Misty landscape wonder

I woke up at seven thirty, and when I opened the curtains was amazed to see the valley filled with a layer of dense mist below us. The sky was almost cloudless above with a tiny crescent moon visible, and the sun about to rise above the hill top to the east of us. I took several photos as the scene changed, with the mist almost disappearing and then returning. With almost no wind it didn't completely disperse during the day in the depths of the valley, but we were treated with blue sky and mild temperature for most of the sunlit hours, with the mist rising and enveloping the house in the hour before sunset. The movement of the mist reminded me of a day in Nerja ten years ago when a fog bank rolled in from the sea, covering the coast, then receding, only to roll in again and cover the coast several times more, emulating the movement of waves on the shore. Both, instances of living breathing landscape.

Most of us got up and ate breakfast in waves of arrival at the table that I laid in between taking photos, Kath was the exception, being poorly with something which left her feeling poisoned, throwing up. A few days ago Anto went down with a bug from which he was still recovering, and he lay low for most of the morning. The rest of us went down the hill for a walk. Owan and I took the uphill lane from the bottom entrance to Black Patch Farm. The road we took ended in the farm yard of a place called Bryn Defaid. There was no sign indicating footpaths so we turned around and walked all the way down Meeting House Lane, before returning to Black Patch for a lunch of cold meat and chutney. 

As we have to be away from here by ten in the morning, it was necessary to start packing all the surplus food we won't need for the rest of our stay. Out came the magnificent fruity Christmas cake which we had no room for at tea time yesterday, and Owain baked the filleted salmon for supper. 

Then, as the sun was about to set, he and I walked up the hillside towards the top of the ridge, a steep track demanding on energy, but worth it for the spectacular view, pools of mist in distant valleys. The photos I took were high in contrast, and needed a lot of editing to bring features out of deep shadow. It was almost dark by the time we returned, and I was surprisingly tired for the rest of the evening, especially after eating generous helpings of salmon washed down with wine. The procession upstairs to bed had already started before nine o'clock, after so much fresh air and atmospheric beauty.