Happy New Year, from down Totoro's way (となりのトトロの森)

It's probably just wishful thinking, but when I took this photograph on 28th December, hiking down Rokko-san, I couldn't help being reminded of Totoro, as Sean and Julian ran down ahead of me...into a sunlit afternoon. It was a beautiful winter's day, cool but sunny, perfect for a forest walk.

And only just in time, it turned out. Yesterday it started snowing in earnest, and we headed off for a day's skiing. This morning, New Year's morning, it's -12 outside, and little warmer in the hallway. But that's a story for another post. For now, the picture can stand for my hopes for all my family, and especially for my mother, for a happier and warmer 2011. Happy New Year to all.

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Devenish

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