One More Sleep

It's 0730 on Sunday morning.  I have one more sleep before I leave for Scotland.  I have just been standing on the deck contemplating with my cup of hot water and lemon as the sun shines over the rim of the geological bowl in which The Cottage is situated and makes its way right into the living room.  In fact it's shining right to far wall of The Study in which I am sitting writing this post.  In the summer it hardly touches the deck it is so high in the sky.  This and the fallen leaves and thinning trees are a stark reminder that autumn has truly set in.

I should have known that it would be a beautiful day today after last night's sunset and the words red sky at night is a shepherd's delight.

Standing on the deck at 0730 I was listening to the myriad of birds all having their say: the Tuis calling to each other and chattering away ten to the dozen; the occasional Blackbird (one was singing away last night more than I can ever recall here before); the little Silvereyes and Sparrows twittering as they flit between the trees in their little flocks; the Fantails chasing flies and each other in astonishing aerial acrobatics; and the occasional screech of the Pukeko.  The countryside may be very peaceful but it is rarely quiet.

What really caught my eye though was a lone Monarch Butterfly.  I thought that it was a bit chilly for a butterfly but at 0730 it was 15℃ on the deck.  It could be another warm day.