Sunlight and Shadow, Frost and Fire ...

Saturday

A nice, calm morning - no wind, not too cold, no sun but still bright.  Checked on C next door to see if she was OK and she said she would like to go for a walk with me.  I took her on one of my secret walks that I have found whilst exploring - climbing over gates, jumping across streams and stumbling over filthy, muddy, boggy areas where livestock had been - I think she enjoyed it, although our footwear was pretty yukky by the end of the walk.

Sunday

After breakfast I went 'hedgerow walking'.  I visited the hundred acre field (my name for it, no idea if it is a hundred acres or not, but it is a pretty big field).  I walked along the whole hedgerow looking for nothing in particular - berries, birds nests, a woodpecker darting from tree to tree - a miniature forest of ash saplings, bramble patches.  Although it wasn't particularly cold I began to feel chilled. I had stayed out too long.  I carried on and completed the field -  looking back over where I had walked - the huge field before me, and I felt like a king of all I surveyed.

Monday

Bright and crisp with a blue, blue sky - not a cloud in sight.

Went for a walk round the village after lunch, leaving David washing his car and mowing the lawn, hopefully for the last time this year (the lawn, not the car). 

I took photos of the sun on the sheep in the back fields and the trees with the sun striking them looked as if they were on fire.
Unfortunately my battery ran out just as I was taking pictures of shadows and texture for my explorations exercise - so I walked back across the fields and made my way home.

Tuesday

Heavy frost overnight.  Later, clear sky, bright sunshine with a definite nip in the air. I stopped by the canal on the way to town for food shopping -  loved the reflections in the frozen water. 

After lunch I walked down the road towards Saddington.  The sun was still shining - everywhere looked beautiful. It was warm too - the low winter sun was at a level where it shone directly into your eyes and cast long, long shadows.

I kept walking for the sheer enjoyment of it.

Wednesday
Another cold and frosty morning.  Everything is white and glistening in the sunlight.  It was so cold it almost hurt to breathe.

Thursday

Woke up with a sore throat.  Didn't feel like going for a walk but I had to post a birthday card to my Aunt Nell, my last remaining Aunt, in her 90's now and still going strong. I walked to the post box, then cut through The Nook, which is a small enclave of cottages behind the church; down the alley, through the kissing gate and into the field called The Maltings where the two horses were eating their afternoon feed of hay and completely ignored me.  Through another kissing gate and out into Dag Lane and then home.

A flock of starlings settled on the tree at the end of the lane, chattering away and preening.  Although I felt rough when I set out, the walk in the chilled air made me feel a little better.

Friday

A dull, bleak morning.  Still feeling under the weather with this cold.  David is coming down with it too.  Consequently not a lot has got done in terms of anything useful.  A book I had ordered 'Notes from the Sofa by Raymond Briggs arrived which cheered me up a little, it is a compilation of reflections on life and what it is to get older - very funny.

Only walked down the lane to the cattle grid (why we still call it the cattle grid I have no idea, as it was removed several years ago once they fenced the fields) - old habits die hard.

On the way back I stopped for a chat with Mr. Angry, so named because of an incident when our sheep got into his garden - I don't think anyone remembers his real name any more - so Mr. Angry it is.  We spoke about the weather, as you do if you're British, saying how mild it was today - he blamed it on Brexit, smiled and walked on.

Returning home I sat and read my new book and watched the afternoon film, 'Vertigo', at the same time.  Finished with a spoonful of Buttercup Cough Syrup to ease my throat and tight chest.

And just for good measure I include another picture of a horse and a bunch of chrysanthemums, because I seem to include them in all my blog posts at the moment.

Elaine