Black Mirror

According to Charlie Brooker, the title of his successful TV series, “Black Mirror”, comes from “the one you'll find on every wall, on every desk, in the palm of every hand: the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone”. However, it’s equally applicable to the natural black mirror found where open water interacts with new snow, as seen here.
It’s Midwinter’s Day today and so seemed a day to concentrate more on winter than on Christmas. I walked down the steep hill to the big lake and along the road a short way, to where it crosses this stream. Then I followed the stream through the marshy wood to the edge of the lake.  It's just a few degrees below zero so the stream is still kept open by the slight flow of the current, creating that beautiful black mirror. Snow was drizzling down out of the grey sky, just a few flakes but over the hours they add up and now we have about 12 cm on the ground. The temperature is due to stay below zero until Boxing Day so as usual we’ll get a white Christmas, but as usual (in this now-warmer climate) it’s a just-in-time affair.
Previously I used “Midwinter Day” and “winter solstice” as synonyms but technically the former is the whole day, whereas the latter is a point in time. This year that point in time is nearly at midnight, at 23:22. That’s when the earth’s tilt is at maximum with regard to the sun; our winter solstice (and the southern hemisphere’s summer one).  So tomorrow the day will be longer but even this far north it’s only 1 second longer so I won’t be noticing it!
By the time I’d finished my photography it was almost dark so I headed for home. The hill back up to the village is always a bit daunting and this was my first time walking up it since I got the cold bug while in the UK. I had to stop for a breather a couple of times, something I’d never normally do, but I made it. The return to full health is slow but steady.