A Long Spell of Cold.
Freezing weather and winter beauty.
Winter is beautiful…and yes I know the seemingly endless dull days can be a drag, but those blue-skied, cold and bright days in between make up for it. We have had a long spell of seasonal temperatures which looks to go on for many more days to come where the mercury won’t rise much above freezing if at all, and there have been some stunning opportunities to go for walks and get some much needed vitamin D. One such walk last week was a bit slow-going as the ground had thawed where the sun had got to it which resulted in sticky, slippery mud but we had a giggle slurping around and the views made up for it. Bright blue, fresh green and winter white was the colour palette and even in early January, the sun had some power behind it and warmth could be felt giving the hint that spring won’t be far away.
It has been a daily job to keep the bird feeders and tables topped up with goodies, not forgetting to try and keep some water unfrozen which has been a challenge, but the range of birds we have been seeing is wonderful (I have listed them in a previous post), with the extra treat that winter brings - starling murmurations in the evening. At around 4pm they start to gather, swooping and diving in their hundreds, putting on a daily display of aerobatics before roosting for the night. We haven’t seen them at all except a random couple of birds at the feeders for a few years, but they are back for whatever reason and we couldn’t be happier.
Looking ahead at the forecast, we are supposed to have a few days of dry, freezing weather from today, so I will put the garlic outside to get frosted. I planted the bulbs in pots this year as the ground had been so wet in the garden, they have been sitting in the unheated greenhouse where it will have been very cold, but they need a few days of actual frost to encourage the bulbs to separate into cloves as they grow on through spring. It seems counterintuitive when I spend most of the autumn putting plants away to protect them from the freezing cold, but garlic like it so there you go!
So the big jumper is on, gloves are found, off into the garden I go looking forward to a mug of something warm in a few minutes.