Thaw

An awakening to above-zero temperatures, and the snow has mostly disappeared. My eyes are relieved from the insistent incident whiteness. Colours, which had been erased from the canvas, have been re-painted - the muted olives, bronzes, khakis, greys and coppers of dogwood, winter grass, bark and beech leaves. Scenes have regained their depth and three-dimensionality.

Another walk by the Thames with a friend and her children. There are still some patches of ice under the banks, thick enough for a little light moorhen strutting. The ground is still frozen, overlain by a thin layer of sodden grass and mud.