A spring day, slight haze

In the morning, the partial solar eclipse took place. I didn't expect to see it at all. A couple of hours earlier there was thick cloud cover. But slowly it thinned and gradually we could make out the dark disc of the moon covering the luminescent face of the sun. For some reason it was less dramatic than the previous time I saw this occur, in 1999. But nevertheless it is a remarkable unnatural natural experience. Everything seems to go quiet and hold its breath as the sky darkens. Most creatures - the sentient ones at least - seem to feel that something unsettling is occurring and they stop their customary doings. In the distance, the mindless hum of faraway traffic and people on their way somewhere only seems to emphasise the stillness.

With the passing of the solar eclipse, the chill sea mist which has hung around us for five days dissipated. In the late afternoon once work was out of the way, there was time for a good outing on our bicycles. It really felt spring like, primroses flowering along the banks and ditches and daffodils in bloom everywhere, the flowering cherries just starting to blossom. As the leaf buds begin to open, it is as if the woodland edges and hedgerows fizz and froth with a haze of subdued colour. Gradually as the sun got lower in the sky, a misty haze hung over the land.