Winter solstice

There are just a few weeks of the year when from this vantage point at Far Arnside, the sun sets in Morecambe Bay.   In a month or so from now, we will be on the other side of the country, and there will be no more layered sunsets like this.  But sunsets in the Vale of York are just as spectacular in their own way, and the scarp of the Wolds will allow elevated views of the sun dipping below the horizon.

Yesterday was a key day in our house sale, contracts were exchanged and we have a nominated date to complete and move.  This may yet come forward if the removals people get a cancellation.  Either way we are now on countdown, and today Caroline picked up the packing boxes and now we can start packing up everything that we will be taking with us to a smaller house.  For months now we have been thinning down books, records, clothes, furniture and everything we have accumulated in our life times.  Letting go of stuff has sometimes been hard, but ultimately the feeling has been liberating.

And from today, the days for us in the northern hemisphere, gradually start to get longer.  After a week of freezing weather, the last couple of days have been mild, and this morning I saw a frog in the lane outside the house, perhaps tempted out of hibernation by the sharp contrast in temperatures.