Energy

For two days Peterborough has festered under gloomy skies, with long periods of steady rain. I've been slaving away at the computer, catching up with lots of data entry. To be honest, it's been quite enjoyable - I loved all the festivity but was ready for a bit of down time. And there was no need to go to the shops, as we're making good use of all our leftovers!

Just after sunset I saw a glimpse of light appearing in the sky, and decided that I needed to get away from the screen. I popped down to the Rowing Lake, where there was a brief flash of deep pink, before the dusk faded into a shoal of salmon-tinged clouds with dove-grey backs. 

It was very mild with a lively wind that was quite invigorating - howling in my ears and making the willows dance. Most of my walk was too dark for traditional photography (as usual I had no tripod) so I experimented with in-camera movement to try and capture some of that feeling of energy.

By the time I had turned the corner of the Rowing Lake it was virtually dark, so I put the camera away. But this gave me a chance to use my other senses. There was a delicious watery smell, and areas of flooded grass, still capturing the very last glimmers of light from the sky, resounded with the gentle grunting of dabbling ducks. 

In the trees roosting Magpies were chattering softly, while on the lake, the overwintering flock of Mute Swans bobbed gently on the waves, each one of them facing into the wind. Some were still feeding, extending their necks into the water to fish out strands of pondweed, but others had already tucked their heads under their wings, settling down for the night on the safety of the water.