Sunrise

Monday began spectacularly. As I stumbled dozily to the kitchen to pour my first cup of tea, I could see the vivid orange glow behind the blinds. I reached for the camera, and as I headed for the stairs, the phone rang. It was P, already well into his morning walk (after making my pot of tea):  "Camera, balcony, now!". I've struggled to decide which photos to share; the main one shows the range of colours above the skyline, the first extra is a very wide view which includes the frosty fields and our orchard, and the second extra is the same skyline view as the almost monochrome one I shared on Friday, which was taken at roughly the same time. I have not edited the colours, which are very close to the brilliance of what I saw; I've just lightened the shadows a bit to allow the branches slightly more definition and make the frosty fields more visible.

The second good thing about the day was completing my batch of lemon marmalade. The peel and juice had simmered in the slow cooker all night; I conscientiously sieved the contents of my soggy bundle of pips and pith to extract the pectin, though lemon marmalade must be the easiest of preserves to set; transferred it to the preserving pan with the sugar, and after just a few minutes' rolling boil the sample dropped onto the cold plate was wrinkling nicely. I love making preserves, labelling them and lining up the jars in the cupboard: it gives me a comforting sense of accomplishment and security to have plenty of home made or home grown food squirreled away in the pantry. I've just ordered three kilos of organic Seville oranges for two more matches of marmalade.

I'm still posting a day late - I've not had time to catch up with myself.