It's all over now

After a night of ferocious howling winds that whipped the trees outside my window into a frenzy that frightened me several times and blew away most of the snow, the day's warm sunshine worked to finish the job and consequently, the big thaw is on, and so it's back to school tomorrow.  

A late afternoon walk on the plateau was a fairytale experience of silent solitude as I welly boot waded through snow on the field that was easily more than a foot deep, whilst squinting in the low lying January sun to stare at the beautiful blue Bosphorus and the Asian shore beyond. Ah, Istanbul. You are magnificent.