Sunshine reminds me of spring

With the exception of Saturday, the rest of last week had been mostly overcast and/or misty. This morning, the fog lifted, the sun broke through and melted the ice on the trees and fences.

By midday, the remaining mist had burnt away and there was not a cloud in the sky. Today's sun did not need to shine for long to tempt me outdoors. Below: you can just about make out the house, in the distance and the solar panels in front, making electricity again.

Below: the orchard, with kitten. A few more days like this, dry and sunny, and it will be time to get the shears, secateurs, lopper and scythe out and start cutting and pruning, before the sap starts to rise.

Below: Wenusia loves the garden. She has a whole acre to explore. Her expression is focused. She is learning to hunt. Instinct, intention and attention. 

Below: chickens behind chicken wire; a free-range poultry farm, with chickens, turkeys and quails, alongside the footpath from Chynów station to Widok.

Below: the Lubomirski Zakopane-Szczecin express (at 1,153km, Poland's longest railway route) approaching Chynów station. Running to time. Note red headlamp, signifying that the train is heading up along the 'down' line, having just overtaken the local service on its way to Warsaw along the 'up' line.

Below: from ulica Spokojna towards ul. Wolska and the railway line beyond. All quiet in the orchards.

Below: looking back towards Chynów along ul. Spokojna, just after it enters the forest. The road loses its asphalt before the last house and continues as a dirt track upto the level crossing.

Today, the sun set at 16:01, the first time it has set later than four pm since early November. A month has passed since the earliest sunset. Spring may not be just around the corner, but intimations of its imminent arrival flash into being.

I am physically, mentally and spiritually lifted by a long walk in the winter sun.

This time last year:
Winter's wildness

This time four years ago:
Snow turns to slush

This time five years ago:
London in its legal finery

This time six years ago:
Winter walk through the Las Kabacki

This time eight years ago:

1967: The Year The World Started Turning To Colour

This time 11 years ago:
Rain on a freezing day (-7C)

This time 12 years ago:
Jeziorki in the snow

This time 14 years ago:
Winter's slight return

This time 15 years ago:
Unacceptable

This time 15 years ago:
Pieniny in winter

This time 16 years ago:
Wetlands in a wet winter