Still sticking with the early-to-bed-early-to-rise routine and finding it extremely beneficial in terms of mood. Well, that and cats. My routine continues to be to go to bed before ten and wake before six, catch the sunrise, and go for my walk(s) during the daylight hours, to make the most of the sunlight. Today, the day was eight hours long, we'll lose another 15 minutes by the Winter Solstice (which falls on 21 December this year), and by 7 January the day will be eight hours long again. We are still in astronomical autumn (until the solstice), but as of the beginning of the month, already in climatic winter. Having said that, other than the snowfall on 23/24 November, there's been no snow or frost since then, nor is any forecast for the next seven days.
Below: the view down the lane to Grobice. Usually waterlogged and boggy about a third of the way down, right now acceptably dry.
Below: "Oak, hazel, hawthorn, gorse and sandy tracks/ Better for sport than farming, I suspect." Echoes of Chorleywood Common, as described by John Betjeman in Metro-land.
Below: the hunting season traditionally kicked off on 3 November (the feast-day of St Hubertus, the hunters' patron); at weekends, I can hear to occasional crack of rifle fire in the forests. Having said that, the hunters' pulpit in Machcin shows no sign of use, no spent cartridges or empty małpki (100ml vodka bottles) in evidence, no tyre tracks in the vicinity.
Below: well, they never did manage to lay down that asphalt before Sunday's election... The road to Gaj Żelechowski and Dąbrowa Duża is due for a proper surface, which will be hugely beneficial for local traffic. It will form a direct route towards Konary and the DK79 south, cutting over 2km from the journey which currently meanders through Machcin, Dobiecin and Rososz.
Below: low sun, leafless trees. Just think – in six months' time, it will be early June! Again!
Below: around the corner from home. A new house is being built along this stretch of farm track, while another is being extended upward with a second floor. Gmina Chynów is on the move. People want to live here.
Below: portraits of my cats as they transition out of kittenhood. From the left – Arcturus, Pacyfik, Scrapper, Céleste and Czester. Everyone a character, conscious and agential.
This time three years ago:
Matter, materialism, metaphysics and magic
This time four years ago:
Short roads to nowhere
Mole control
This time six years ago:
Poland's education paradox
This time seven years ago:
What I was going to say at COP24 (but didn't)
This time eight years ago:
Milton Keynes
This time nine years ago:
Warsaw by night, early winter
This time 12 years ago:
Burn less gas and do Ukraine a favour
This time 15 years ago:
Early evening atmosphere
This time 17 years ago:
Toponyms – how many names has Jeziorki?
This time 18 years ago:
On the road to Białystok
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