Photo story: walking the between-days

When we’re becalmed after the storm of Christmas, our family seems drawn to pulling on our boots.

Three walkers silhouetted among trees on a hillside at dusk, a dark blue sky above them.

The days between Christmas and New Year are my favourite of the season, an emptiness into which hours tumble as life remains on hold. A Swedish friend told me that this time is known as mellandagarna in his country: the between-days.

Looking back through photos of mellandagarna past, I noticed a theme: our family likes to walk between the years. My photo library records that for the last eight years or more, we’ve filled those quiet days with walks. Under clear skies and grey, through mud and through snow, we’ve unintentionally worn this path of tradition through our lives.