Project 365 day 31: morning sky over the Downs

This morning, my daily ritual of opening the blinds at the back door and breathing in the view revealed dramatic, fast-moving slate blue clouds, bright, liquid patches of pink and peach, and lower, slower moving white and pale pink fluff, constantly changing above the silhouetted trees along our North Downs skyline. I rushed to the balcony as the light shifted, to avoid the telephone cables which intrude on photos taken  from ground level (though I barely notice them when I'm not looking through the viewfinder), and tried to capture the contrasts, colours and moving patterns. 

P's Sunday breakfast pancakes were particularly fluffy today, combining perfectly with tangy blackcurrant jam. I helped J research website designs and ideas, and made this year's first batch of marmalade; the overnight simmering in the slow cooker seems to have worked well. We are pleased to hear from more friends who have been vaccinated (though as yet there is no news for J, who is in group 4 - ECV - and has been shielding since March). I've enjoyed a glass of mulled wine and the crackle of a log fire as I update the Tesco order. It has felt like a good day; but then I listen to the news  of another 500+ deaths from Covid and more distressing accounts from the Napier barracks just down the road, and question my enjoyment of preserving and sunrises amidst so much uncertainty and tragedy.