I was dreading January, the excitement of Christmas/New Year over, and then the long weeks of winter ahead of me. No jetting off to warmer climates to escape the darkness and cold winter this year. It will be a matter of grin and bear it. But in reality I have found during the past week that perhaps winter is not so bad after all, especially when I do not have to get up early, go to work and manage a large school, full of sick staff and children, and seemingly continuous wet play. The advantages of retirement means that you can sit inside in the warmth, go for long peaceful walks in the cold air, and meet up with friends for lunch. Sounds pretty good to me really.
There are many, many advantages to being here during winter.
Candles are lit in the evenings to add to the atmosphere of dark but warm and cosy evenings inside. Our new candle holder, courtesy of Aaron and Kylie, which holds five tealights. Plenty of atmosphere.
There is still some work to do in the garden, now that all leaves have gone. These two shrubs definitely need a massive prune, and perhaps the one on the left needs removing altogether. Too crowded. A days work, and will keep me warm.
The orchids have come out in flower. Cheerful.
The bulbs are starting to show through the cold earth. Very exciting. Note: I weeded before I took the photograph! Weeds never appear to mind cold weather.
And in the conservatory there is a beautiful arrangement to look at, a gift from Aaron and Kylie, with bulbs on the brink of flowering. The Dutch florists make amazing arrangements, appropriate for all seasons and occasions. Love it.
We do have some sunshine, weak I know, but it certainly brightens up the day. A glimpse through the trellis at our neighbour's garden, bathed in sunshine.
Sun shining through the windows of the conservatory, and inside doors open, briefly I might add. But the fact that slowly over the next few weeks the sun will strengthen in warmth and rise further up into the sky, will mean that by February it will be possible to sit out there again during the day.
It was very sad to say goodbye to Lucy, who will be going to school in Adelaide. A very exciting time for her, but we will miss her.
Consequently we have Poppy here for two weeks. Great company.
Poppy in the backgarden, checking out the foxes. We have encountered two so far. It was quite a surprise when a fox looked down at us from the top of the steps, eyes glinting in the torchlight. The garden at the top can be quite eerie, on dark windy nights and I usually do not venture up there. But Poppy needs a toilet break, so I have to be strong.
Now is there a fox under this small tree? It would appear from the way Poppy sniffs the plants, that the foxes urinate on our herbs and silverbeet, which we now must make sure we wash thoroughly. Do we really need to know this.
And then on to my other two distractions this winter, Jezzie and Bobbi. I took them walking yesterday, out on the very large grassed area by Emma and Steve's house. Bitterly cold, and very marshy underfoot in one section, which I discovered too late. I think I muddled their coats up, but I do not think they cared really. At least I matched the leads to the relevant coats. However I did get the leads a bit tangled, as the dogs ran around my legs and each other. How do dogwalkers manage, when they walk six or seven dogs together. I have seen them do this, in our woods.
Back home, with muddy feet, not completely clean but sleeping happily on the couch.
I must remember to put my gloves on when walking dogs, although the sun may be shining the wind is bitingly cold. Picking up dog poo, in a plastic bag of course, is very difficult when the fingers are frozen.
And finally, a walk in the woods. very muddy and lots of water lying around. But by a fence, there was a lone snowdrop plant. And it was flowering. Such a beautiful sight. Winter blues. No way.
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