Where the red winter sun sets late

IN THE MORNING sunshine, carpenter bees buzz around the facade of our rented house in the Sierra Nevada and find their way into niches between stones.

They are supposed to bore holes in wood for their nests; that is why they are called carpenter bees. Larger than our bumblebee, they are jet black with iridescent wings, brilliant blue or magenta when they catch the light. Their size, their colour and their loud buzzing makes them seem dangerous but they are not aggressive and very rarely sting. Just as well: an injection from a carpenter bee might seem like being stabbed by an awl.

After two weeks of extreme weather — snow, then fog that made it impossible to drive the narrow roads with no white lines and, in places, drops of a 100mon either side, then 24 hours of torrential rain, then winds gusting to 100mph sweeping away the heavy lids on the water tanks and patio chairs — on Monday we woke to clear, blue skies, warm sun and a gentle breeze.