Solitary Recession

I've never before taken so many photographs in a single day. A morning spent on the southern side of the valley was followed by an afternoon to the north. It wasn't easy going. There was thick snow on the moor and in the fields, icy patches on the paths and tracks, all peppered with patches of deep slush where the snow had settled on areas of surface water left behind from the thaw of the previous blizzard. I only slipped the once and, fortunately, I was hanging on to a post at the time.

The sun shone and the mist rolled in and out, almost to order. Magical is an overrated word but today I found myself using it because no other seemed adequate. Not that there were many opportunities. Once again, there seemed to be very few people about.

My body felt broken on the last climb home, in a good way though, in the way that a thousand little stresses and strains make the body stronger. And the mind too. That's the hope, at least.