Dawn before the storm?

The night was clear, and the frost was the deepest so far this year. Gus was wearing his thick winter coat, which was just as well as there was a cold wind blowing as we waited for sunrise, looking across the layered wooded whalebacks.  What is it in the atmosphere that causes the sky sometimes to glow for so long before the sun rises?

A big day today, the Jazz had its MOT. It has reached the age where failure at the first attempt seems inevitable, but it passed!  Mind you, in my blip absence last year, I did have to have the whole exhaust system replaced and then most of the brake pipes, so there wasn't a lot left to go wrong. But you never know, so I was grateful.

I tried to take advantage of the dry weather window to make some progress with painting the dormer while the scaffolding is still up. I ran out of time to finish it, and we are in for a stormy weekend. Let's hope for some more cold, dry days next week.