Split-toned birch

No bright dawn today, just a gentle pink suffusion in the eastern sky as I drove Alex to Huntingdon, and then the rising sun disappeared into gentle grey stratus. I took the dogs to Holme Fen on the way home. We were early enough to have the place to ourselves but light levels were very low, making photography challenging.

I spent a little time watching the mere, where the numbers of wintering duck are beginning to build up. In the summer noisy greylag geese are the dominant residents, but today there was a mixture of wildfowl including subtly-coloured gadwall, a shimmering flock of flighty teal and plenty of wigeon. The latter are my favourite ducks, mostly because of their wonderful whistling call, which can be heard here.

I didn't take many photographs, but just as I got back to the car the sun appeared and shone on these birches. I would have liked to stay out for longer, but the dogs were adamant that it was time to go home, and in the end I decided breakfast was calling. As you can see, I've had a bit of fun processing this. I might have chosen a safer option for tonight, but Alex chose this for my blip, so I decided to live dangerously. You can see that most of the birch leaves have now fallen, allowing the delicate profile of the trees to show.

The rest of the day was spent report writing and catching up on some financial administration - one of my least favourite tasks! But invoicing needs to be done - one of the few down sides of being self-employed. I'm sorry that I'm not getting around to commenting much...I am looking at journals when I can, but time seems to be so limited and the last couple of evenings I've felt very tired - clearly too mny early starts.