Serene sunset

I was up at six as usual, to get Alex to the station, despite still feeling pretty grotty. I had a wonderful few moments standing in the garden just before dawn, watching hundreds of seagulls flying over against a beautiful rosy sky. It felt amazingly springlike, though I think this is the last mild day for a while.

By 9.15 I felt so tired and poorly that I took the unprecedented action of going back to bed for a couple of hours. This was a wise move and meant that I had enough energy to go to Sainsbury's and then take the dogs for a decent walk round Ferry Meadows.

I managed to time my walk to coincide with the setting sun. As I arrived there was a single swan on the Nene, preening itself in the centre of a perfect circle of ripples. And my blip was taken crossing back over the Nene about an hour later, showing the soft pink flush which crept across the sky after the sun had set, a serene and timeless scene.

As I reached the car a large flock of corvids flew along the valley towards their roosting place. The colour of the sunset intensified further, but a bird scarer in a nearby rape field terrified the dogs, who insisted on climbing straight into the car and begged to be taken home. So I probably missed the best of it!