A Christmas Eve stroll along the River Ock

It has been a long time since I have walked along the river Ock with a camera to record wildlife, events, and thoughts and even longer since they have been posted on this blog.  
It is very unlikely that anyone is still reading it and if they are they are probably spammers.

Still, Christmas Eve presented an opportunity for a stroll to see what has and hasn't changed.

The river itself has taken on its usual winter drabness.

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Although the willow trees make impressive sculptures as they hang over the river, perhaps waiting for the exotic looking kingfishers to return to liven things up.
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Meanwhile, in the flood meadows, a pair of roe deer can be glimpsed in the winter gloom.
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And whilst I may not have been present on the river for some time, it is good to see the occasional well-positioned spraint showing the otters have not forsaken the river:
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Although one thing seems to be more common and that is the depressing amount of litter, it is just about everywhere:
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As is the bizarre tradition of putting dog feces in a plastic bag and adorning a tree with it, like some depressing Christmas decoration
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Hopefully, more posts will follow and even if they aren't as frequent as they used to be, some of the festive period will be spent trying to reduce the amount of litter that resides along what is now looking a rather sad and pathetic little river.