I think it was probably in 1994 that I first really sat and watched a sunset. I was eighteen and sat outside the Café del Mar in Ibiza with a bunch of friends.  I’m not sure we really knew why we were watching it – that’s just what people did at sunset there.

But a strange thing happened. As the sun started it’s slow descent into the sea, people stopped chatting and gazed out towards the horizon. The music mellowed and without prompting silence fell. We watched with a new found awe at this daily spectacle. And for me, that sensation hasn’t dulled.

Until we moved to Fishponds Cottage,  watching the sunset was still a spectacle to be enjoyed mainly on holiday though as our old house was positioned so that we could enjoy sunrise and not sunset. And to be honest, I’m not that keen on getting up early enough to watch the sun rise.

But that’s all changed since arriving here. The garden is perfectly situated so we can enjoy the setting sun every night. The view is only slightly obscured by the stables which will soon be demolished. And then we will be able to enjoy the final few minutes as the sun disappears behind the rolling hills from the house.

In the meantime, we have a perfectly positioned bench down in one of the fields. Most evenings are spent wandering down to that bench so we can all soak up the last few moments of day. And the silence that fell over the revellers outside the Café del Mar back in 94, falls over the Petersen Family in 2013. Even Saffron will stop cycling and chatting and watch the sun; admiring the myriad of colours in the sky. Friends and visitors head down there at dusk  with a glass of wine or a cup of coffee and are also captivated by the setting sun and the huge skies.

Even if the day has been overcast , the clouds nearly always dissipate enough that the setting sun is able to break through and reveal it’s daily colourful show.

I suppose it is one of the benefits of the nights drawing in and the clocks changing, that this captivating  spectacle happens earlier in the day and the girls don’t have to stay up late to watch and appreciate the vivid colours on the often dull winter days.

Inevitably, the iphone comes out of my pocket on most evenings and I snap away, recording these amazing sunsets in all their glory. As a subject matter it’s perfect. No two are ever the same, and the colours and patterns so vivid that they need no tweeking on photoshop.

Here are a few, straight from my phone. I hope you enjoy and I’m sure they won’t be the last.