Unexpected ...

For the first time all week, there was no chance of sunlight waking me before 7am today. The sky was grey, the view misty, the window covered in raindrops. It looked a suitably miserable day in keeping with the BBC weather forecast, and I stayed in bed drinking tea for a full hour before I got up, reading blips and looking at messages. Himself had finished his breakfast and vanished by the time I was downstairs, and off to the church before I'd finished eating. I tidied up, made a phone call, stewed rhubarb, did my Italian. Himself re-appeared in time for coffee. I packed a bag for tomorrow.

It was just after lunch that I noticed the sky lightening a bit. It wasn't raining by now, and I didn't allow myself to fall asleep in a chair. By three o'clock there were glimpses of sun and blue sky and I had the wanderlust again. 

The sky looked higher to the south, so we drove to the Ardyne car park and started walking up the hill between the fields. Neither of us felt up to ... well, to anything, if truth were told; I had aching legs without doing anything at all. I decided that maybe it was like what I call "art gallery legs" when you walk so slowly that your legs ache, so I set off to bash up a bit of the hill and see if it helped. It seemed to, so we both pushed on and went far further than intended, ending up at Knockdow House , still shut up and dead-looking although the grounds are tended. There is one large hole in the drystane dyke where - I think - a car has gone into it, and another, more recent one where a tree fell down in the last storm, but the ornamental lake, where four ducks were swimming,  was still and clear of debris and the air was full of birdsong. It was incredibly peaceful - I stood for ages leaning on the wall just being there, thinking of nothing but the moment, which I realise has been an increasingly difficult state to achiever recently. 

By the time we got back to the car we were both tired but quite pleased with ourselves and the afternoon. And the rhubarb was perfect.

Just had a comment from Blipfoto about the map issue - they're on it.