Rising above the clouds...

Yesterday could have been so different.

We awoke to grey skies and fog. It hung around all day, sitting low over our wee Borders village so we could barely see past our neighbour's houses.

We could have waited until it lifted. We would have been waiting a long time. We decided to go for a wee walk - one of our favourites; an uphill walk on the road to Earlston with fantastic views of the Border hills surrounding us.

I was pretty sceptical that we'd get high enough to be above the fog. It seemed so thick and all-consuming.

After an uphill struggle (quads burning from Saturday's workout in the park!) we magically came out of the fog and into what seemed like a totally different world.

I always see photos of cloud inversions from the tops of Munros - by other people. I've only experienced it once, on the top of Beinn Achaladair last December.

Little did I think I'd see such a stunning inversion so close to home.

It was a lovely day above the fog (thank goodness we went out, or we'd never have known!) and I couldn't stop taking photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then this amazing Saltire appeared in the sky:

 

 

 

 

 

The sky was constantly changing in front of us, and we could tell we were in for a fine sunset. We decided to stick around and watch the sun go down. The sky changed every few minutes, turning pink then red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.

All too often I see sunsets through a window, whether it be from the house or in the car. This was one of those rare and truly special moments that I was there to witness the whole event.

And I couldn't help feel there was some kind of serendipity about it. We had gone for a walk in the fog. We had emerged from the fog to see a stunning inversion. The sunset was an absolutely unexpected bonus. Just being in the right place at exactly the right time - this never happens to me!!

The timing was crucial. We stayed out there for around 2 hours, so if we'd gone any earlier we probably would've been too cold. Had we gone any later, we might have missed the blue sky day we had no idea about.

What made it even more special was actually having the time to stand and watch it. Not having to rush back for anything. Being able to enjoy being fully IN THE MOMENT.

It lifted my spirits in a way I wouldn't have thought possible. Sure, a sunset is always good for the soul. But after a challenging week, I finally got my timing right and I was finally able to stop thinking ahead and just simply enjoy the moment.



(I of course wish I had a better camera to capture the true beauty that we were seeing in front of our eyes (the sky was far redder than the photos would have you believe). These were all taken on a phone camera, as all my photos (certainly of the last year) are.)