Misty Golden Distance

Golden rays stream across Strathspey before sunset

It has been below freezing all week, with some lovely sunny days – although daylight doesn’t last long now we’re almost into December.

I took the steep route up Craigellachie, over very steep ground in deep shade, and emerged blinking in bright sunshine onto the ridge for the panoramic view across Rothiemurchus to the snowy Cairngorms…

The path bumps up and down across the top on rocky outcrops, skirting as much of the not-quite-frozen-enough bog as possible    Hare-tracks were everywhere.

The sun was sinking rapidly, and for a short while golden rays streamed across the hazy landscape. The Cairngorms to the East turned pink.

Afterwards, the mountains continued shining peachy-pink with the reflected colour from the glowing clouds. This winter light is so full of the most intense chromatic variations, from deep yellow twinged with crimson in the south, to a pale green edged with peach in the west, full of subtlety.

“Light is a thing that cannot be reproduced, but must be represented by something else – by color.”

– Paul Cezanne

I carefully  descended the icy boulders in growing darkness, for home and a warming fire.