me, that they can do that. The wonderful old church has been there for over 850 years, and is cared for by hard-working members of the congregation.

The thieves have not just been busy desecrating holy places, however. The farming industry is being hit, big time. Trailers, quad bikes and all sorts of machinery are being taken.

When I was a police officer, I really enjoyed arresting nasty thieves, and proving their guilt. The thing that bugs me is that somewhere, someone is receiving all this stolen property. I hope they can salve their conscience.

The other morning I was happily peeling carrots in the kitchen at work, when my lady boss came in and asked me if I knew how to change a car wheel, as a lady had a flat tyre and needed help.

I went out to see if I could assist and in no time we had the spare wheel out of the boot and the car jacked up. I was struggling with undoing the wheel nuts with the brace, which were obviously fastened by a machine, because while I am pretty strong, they were really tight. Chivalry is not dead however, because two gentlemen, walking their dog, offered assistance. As we tidied up, the lady introduced herself
as one of my distant neighbours, and recognised me from this diary.

One lady reader from Scarborough sent me the most moving and wonderful poem, that made me cry, because it was "from" my dog Bentley. It gave me great comfort, even though it was sad. It basically told me that while he may be gone physically, he is still with me in everything I do. I know this because I feel his comforting presence sometimes. The other dogs seem to have got over the loss, avidly assuring me that they can eat the extra food if I put it down!

When I was checking the sheep, I watched the mist rolling in from the moor like a moving carpet of white snow, just clinging to the top of the vegetation. It was hugging the ground and was almost scary, as it rolled swiftly towards me. When it got to my field, it seeped through the walls and soon the sheep seemed to be legless as they stood stoically in their white sea.

The clouds above were tinged with bright pink as the sun set and then the white became a warm rose colour, which made the mist look like pink icing sugar on a cake. I have never seen it quite
like that before and would have missed it had I not
been in my top field at that time. Occasionally I see beautiful mist at dawn on the Mire and I have also seen marsh fire once or twice, like a gentle glow.

One of my college friends is a shepherd in Northumberland, where the flooding has been horrendous. I rang to check she was alright, which she is, but she is fighting the losing battle of drying soaking wet clothes. I can at least get to the launderette if I need to, although there has been quite a bit of flooding locally.

I think I shall remember this year as the year of the stoat. I see them everywhere, especially beside the roads. I have a few on my land,
living in the walls, which is why I have the ducklings in a safe place. I do wonder why so many this year. There are a lot of berries on the trees and bushes, which I was always told predicted a bitter winter. I wonder if the same applies to stoats?