We have chosen a house which faces north-west. It could present some challenges when it comes to my love of these special times of day. The aspect over the open valley, with its mass of empty skies, will allow us wonderful sunsets, I hope. I’m picturing sitting on the balcony, glass in hand, as a fiery orange sun sinks below the opposite hills. But I’ve been less sure about sunrises. Built into the north-facing slope of the valley, the southern horizon is very close, and initially higher than the house. How much would I see? I had prepared myself to accept that losing the sunrise would be a necessary compromise but I am already proven wrong.
We have windows to the north, south, east and west. And this morning, out of the eastern windows, I saw my first sunrise. In truth, it was nothing spectacular, for the skies are heavily clouded today, but what there was, I saw.
Rosy pink blushes and burnt orange tinges embellish the underbellies of violet-grey
pillars of cloud. I watched, breathless. You would think I had never seen a sunrise before. It was my first sunrise at Highfield so that made it a magnificent sunrise! My skills as a photographer are very limited. No matter how I tried, my phone insisted on taking in enough light to brighten the image into silvery-blue, so this first recorded sunrise is not at all how it appeared to me, hanging out of the window: a solitary witness. But it’s all I have, so I shall keep the record. There will be others, more faithfully captured.
A Corner of Cornwall 