A Walk at Sunset



Geese in the fields at sunset

Brrrr........winter is not my favourite time of year. And I think that winter really has arrived this week, too. Last week there were some warm, golden, autumnal days, but now it's much colder and damper with a bitter north wind and the first frosts. So I've got the thick jumpers ready - and also my gloves - and my very unflattering woollen hat that I wouldn't have been seen dead in twenty years ago...

If I was to think about anything that makes winter bearable, it would be, first of all, a log fire every evening. And then it would be the vivid colours in the skies at sunrise and sunset. When I take Harry for a walk, I see the sun coming up over the fields.  And then, later in the day (work and weather permitting) we walk again as the sun goes down.

Here is a typical walk through the woods and fields at sunset - where the changes in the light and the sky are beautiful.

We set off - and our first sight is of the Greylag and Canada Geese that come into the fields to feed. Harry has a healthy respect for geese (after a few encounters with our own), so he always gives them a wide berth (and I would never allow him to go anywhere near them anyway). But these wild geese don't know this and still watch him warily.

Then, we walk around the edge of the field where I keep my beehives...

I won't be looking at my bees now until the spring. They've sealed the frames in the hive with propolis and I wouldn't want to break this and expose them to the cold - although I will just quickly lift the roof in the New Year to put some food (fondant or candy) on top of the frames.

The bees will fly on warm, winter days, but if it's cold they'll all cluster around the queen. I've put some homemade insulation on the top of the hive, made of our sheeps' wool sandwiched between two pieces of wood. This will help keep the cold off. I've also surrounded the hive with some protection against Green Woodpeckers.  Green Woodpeckers will attack a hive when the ground is frozen and they can't get to the grubs. A beehive then becomes an easy target for them and they'll drill a hole right through the wood. Luckily, my homemade protection (of chicken wire held fast by a bit of old pipe) has always proved a good deterrent.

Leaving the beehives, we take the path through the wood - but it's already quite dark. Where the landscape catches the last rays of the sun, it's still light but in the wood it's becoming difficult to see. It's silent there, too - except for roosting birds and the trees creaking in the wind. I'm more than a little relieved to get out into the sun again...

And then we're back in the fields - to see that a rainbow is arcing right over us.  I love the sight of this, until I wonder why I'm seeing a rainbow at this moment.....and then, I realise why, just as we get soaked by a sudden, heavy shower...

Harry's not impressed at all by this and so we're now picking up speed (his pace). We finish the walk as the sun is going down. There are too many trees blocking the view for a really stunning sunset, but the sky is full of colour...

First pink...

...and then a blend of fiery colours

Back on the smallholding, it's time to put the chickens and geese away - and the geese are already waiting impatiently for their food.  Poor George, the older gander, is waiting at the back and has to be fed separately because Cador, the dominant gander (and his son) would chase him away if they were all fed together...

The wild ducks come in for food, too - but it's too dark now to take a photo of them.

And then it's time to go inside, where my next job today is to start the Christmas cake.  This is my Grandmother's recipe, and I'm always moved when I see her writing. I miss her lots and she's on my mind when I make it. And it's a delicious cake, too, full of spices and alcohol.

Before I start the cake, I turn the wireless on. We sent this away recently to a specialist, who has repaired the valves and added a digital receiver to the back. So although it's old, it can now receive a digital signal. And it still has that sound of an old-fashioned wireless...

It's late afternoon, but it already feels like evening and it's definitely getting a lot colder outside.

So it's time to light the log fire at last...

Wonderful!