Practically Arctic

Blimey, I thought that March that was supposed to come in like a Lion! It’s perishing, but lovely in the sunshine, as long as you dress appropriately. In the past couple of days I have been going out dog walking bearing a strong resemblance to Nanook of the North, only needing a harpoon to complete the look. Even Nellie would pass as a stand-in Husky, she’s certainly strong enough to pull a sled, she just wouldn’t take it in the right direction. She would be inclined to head towards the closest pile of decomposing seal blubber, or Caribou bones to feast on. As I write this the outside temperature is -3.5° with a ‘feels like’ temperature displayed on my weather station at home of -7.6°, and I’ve just been out to see to the hens, and it really does feel that cold!

Multiple layers have been necessary because the wind chill effect has been brutal. It’s early January though, it feels healthy, and we are all always banging on about how we miss the seasons, so enjoy some proper winter weather conditions. It provides an opportunity to get out those thick pyjamas from the bottom of the drawer and to discover where you put the hot water bottle in that cupboard that is the depository for all things non essential. I used to love the ritual of the preparation of the bottle, the rubbery smell as the near boiling water was poured in from the kettle, then my mother would tap the side of the bottle four or five times with its stopper to expel some of the steam before sealing it and slipping it into its own knitted bed clothes. It would be placed into my bed to take the chill off those freezing cold cotton sheets before I climbed in and hugged it to my tummy. Oh those halcyon days before central heating when ice formed on the condensation on the inside of the window on particularly cold nights, and when milk extruded in a column from the necks of milk bottles left on the doorstep, lifting the foil cap with it.

I have had the longest break from work that I can remember, if I discount broken ankles, hand and knee surgery. I did pop to Moyns Park a few times for the odd hour here and there to check on things and to feed the birds, but I really didn’t do much in the way of work. With the well below zero overnight temperatures forecast I took the precaution of turning off the water supply, I really didn’t want to return to burst pipes! The couple of weeks have gone by pretty quickly, and I don’t have much to show for them, it has mostly been a time for walking and relaxing, a bit of reading, working on my seed order, a few minor jobs tackled around the house, you know….slobbing. As pleasant as it has been it will be nice to get back into a routine from Monday, though given the icy weather forecast I might ease back slowly. However, amongst my Christmas presents I received the warmest of knitted hats, a snood to go around my neck, and some rechargeable hand warmers to slip in my pockets, so I’m pretty well set to deal with whatever comes.

Oh, what am I thinking?? Happy New Year! How very rude of me.

It has been a good period for bird spotting. A lot of the usual suspects have been around, but in the past few days I have inadvertently flushed three Snipe from their cover, I saw a large flock of Linnets chattering in a small tree, a decent flock of Starlings rising and falling over a field, and plenty of Fieldfares and Redwings. A skein of 42 Canada Geese flew directly over us on an early morning dog walk on Friday, flying beautifully in echelon formation honking as they made their commute. Other wildlife activity included the sighting of a fox in the large field immediately behind our cottage the other morning. Nellie was first to spot it through the picket fence as it tracked along the field parallel to our garden, some 200 metres away. Nellie barked at the sight of it, she tends to bark at most things, which is usually tiresome, but on this occasion it had the desired effect because after standing with its head turned towards us for about 30 seconds it turned on its heels and headed back from whence it came. It was lovely to see, with its plumped up bushy brush, but a bit too close for comfort when you have chickens and ducks.

It’s a pretty crappy photo taken with my phone, but it was all that I had in the seconds available to take the shot before the Wolf Moon disappeared below the horizon on Friday morning. In real life it looked quite spectacular.

So, everything is more or less back to normal this week. Delivery days will be as they always are, and I will be back at Wyken on Saturday for the first Farmers’ Market of the year. I have repopulated the shop, but it is not brimmers because the supply chain is not yet fully filled after the festive break, so your choice is somewhat limited. I suspect that this may continue while the cold spell continues because harvesting becomes extremely challenging in these conditions, so we’ll have to see how that pans out. All being well there will be Savoy cabbages, Cavolo nero, sprout tops, leeks, beetroot, sweet potatoes, squash, onions, carrots, dirty parsnips, limited swede and red cabbage. I have added Pak Choi, but I won’t know if it has survived the extreme cold in the greenhouse until I go in tomorrow. Because it is 90%+ water it could be that the plant cells have been marmalised by being frozen, so don’t be surprised if it disappears from the shelves of the shop. It would be very disappointing because it was looking so good. Bitter Seville oranges for making marmalade with make their first appearance of the season. I will have them for quite a while, so there is no need to rush to find your jam making kit.

On the Sunday before Christmas I went to Moyns Park to gather greenery to hang in bunches around the beams at home, and was surprised to see Winter Aconites in full bloom. It was a grey day, so the clumps of buttercup yellow were a welcome sight that illuminated the gloom. It seemed early for them, in my mind they appear just after Christmas.