As I climbed up the stairs not long after dawn this morning I knew from the quality of the light it would be bright and frosty. And it was – in spades! It was a stupendous morning! All of this week has been very cold, most mornings have seen a ground frost. This morning the frosted fields had sparkling silver coverlets, shimmering under the newly-risen sun which was so clear and bright over the rim of the eastern bank that she was too bright for me to gaze upon. Instead I looked west, where the banked clouds on the horizon had absorbed her gift of colour and were blushing warmly: a vision in pink. 
It was too magical to passively watch from the windows: I stood outside on the decking: filling my lungs with great gulps of the freshest morning air, which warmed and was released again in long strands of white smoke. I felt like a smoking dragon. It was very cold, but such a wonderful cold: crisp, dry, invigorating, with not a trace of damp or of cutting breeze. What a way to wake up!
To the left of the bank of pink clouds, tucked shyly behind a stand of bare, black trees, hung the moon. Three-quarters waned, and this morning offering me a strong silvery-white finale from the brief appearances she is offering at the moment, before vanishing until the early hours of tomorrow night when I shall once again be sleeping. We are like ships in the night at the moment, the moon and I. She offers me only tantalizing glimpses at strange times of day and I drink in such moments intently, thirsty for more opportunity to commune. Those moments will come. I must let nature take her own course.
My thoughts are led on to how it would be to pull on some shoes and head out on a morning such as this, head out into the silent, frosted landscape and see what else is awake and up at this private time of day. I shall do it; I shall do it often I think. But for now it is enough – more than enough – simply to stand and stare.
And so April gave me what must surely be her last hurrah: a pin-sharp, vibrant morning to remember. The view from here is breath-taking.
A Corner of Cornwall 