Midwinter Thoughts

It looks like the thaw is coming.

Yesterday we went out for a boxing day walk and were lucky enough to catch what looks like could have been the last really cold day(of this spell).

Temperatures are up today and water is already dripping down from the rooves around here. On my mind are the folk who live in areas that are usually hit by floods at these times, hoping that they will be spared much of the devastation they have experienced these past few years.

Since the Winter Solstice on Tuesday last week I'm taking the time to keep in touch with nature everyday. Deep in the weeks of November and early to mid December it all seemed quite bleak. The bustle of Christmas preparations gives us something to look forward to in all of this but then again, you can easily lose touch with your own rhythm.

Whilst I am sure that January and February will still bring some hard times ahead for people, the shortest day has now come and gone which means that spring is on it's way. The Christmas lights twinkling all around are a reminder of that. I am already noticing a slight shift in the times of the sunsets, so that daylight remains with us each day, for just a few minutes longer.

Getting up and out yesterday, my body recognised that it was walking again after these dark winter days without. Since I got back from China, I have not gone out walking once. My heart and soul recognised that I was out in nature again, watching the birds and feeling at one with the sky, the trees and the water. There was so much beauty all around that my camera was out snapping away (as is quite usual these days).