Epiphany 24

Today's weather was the stuff of dreams when all we saw, day after day, was grey sky and rain; today there was a clear sunrise, with wisps of mist clearing over the water to the north, blue sky throughout, and now, as I locked up before coming upstairs, the blackness is full of stars and a hard frost forming. Perfect weather for Epiphany, the feast we shall celebrate tomorrow morning in church as we recognise the meaning behind the story and reflect on our own epiphanies. 

We made the most of the sunshine today. Instead of getting out only in time to watch the sunset we managed to go for a walk at midday - after I'd washed all the towels and hung them out for an airing (no: they didn't really dry) and Himself took a great wodge of packing paper and boxes to the recycling. The photo above sums up all that was lovely - the dead grass but the glowing copper beeches, the blue sky, the mossy trees. We walked further than we've been able to recently, probably unwisely as far as Himself's knee is concerned, but it was glorious. I even had to take off my big jacket.

After that enjoyment I made myself do some housework in the afternoon - mainly cleaning and discovering a rip in one of the bathroom curtains, rotted, I imagine, by the sun, and very annoying - the window is (a) big and (b) over the bath and therefore very hard to hang curtains on. Hence the aged specimens currently in place... 

My extra photo today shows two items that made me smile this afternoon. One is the Christmas card made by my younger granddaughter who is very keen on design and craft work; inside the envelope is the actual card, but the wrapper is what made me smile today. The other is the receipt for our visit to Tonino's yesterday: look at the bottom two lines and you'll see why.

I've just come across a poem I'd forgotten all about, though it's the latest of the poems I've written over the years about the Epiphany. It's in the book, but I'm just going to give it another airing here:

Epiphany

That moment, when the sound of bells
heralds the strangers on the road
under the hard night sky where one
bright in its genesis speaks of hope - 
that moment, when our hearts are seized
by joy, and feel that onward drive 
to what? It hangs upon the air
like distant bells or trumpet call,
a question till the end of time,
the answer in the following.

C.M.M. 01/20