STALWART

This new year 2021 opens at a time when we need to be brave. Let’s face it, we knew something like this would blow back at us, and it would be foolish to react in a negative way. This time we need to stand up to the deprivations – after all, they are minor in comparison to some of the things people across the world live through on a daily basis: extreme weather, famine, war and terminal illness. 

This year, whether or not you are cynical about the pandemic and the way in which the government is reacting to it, perhaps try to put a more positive focus on your life and what you are doing. If you live alone, this is incredibly hard. Can you build some projects into your daily routine? Do you have friends on the end of a telephone line or on the internet to whom you can talk, giving them the benefit of your wisdom and experience? Is it possible to change something which has always annoyed you, such as tidying out a cupboard or moving a piece of furniture? Ask yourself what you can do to improve things. 

Take a look at the pictures on the walls around you – if you have any on display. Do you really like them… still? Or if your walls are bare, could you pin up some cheerful or inspiring pictures or posters, or even a calendar? Once you start thinking about your surroundings in this way, you become more creative and positive. I won’t labour the point: you know what to do! Just don’t let the depressing news drive you to complacency and giving up. 

Last year I spent a lot of time either gardening, doing housework and cooking meals, and sitting at my computer not really doing very much! This year I intend to write as much as possible, turning the opportunity the quietude gives to my advantage. Yes, I will be gardening, although perhaps I won’t sow as many tomato seeds as last year (far too many - although they were all delicious) and I might consider how I could change some of the flower beds. Here are just a few of the tomatoes I harvested. I also grew some cucumbers and - again - four plants is three too many!

January is throwing some cold and frosty weather at us, and here in this corner of Devon we had a fair amount of snow. I hope I’ve done everything I can to save my tender plants, but yesterday I noticed some pelargoniums which I had completely forgotten about. Instead of having been dug up and moved into the greenhouse they stood forlornly in one of the flower beds, brown and dead from the frosty cold nights. I think (hope) I took some cuttings last Autumn, otherwise I have lost them completely. 

But the joy of seeing some of the other plants still standing, stalwart against the freezing winds, far outweighs the sadness of those lost. The sedums have weathered the snow with beautiful mounds of icy snowflakes gathering on their crowns. These stems will of course be cut down in the spring, ready for the new growth. 

Below: a blackbird forages and daffodils are beginning to show!

I took a short, cold walk this afternoon with my new camera to try and capture some scenes for this blog. The sun was shining, turning the starkest bare branches into beautiful shapes, and there were cows grazing in the field beyond our house. My fingers turned to ice as I snapped away, but I am pleased with the results.

 

Finally, something which caught my eye on a social media page - which I hope will make you smile. Many of us remember 'Winnie-the-Pooh' by A.A. Milne from our younger days in the original book format. I had forgotten its delights until I found this little gem from Christopher Robin Milne, the author's son. I don't know if the quote comes from the book or whether he has written it himself, but it means something to all of us at the present time. Look after yourselves, and stay safe.