Week 1/2024

Snowdrop shoots | Party's over | Non-After-Eights based meals

An almost monochrome Boxing Day walk

Hello! Week 1, and here we go again. I really enjoyed my little break but it’s great to be back. We have lots of new readers this time around - welcome to you all, I imagine you have found us via The Almanac 2024 - and so I will start off with a quick explanation of what this weekly post is all about. Every week I write about some things I have spotted/eaten/done/crocheted/sniffed that really feel particular to this week of the year, in all of its minutiae and grandeur, and then you do the same in the very lively comments section. Everyone can join in in the comments just by clicking on the comment button at the bottom of the page, and you will be made very welcome if you do.

I then curate your comments to make a kind of seasonal poem of the week just past, a ‘living almanac’ if you will, our method of keeping track of how very quickly the seasons change in real time. It’s astonishing how different these ‘poems’ are week by week. We lean towards temperate Northern Hemisphere here just because that is where I am based, but we LOVE to hear from the tropics, poles (or thereabouts…) and Southern Hemisphere and get a sense of the whole world turning through its seasons, so don’t be shy if that’s you.

Thank you to everyone who joined in last week even though I slightly phoned in my own contribution - there will be a little bit more of that in the coming months as I am into ‘almanac writing season’ and it all gets a bit intensive but it is wonderful to know that you will all help me to keep the boat afloat and the show on the road.

To business! Here is your Week 52:

Christmas Eve traditions of reading Lucy & Tom’s Christmas, and the elves delivering pyjamas

Seeing the full moon with its reflection in water ‘wobbled’ by a passing goosander

The Christmas mess - paper and ribbons strewn all over the floor

Snuggling up with cosy Christmas reads

The cold full moon making her presence fleetingly felt as clouds raced before her in the stormy weather

The very first winter cherry blossom in its papery delicate glory, spotted on the Boxing Day walk

Aging hawthorn berries framing the bare countryside

The witch hazel flowering, and noticing the scent from the Christmas box by the front door

The green spikes of the snowdrops

Hugging beech trees in the woods and dancing through drifts of copper

Tempestuous weather providing a great excuse to hunker down with loved ones, beside the tree and at the table

A beautiful woodpecker on the bird table

Lots of kids riding around on their new Christmas presents

Seaside walks and lots of quality time

Laying flat out of the sofa watching yet another cheesy Christmas film

The urge to take the Christmas decorations down, with the same joy I feel when I put them up

Fantastic, thank you.

Here’s my Week 1:

Snowdrop shoots

They’re amazing aren’t they? Thy surprise me every time. I walk outside on New Year’s Day and - ping - there they are, telling us that spring is coming. I don’t know if my mind is just entirely non-attuned to spring bulbs in the run up to Christmas but they always seem like they’ve just appeared. Magic.

Party’s over

Sometimes I really hold on and drag Christmas out to the very last possible moment, but not this year. January 2nd I got the Christmas ick and got everything down and packed and the sitting room hoovered all in about an hour. Rah! So clear and clean, so fresh. Felt great. See you next year, lil bird.

Non-After-Eights-based meals

We limped along on leftovers for a decent spell but there came a moment when this was suddenly what I craved. No mince pies, no sliced meats, no Quality Street, just something hearty and lentil-filled that I could just shove in the oven and go out for a walk.

---

That’s it from me. A quick reminder that on Sunday we begin ‘Monthly Spot 2024’ in the chat section of the app: basically pick a spot that you are going to be able to photograph all year round and take a snap of it. We will do this again on the first Sunday of every month, to see how it changes, and then do a big round up at the end of the year (so save your pics somewhere sensible).

Now: please pop your comments below. What have you seen/done/eaten/made/noticed this week that made it particularly ‘this week’?