Equinox

Tjeldsund bridge

Today is the autumn equinox when sunrise and sunset are about twelve hours apart. Here in the northern hemisphere the nights will start being longer than the days.

I don't like the dark mornings when it is even harder than usual to get up so today I am remembering my holiday in Norway this summer. Although we were there too late in the year to catch the midnight sun we did experience continuous daylight.

The picture above was taken on from our hotel room on our last night at 1:10am - beautiful.

Below is a time lapse video I took overnight. I set the camera up facing out of the window of the cabin we rented in Svolvaer in the Lofoton Islands. This is facing east and it was cloudy so there is no night-time sun but everything did turn a soft blue colour. I also like watching the change in the tide. This ten second clip covers ten hours from about 9pm.

walking at the beach

We were visiting relatives near the south coast this weekend. A few years ago these were full day visits, arriving for coffee, then lunch, maybe a walk and then tea. Over the years the duration of the visits has lessened and now we leave early after lunch so as not to disturb the afternoon nap.

It is hard watching a deterioration in health with ageing. For many years these changes were slight, almost unnoticeable, but recently the differences we see between relatively frequent visits are marked.

Afterwards, when the weather is fine we drive the few extra miles to the beach. We walk along the promenade, something about the rhythm of the sea is calming and reassuring - always changing with the weather and tides but essentially the same.

We've seen this beach in all the seasons, this time it was sunny but breezy and the sand had been blown into these ridges.

The ridges were at right angles to the sea as were the usual marks made by the tide.

Towards the end of the afternoon there were very few people,

we shared the beach with the seagulls.

There will be changes soon amongst our elderly relatives as independent living becomes more difficult. The choices and decisions that will have to be made are not easy.  It is an unsettling time.

We also have to look after ourselves. We worry about ageing parents and about our children starting their careers and moving away to work. We are the "sandwich" generation and it often feels overwhelming.

I try to relax with the situations that are developing, there is only so much that we can do, ageing cannot be controlled. Taking a walk at the beach instead of getting in the car and driving straight home seems to help. With clear blue sea and sky it certainly was very beautiful - noticing the good things.

early September

These are a few photographs from a walk earlier this week. As I walked through these woods close to home and now looking at the photographs, I can sense a similar atmosphere to the woods we walked through in Norway back in the summer.

Everything is still lush and green due to the rather cool and damp summer. It is not as quiet and peaceful as the woods above Bergen and the scenery is a lot less dramatic

but I am reminded to appreciate the beauty of the countryside closer to home.