A Moon Walk

These days, I have read on several blogs how we tend to lose track of time during this period between Christmas and New Year, how we don‘t know what day of the week it is and how a Monday feels like a Sunday and so on.

I agree - it is a very special time of year. The old year is not completely gone, and the new one has not yet arrived. Many who would normally know the week‘s days by their work or other activities are staying home, with no appointments, work-related or for socializing, to interrupt what is actually a rather short chain of days.

An entire morning can easily slip by, sleeping in and having that first mug of coffee in bed, munching on two or three leftover Christmas cookies, before we even get showered and dressed. Lunch is skipped after that late start, and the afternoon with still preciously few daylight hours spent walking, if possible. Sunset is still well before 5:00 pm here, and by 6:00, the night is as dark as it gets, making it feel closer to 10 than to 7. With no lunch, tea/dinner is wanted early, and after that, the evening sees us settling on our favourite comfy spots, our books and tablets within reach, maybe a glass of wine or some other drink, chosing what to watch on TV - nothing too demanding, please; just a bit of fun or light entertainment. Eventually, eyelids start to droop, and legs and backs want to stretch properly - bed calls, and sleep comes easily with the assurance of no alarm clock starting off the next morning.

After a week or so of that, I usually am well rested and feel very ready to tackle the new working year, pick up where I left off before Christmas, easing into the familiar routine of my weekdays.

We are not there yet, though, and yesterday‘s walk made for some beautiful pictures I want to share with you. All but one were taken by O.K., and I have his permission to use them.

Setting off relatively late in the afternoon, not long before sunset, the low sunrays lit up the slopes above Ortenberg beautifully - there are no yellow trees or vineyards or so, it was just the sun making it look like that:

Less than half an hour later, looking back the way we had come:

And later still, before reaching the third village on our walk, a still almost full moon made for a spectacular sky:

We were wrapped warmly, and the route was not demanding, just an easy up and down on gentle hills, 13 km altogether. Most of the paths were good, with the exception of one muddy stretch. As I am typing this, our shoes have been cleaned, ready for our next excursion; it is raining right now, so we may wait a bit.