As January lets go its dark and icy grip, passing us, with a smirk, into the often colder clutches of February, the marginally lighter mornings contain surprises that are harbingers of the spring to come.

(440 words. A three minute read)

One of these is what I have come to think of as the ‘winter morning moon’. Often quite high in the sky, the pale gold of this moon combines with the clearness of the winter air to provide a quality of light more associated with the sun.

The course of the moon follows the line of the back of our house. Often, a visit to the bathroom during the night does not require the bathroom light, as the moon’s quiet radiance streams through in the darkest hours. It has surprised me how much more of a ‘moon’ place Cumbria is, compared with my native Lancashire. It may be the…