January update in English

As promised in December, I’ll write a monthly update in English – with lots of photos.

It’s Sunday and the last day of January. Now how did that happen? I can’t believe that we already used up a whole month of 2021.

But thinking back over the last few weeks, a lot has happened.

Winter has come to Skivholme. Blue sky, a smattering of snow, and frost in the clear and oh so very breathable air. How long it will last, we never know. Winter is a fickle thing in a coastal climate, but when it’s here we can hardly contain our joy. I even like feeling a little cold even though I’m all bundled up when outside.

The birds flock to the feeders, and in our grassfield we see the tracks from deer, hares and pheasants.

January has been another month living with the corona lockdown that has now been extended to the end of February. We make the best of it and settle into home life with books, movies, knitting, cooking, and garden planning.

Luckily, we can both work from home, which our two dogs, Maggie and Rosie, enjoy tremendously. They won’t like it when Mummy goes back to the office – and she’ll miss them, too.

Cooking in January means slow-cooked dishes like this winter beef stew. ‘Man-food’ my husband calls it… Beef, vegetables, bay leaves, thyme and peppercorns, simmered in beer and broth.

And we’ve been cooking some hot Mexican dishes. I know that Mexico hardly ever has cold weather, but hot food is great when it’s cold.

I’ve been baking a lot. Bread, rolls, and a few cakes. We’ll simply roll out of here when the lockdown ends…

I really miss going to the garden center to stock up on primroses, hyacinths, and all the other early spring plants. Luckily, I was able to pick up a few in the supermarket.

Hyacinths put together with dead elder branches from the edge of our small wood.

And a lovely, moon yellow primrose.

And speaking of the moon – the Wolf Moon was a few days ago. I managed to get a spooky photo.

Now we are ready to take on the second month of the year. Welcome to February. I’ll get back to you in English at the end of the month – until then:

Have a great Sunday – and a great February.