I never tire of watching the sunrise and this morning the show was spectacular in an unusual way. In the white expanse which had replaced the usual view from the cottage, the sun’s huge orange globe hung seemingly motionless and that was it. No trees, no ground, no sky, nothing else and I stood able to hold its gaze without squinting. Within minutes the starkly contrasting tips of trees began to peer through the disbursing fog, preceding a grainy blue which intensifying above heralded the arrival of a perfect autumn day. Amber rays mingled with mist then a light frost yielding to seeping warmth and finally a bright day striped with long shadows which would rejoin the night impossibly early. A fantastic time to be outside and despite being out of the sun, C and I were as happy as larks on the wing, trimming and stacking materials. A big fire after lunch only added to the vibrant mood and saw Chris down to his T-shirt loading the blaze with a pitchfork whilst I drove the tractor and collected brash. As darkness fell we stood by the glowing embers talking and staring idly into the fiery hollows, whilst behind us cock pheasants echoed and re-echoed one another's calls as they settled to roost. We had earned a few quiet moments. Heaped by the gate were 360 binders, 150 stakes, 100 pea sticks and a huge bundle of the twyling rods (used for making wattle hurdles). Not the full quantity of materials required but a bloody good start.
Hedge grown hazel
Stakes, binders, pea sticks and twyling rods
Last week I relieved a confused looking man searching for a post box of a circular informing the residents of our road that there would be no electricity on the 15th between 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM. True to their word at 9 AM this morning the power went down but by the time D and G arrived at 8 PM for a rehearsal it had still not returned. Whilst our neighbours were almost certainly becoming incredulous and ordering takeaway, we rather enjoyed the experience. The cottage glowed with the gentle candlelight, the Rayburn still allowed us to cook and run hot water and we quickly realised that save for the freezers, life would be that different without electricity - a reassuring idea. G and D are rapidly becoming good friends and after a light supper we made good headway through the hour-long programme for Saturday.
Dinner
Quiche Lorraine (made with sheep's milk instead of cream) with potato salad and carrot rapees followed by mince pies, sponge fingers with damson jam and carrot cake. Very romantic and no one could even see that I still had my dirty work clothes on.
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