WE counted 30 cyclists riding from Grinton towards Leyburn over the moor on Saturday morning.

There could have been more but it was difficult to spot them all because it was foggy and most didn't have lights on.

They appeared out of the gloom with worried looks on their rosy faces, clearly realising they had dangerously misjudged the conditions.

What was that Leeds United chant? "You're going home in a Yorkshire Air Ambulance,"

or something similar.

Driving down into Swaledale, I was pleased to see there was still workers guarding the traffic lights in Grinton in case they began turning from red to green to amber rather than red to red amber to green.

How traffic lights elsewhere in the world operate without human observers I will never know.

Moving inevitably back to the subject of dog mess, a reader got in touch this week to point out that that the district council's £18,000 two-year recycling calendars featured images of turds, as well as pink hearts and Easter bunnies.

For me, the most amusing aspect was the use of more turds on subsequent months after their first appearance in May this year.

A giant pile was used in June 2015 and a third, smaller poo appeared five months later.

"I need another image for that calendar," says council employee one.

"How about dog mess?" says his colleague.

"Nah, I've already used some for May last year."

"Stick another one in - you can't have too many images of dog poo."

"Good point - let's have another one."

Sticking on the subject of excrement, a farming friend pointed out recently how strange it was that he didn't bat an eyelid when coming in from work covered in cow muck, yet he would be horrified if that was dog mess splattered on his overalls.

Thinking back, I have fond memories of playing baseball in Dales fields using dried sheep poo as a ball and a stick as a bat.

But would we have been quite so happy trying to reverse sweep cat excrement full tosses?

Probably not.