Winter's Return

After a few weeks where I tentatively thought spring might be awakening, the snow came back. A flurry which lasted several days was followed by a heavier snowfall.

We’ve been doing a lot of comfort viewing lately (mostly comforting, anyway - but I’ll come back to that). Winter Walks on BBC iPlayer is really absorbing, and we tried Take a Hike too; mostly because one episode featured Dunvegan, where we used to live. It was nice to watch it and see all those very familiar places.

One woman, who lives in southern Skye, said she’d been walking for an hour a day because it was so beneficial for her mental and emotional wellbeing. Regardless of the weather - and we know that Skye has real weather - she heads out and clears her mind. And this resonated with me.

So I’ve been walking. And I’ve been lucky enough to do it in the snow, in a magical landscape.

One evening after school, we called home for the sledge then took it out for a twilight run. There’s a field next to the old Hughes family house which has the perfect gentle slope. It goes on and on, ending in a little bank.

Watching Joe and his friends gliding through the snow against a backdrop of white hills and a pink-and-blue sky was lovely. The stars were coming out and the sunset turned everything rosy. I took a few pictures on my phone, but even without them, it was one of those times you remember for years to come.

You can actually see the sledging field in the above picture: it’s the one backing onto the Hughes house (the square one on the left). You get in through a gate at the top corner; the owners are fine as long as you close it afterwards, as there are often sheep and horses grazing in there.

Mornings straight after school drop-off are the best time to head out. That means there’s lovely light, everywhere’s quiet and I can get home for a cup of tea and a good long session to work on the journal and my photos.

The house is coming along. We’re having to replace the front door before we’d really wanted to, because it’s in such a bad state. Apart from looking awful, it’s beyond repair: you can see daylight all the way around it, and water has seeped in and soaked our new carpet.

New doors are expensive so we’ll have to be even more careful with the budget for the planned extension. Work should be starting on that quite soon, and will be dirty and disruptive. Once its done, we’ll have to deal with it in stages because we don’t want to spend all our savings. These are uncertain times…

We’ll be left with a shell: walls, windows, roof, doors. After that it’ll be electricians, plumbers and plasterers before we can get on with the nice jobs.

We have been working on the front garden though. The boundary wall between us and next door needs to come down and be replaced with a fence, but we’ve dug out a border around the lawn and pulled out some straggly shubs. We bought lots of hedging and have planted it out: cornus (red dogwood), copper beech, hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn. Now it all just needs to grow and fill out and knit together.

Planting hedges is immensely gratifying.

We also planted a twisted hazel in one corner. The rowan tree in the centre is too big for the space, so it’ll come down and be replaced by maybe a little crab apple tree. Hopefully by autumn we’ll be all tidy and ready to plant spring flowering bulbs under the hedges…

Joe’s been busy at school. He has Art Club on Tuesdays, which gives me an extra hour in the afternoon - although it’s due to finish at half term.

We’ve had a few little treats in the cold weather: after-school cake in the tea room, and coffee (me) and crisps and fruit juice (him) in the cosy pub, by the fire. It’s nice to sit and chat, and hear about what he’s been up to.

This past weekend we tried a new walk.

There are so many paths and trails around here, each one linking to others, that you could find a different route every time. We wandered up onto the tops and were treated to views out across the valley far below. We saw pheasants and imposing old farmhouses, long icicles and any number of wild birds. It was cold but not bitter; not even a whisper of a breeze. I could have kept going for hours.

At home, I’ve been re-reading Cold Comfort Farm. I love it and had forgotten how funny it is.

And a few days ago I started a new library book, Mrs March by Virginia Feito. It’s very good - foreboding and claustrophobic - and one of those novels which you struggle to put down for the night.

I mentioned our almost exclusively comforting viewing. And it has been for Joe (we’ve been watching The Hairy Bikers Go Local, and The Traitors US - he likes both). But late in the evenings I’ve been enjoying Happy Valley* and a series called Bodies which was originally aired on BBC.

Bodies was actually quite addictive. Horrifying and graphic enough at times for me to turn away, but I was absolutely hooked on the story. It’s set in an gynae and obstetrics ward and focuses on the misdemeanours of an incompetent consultant. It made me glad I won’t be ever having another baby. Unfortunately, I was in hospital yesterday for a short but pretty traumatic procedure, but all was well and I came home afterwards feeling like I’d been through the wringer. I was, however, essentially OK and just in need of rest, hydration and a few painkillers…

Anyway, back to nicer things.

How lovely are the houses around these parts? So many solid old stone cottages, farmhouses and vicarages. There are imposing chapels and barns, tumbledown outbuildings and some of the most envy-inducing stableyards I’ve ever seen.

I’m sure these covetable country piles are draughty and damp, but to me they conjure up images of huge fireplaces and long tables laid with snowy linen, flickering candles and crystal glasses - especially at this time of year.

‘Visitors are welcome to use the common for quiet, informal recreation.’

Made us laugh.

So here we are.

The snow’s gone again. I enjoyed it while it lasted, finding deer prints on the bowling green and photographing little sugar-dusted details in the churchyard. But I’m looking ahead to spring. There are daffodils in the house and the deadline for Issue Three (Spring) of Frond & Feather Journal is looming.

I’ve written all the content and am taking photographs over the weekend. Next week will be editing, formatting and proofreading. I need to contact the printers with a few queries, and order some new packaging - the samples arrived yesterday and are just what I’m after.

It’s always a relief once everything’s done and submitted. I get a moment to exhale and regroup, then it’ll be a case of promoting the journal and contacting potential new stockists…

We have some nice plans for spring. A trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park with friends at half term, and a few nights in Edinburgh in May. As the days get longer we’ll be working on the house and garden. And I’m crossing my fingers that we get an allotment this year…

*Happy Valley seems to be the programme to watch at the moment. It’s excellent, and Sarah Lancashire’s acting is a revelation. But really, Hebden Bridge really isn’t as grim as it’s portrayed to be!