Daily Nature Log
Date: 3 January 2026
Location: Sheringham, England

Weather & Conditions
  The morning’s light snow showers had settled on the ground, leaving a slippery surface. The temperature was 3°C, but there was a strong, cold wind chill making it feel much colder—potentially near -4°C—with winds blowing around 16–19 mph. The surface was quite slippery, and I had to walk with care.

Observations
  The Hebe shrubs along our front hedge were covered in purple flowers, bringing a splash of colour to the wintry afternoon. As I made my way along Cowslip Lane, I watched a Magpie sheltering from the vicious gusts on the leeward side of a rooftop. On Foxglove Lane, I passed a man with a mongrel-type dog, both well wrapped up against the wind.
  Near the abandoned factory, I spotted approximately 20 Feral Pigeons flying around the rooftop they use as a colony.   Walking along the outskirts of the recreation ground, I noticed 15 Gulls sitting on the grass with their feathers tucked in against the wind—an effective survival strategy in these harsh conditions. A single Crow flew down to join them.
  Inside the cemetery, another Magpie flew into a tree bordering the allotment site. I walked past several small trees, including a couple of Crab Apples that surprisingly still held a few sparse fruits. Above the rookery, a small parliament of Rooks circled the treetops.

Reflections
  The wind was whistling through the trees along the cemetery road, sounding like a strange, arboreal orchestra. Different tones emanated from different varieties of trees, depending on the shapes and sizes of the evergreen leaves. Near the cricket pavilion, I saw a man with two large dogs—a chocolate Labrador and a Golden Retriever.
The wind played a ghostly tune against the metal links of the fence by the five-a-side pitch. I was tempted to record the sound on my phone, but it was far too cold to take my hands out of my pockets. Finally, I noticed a family with a Cockerpoo-type dog on the grass beneath the pine trees.
Activity Summary
Today I walked for 1.6 miles in 32 minutes.
Google Fit awarded me 24 heart points.

Copyright ©️ Text, photographs and videos Written by John Yeo – All rights reserved

I wrote the following piece of poetry two years ago and I have resurrected it here and tidied it up for a blog piece. I had it reviewed by an anonymous friend.

AUTHENTIC
by John Yeo
What does it mean to call something authentic?
If the sense of identification proves it’s real,
Can one prove the authenticity of it, unseen?

I suddenly woke this morning from a realistic dream,
The power of the images was unbelievably surreal.
What does it mean to call something authentic?

I pinched myself when things were not what they seemed,
An alternative reality that would be difficult to conceal.
Can one prove the authenticity of life, unseen?

A parallel experience that seemed alien to my lifestream,
Both lives were familiar as part of life’s spinning wheel.
What does it mean to call something authentic?

If I lived permanently ensconced in the life of my dream,
Reality as I know it would be a world that’s unreal.
Can one prove the authenticity of a life, unseen?

Would a schizophrenic personality somehow glean
Peace of mind with a new turn of the balance wheel?
What does it mean to call a life authentic?
Can one prove the authenticity of it, unseen?

Written by John Yeo ©️ all rights reserved

The style of this poem is free verse. It is a poem that does not follow any specific rhyme scheme or meter. The poem is written in the first person and explores the meaning of authenticity. The speaker of the poem asks a series of questions about what it means to be authentic, and whether or not it is possible to prove the authenticity of something. The poem ends with the speaker still asking these questions, suggesting that there is no easy answer.

  Margaret and I enjoyed a wonderful meal at a local restaurant. We weren’t celebrating anything special, in fact it was a night that we usually fondly describe as a ‘Just Because’ night.

  No.10 is a little gem of a restaurant that is situated in Augusta Street in Sheringham, North Norfolk. A small, select, family owned business run by the proprietors; Sonya who reflects a friendly welcome to the front of house and her husband Mustapha who has been cooking for almost 20 years. No.10 is conveniently situated quite close to the town centre of Sheringham,  the full address is… No.10 Augusta Street, Sheringham, Norfolk. NR26 8LA. Telephone number 01263 824400.

The interior of the restaurant has been described as vintage and is decorated with numerous vintage photographs and many ornamental talking points scattered around. 

  What makes this delightful restaurant special though is the always excellent cuisine prepared by Mustapha and the equally consistent warm welcome provided by his wife, Sonya.

   We were delighted with the meal and overcome with admiration for the cooking skills of Mustapha.

