primroses

Last night's bivvy went very well. I lay in my corner of the wood and the full moon shone brightly on the trunks of the silver birches and on the snow on the hill behind our house. The sky was completely clear and no rain fell on me, though there was a cold wind coming off the hill. Once I'd had a chance to look at the moon, stars and trees, I snuggled down into my sleeping bag for the night and woke up at 8. Only a few hundred metres to walk to a warm kitchen and a nice cup of coffee :-)

Later in the day I went to the funeral of my dear friend Ann. She was 20 years older than me but we'd always got on well. Despite a difficult life, she was always cheery, even in her final months when she was completely bedbound in a nursing home. We heard how it was a miracle that she had lived to be 77, since she was born prematurely weighing 2lb 2oz, not great odds for survival in 1940. Apparently she was rubbed with olive oil, wrapped in cotton wool and placed in a shoebox in front of the fire. From that day onwards she was always a survivor.

As a bonus today, I spotted these primroses blooming in a sheltered corner of the garden. So pretty.