Tuesday 15.03.2022

 Almost as if to make the point from yesterday this morning was a special one. To the east a pale pink sky turned quickly to gold as the sun rose, casting long shadows across the frosted grass. To the west, the sky was a deep indigo, the perfect backdrop for the four white gulls which were gliding high up in the crystal sharp air, obviously enjoying the early morning as much as we were. 

Monday 14.3.2022

 For the first time this year no need for the big thick jacket as dogs and I went round the top field. It was cold, a very slight frost coated the grass, but there was not a breath of wind. There`s been so many windy days in the last few weeks, really windy, rattling gates and shaking trees that a still morning like this feels almost miraculous.

The birds were a-birding, the sun was a-sunning and Spring was definitely having a quick look round.

Just looking through the window first thing, it`s difficult to assess for sure how the air is going to feel until we actually step outside and there`s often a big difference between the bottom and the top of the hill which is quite exposed. Sometimes it`s simply the early morning light which delights, the sparkle of frost, the crunch of snow; sometimes the landscape is shrouded in cloud or there`s a spectacular sunrise; other times the drama of stormy winds and rain: whatever, getting out there before we do anything else feels like the best way to start the day.  And the coffee is even better once we`re back. 

And plenty of early mornings ahead, no doubt, as preparations are made for a long trek westward starting on Friday.  An account and pics to follow, hopefully. 😉

Sunday 20.02.2022

 Back to a mixed picture today: milder though with a cold wind, slowly melting snow, grey & cloudy skies with swatches of blue and a watery sun....changing and changeable even as you stare out of the window at it.

 In any event slightly less enticing than it was yesterday which was the perfect "winter wonderland" - icy air without a breath of wind and bright sunshine, a pristine white blanket over the hills and far away.

The trees were decorated with blossom, the grasses and hedgerows with diamonds and all in all we walked a lot further than we had anticipated because it was too nice to go home!

Friday 18.2.2022

Storms, storms and more storms. Arwen, Barra, Malik, Corrie, Dudley......and now Eunice, the worst of which in terms of wind speed is due to hit the south of England but has left us covered in a layer of snow.

Last night, walking around the top hill with Dog 1 (formerly known as Dog 2) and now new Dog 2 😄 it was clear and still and cold and breathtaking.......

whereas this morning the landscape was shrouded in cloud with the first snow decorating the trees and the yellow, optimistic, gorse flowers. 

Now the snow is settling, the wind is picking up and it`s a day for sitting by the fire if you`re fortunate enough to have that choice. Will be finishing this which is one of the most enlightening and important books I`ve read in a long long time, well written and underlined, surprisingly, by a nicely wry sense of humour.                                     

                                   

Monday 17.01.2022

 Wow! The most perfect winter afternoon. Stacking firewood this morning in breezy cool conditions but after lunch as the wind dropped so did the temperature and the still, icy air, the clear blue sky and dazzling sun beckoned us out. Up the road, round the woods, deep breaths and striding out - what else can you do in such conditions 😊 The light made me wish, not for the first time, that I was a painter

and as we turned for home an enormous silver Wolf Moon guided us down the hill. Perfection.

Sunday 16.01.2022

 Bit at sixes and sevens and out of sorts this morning - too many things swirling in the brain - and there`s generally only one cure for that....so off we set. Up the hill into a cold wind but once in the woods it was calmer, the wind less noticeable, the firm ground beneath our feet a pleasure to walk on after the slippy snow and ice we had last weekend. 

The light was wintry, predominantly grey with washes of whites and pale yellow but it was dry and bracing and good walking weather.

The geometrical rearrangements made by Storm Arwen are still in evidence everywhere, 

and were some times easier to  manoeuvre around......................

......then others..........

However, the walk did the job. Head cleared.

Later, another quick gallop round our top field - nights definitely drawing out, wind still cold but sky clearing, a nearly full moon and some beautiful colour..........

Sunday 09/01/2022

 A New Year.  Perfect winter`s day. This morning, just before sunrise, the air ear-bitingly cold but very still, the sky clear, distant lights twinkling and, somewhat surprisingly given the temperature, one or two of the braver birds trying out a chorus or two.

Stayed sunny all day though the temperature hardly shifted and began to plummet again as the sun went down. 

The last rays illuminated the landscape: the grasses, the gorse that never seems to stop flowering,

 the still bare branches of the two big beeches at the back of the field .

The fallen tree continues to provide a good frame for scenic views 

and this evening, if you look hard enough, caught the demi-moon as it waxed its way across the sky.

We crunched our way back down across the frozen snow, watching the sky where the sun had disappeared (to the south-west at this time of year) turning a pearly pink.

If all our winter days were like this there`d be nothing to complain about.