Gifford

Nature put on its party hat today as if to cock a snoop at the dire equinoxal weather forecast for tomorrow.

We were out to make the most of the day, cycling East Lothian in the sun, under blue skies studded with white puff ball clouds.

We admired the clear views of Fife, appearing blue across the water, the sun glinting on the houses in Burntisland and Kirkcaldy and as far up the coast as Buckhaven.

We admired the newly ploughed fields, a striking rich brown in contrast to the golden stubble of the newly harvested ones.

We admired the hedgerows bursting with bright red rose hips and blue black brambles which melted in the mouth.

We admired the changing hues of the foliage on the horse chestnut and sycamore trees and marvelled at the amount of rowan and elder berries.

We sashayed along the highways and byways, stopping here and there to take photos, slowing to allow a herd of black cattle to cross the road, meeting and greeting oncoming cyclists, and then sailing up the hills for a coffee break in Gifford with its beautiful white church at the end of the village.

Reluctantly we headed for home via Haddington and the cycle path to Longniddry, avoiding dogs and families on bikes making the most of a simply wonderful day.

And as we sit on our patio in the late afternoon sun, HL with his lager and I with the last ice cream in the freezer, we both know that it's been 'a great to be alive day'.