  We ordered drinks, Margaret chose white wine and I ordered a glass of my usual elderflower cordial. We were served with a wonderful taster dish of home made bread with olives and a tasty dipping oil.

   Margaret has an allergic reaction to anything cooked in rapeseed oil and also tomatoes. Sonya assured us this wouldn’t be a problem.

 We both started with a fillet of salmon served with pears, rocket, and tomatoes with an olive oil dressing. As promised Margaret’s portion was served without tomatoes. We both enjoyed this course immensely.

  Margaret had chicken supreme with potatoes, mushrooms and tarragon sauce for her main course. 

  I was served with a sea bass fillet with diced potatoes and red peppers and an incredibly tasty sauce.

  To follow we both indulged in a dessert of vanilla cheesecake with caramel sauce.

  We were both absolutely delighted with the quality and selection of dishes on the menu. The service was provided by Sonya the proprietor and was excellent, without any waiting time between the courses.

   No. 10 will always be our favourite restaurant in the whole of the area. We have enjoyed many meals there over the last few years and also whenever members of our family come to visit. 

I would highly recommend No.10 restaurant to anyone visiting Sheringham and the North Norfolk area.    

  I opened our bathroom window this morning whilst I was shaving and I was surprised to see a muntjac deer racing across our lawn into our secret blueberry garden. Unfortunately I was undressed and unable to go down into the garden to investigate. Margaret was involved in her weekly online Weightwatchers meeting so I continued washing and shaving. I finished my morning ablutions and went downstairs; the first thing I did was to check around the back of the house where I had seen the deer disappear. To my delighted surprise, I found myself face to face with a beautiful muntjac deer. The deer was approximately ten feet away from me and we looked at each other warily. The deer had a beautiful face, with big appealing eyes and a pair of large soft ears that were pricked up in a state of wary curiosity. I reached for my phone to take a photograph and realised it was on charge. As I moved my hand the startled deer panicked and unsuccessfully tried to jump over the brick wall at the end of the garden. Then it somehow scrambled up a wooden fence at the side of the garden and escaped. I later took a photo of this strange pile of black round objects, Margaret went online and asked Google and discovered they were almost certainly muntjac deer droppings.

I sat outside in the early morning sunshine composing my blog. The Robin redbreast instantly arrived to say hello and perched on a chair, allowing me to take some photographs. The resident community of wild birds together with a squirrel, quickly followed to feed on the crumbs of a biscuit I crumbled and spread over the patio.

We travelled along the A17 through rural Lincolnshire. It never ceases to amaze me how industrious the rural English are. We travelled through many well tended fields with a great variety of crops in the process of cultivation. The variety of houses and farm buildings with small shacks and sheds attached with many farming implements on display is impressive. We crossed a bridge over the river Welland, in Boston Lincolnshire. The river was satisfyingly in full flow thanks to the generous rainfall we have recently experienced. There was quite a lot of farm traffic along the road with many small  thriving businesses alongside the farming activity and industry.

The traffic became very heavy when we reached Sutton bridge where we were held up for quite a while due to road works and a three way traffic lights system.

 We stopped for lunch at the Chestnut tea rooms, a thriving little cafe attached to a large  garden centre.There was also a farm shop that sold fresh vegetables that were obviously provided by the surrounding farms The cafe is made up of a number of extensions to a large house including a conservatory where the the food was served, taking in the beautiful rural views.

 Margaret and I recently visited the highlands of Scotland where we were overwhelmed with the panoramic views. The English rural views seem to be unique in their unruly layout and different aspect wherever one looks. There is certainly a semblance of order in the appearance of the well cultivated scenery that betrays the boundary lines of separate farms that obviously go back generations.

  In early spring Margaret and I decided to remove and replace an old bird box that has seen the arrival and the fledging of several families of bluetits over the years. Almost immediately we were delighted to see a pair of birds visiting the new bird box and busily flying to and fro.    

  About three weeks ago we noticed the birds had disappeared and there was a sad lack of activity. Today I gingerly opened the box to discover about 15 tiny eggs in a beautifully constructed cozy nest. I took a photo of the nest and then explored the internet to discover what to do next.

 We were advised to leave well alone, at least until early September as another pair of birds may remove the eggs and start a family. We were both impressed with this beautiful, intricately built nest. We did wonder how a tiny pair of birds would manage to bring up a family of 15. Obviously this is another example of Nature overcompensating and relying on the survival of the fittest few chicks.