Minus Seven

Minus 7 was the outside temperature when we set off on our dog walk. The sun was well above the horizon and it was stunningly beautiful. Both Rueben and I had thick coats on, augmented in my case by a thick scarf, gloves and a ski pole. The spikes were out on my boots too. And oh, it was wonderful. The still low in the sky sun highlighted some areas and left others in shadow.

Half way during the walk I climbed up to the highest point to get the very best views looking north towards Edinburgh.

In the distance are 3 old sheds used to store munitions during the Second World War when the old railway line was used to transport them to where they needed to go.

 All the time the light kept changing and offered a different arrangement of light and shadows. 

This is the view looking in the opposite direction. Very soon afterwards I put my camera away to start the walk back home when all of a sudden I spotted a hare running towards us. It saw us and Rueben saw it but needless to say the hare was a lot faster than the dog and jumped into the air and then made a sharp left turn to disappear into the forest. Wish I had caught it on camera but I captured it with my eyes and have stored the memory there forever. It's the first time I was so close to it, although I sometimes get a glimpse from a distance.

Sadly the sun didn't last much longer than the walk but the memory of this morning's walk will linger. The lane is by all accounts very slippery as snow has been drifting from the fields and frozen in position. I was starting to feel guilty for hibernating so and enjoying it and in the end gave myself a severe talking to. The snow won't last forever and I will miss it when it's gone so why not enjoy it to the maximum and make the most of every moment it's here.

Don't forget that tomorrow is The 100 Fundraising Day, when I will reveal the piece I made for this for the first time in it's entirety and when there will be a chance to not just donate money ($100) to a good cause (The American Cancer Society) but also to acquire a piece of art from one of the amazing artists that have donated their work. It's going to be so exciting. It's all happening at 10 am Eastern Standard Time which is 4pm here in the UK. The aim is to raise $10.000 and I have every confidence that we will succeed!