Frost, flood, fire...

Thanks so much for all the stars and hearts for yesterday's drowned poplars - I believe it reached the Spotlight page, though I never actually saw it there. But today disappeared in a flurry of shopping, dog-walking, cleaning, teaching chemistry, cooking and collapsing with exhaustion, leaving no time to browse any blips!

I did manage half an hour to myself first thing this morning, and sneaked out to watch the sun rise while everybody else was snuggled in bed. It was breathtakingly cold, the first day this winter when my nose actually hurt when I breathed in. Most of my usual spots for watching the sun rise are flooded, so I found a new location on a higher path overlooking the Rowing Lake.

In the end the promised colour fizzled out rather quickly, but it was still great to be out and about before most of the rest of the world and to soak in the peace and quiet. You can see from this image, taken just before dawn, that the water level is starting to drop at last. In the foreground there are the wonderful crystalline shapes of water that had frozen when the flood was higher.

I'm not sure how much time I'll have for blipping this coming weekend. Chris is returning home from Uni tomorrow and on Sunday we'll celebrate his birthday with a special meal, and hopefully a walk if the weather stays fine. Hope you all have a great weekend too!