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Sarah A's avatar

Attempting an ice picture with leaves in a water filled bowl and watching a blackbird pick them out 1 by 1 to take a bath.

Hot water bottles in bed.

A vat of hot porridge in a morning, mine topped seville Marmalade and nutmeg.

The crunch of frozen ground underfoot.

Freezing nights and clear skies, giving us a rare starry night here in the City (London)

Scraping ice from the INSIDE of the car windscreen

Sorry there's been a lot this week! Xx

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Mo's avatar

That blackbird made me laugh! I've got an ice bowl out there too, not been eaten, but I did have a blackbird fly hard into my bedroom window this morning, just going out to check he's not lying stunned on the ground

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Sarah A's avatar

I know, I really chuckled watching undo my artistic moment! Haha!

Hope your little fella is OK, I bet the low sun is hard to navigate in

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Georgina Gowland's avatar

Eating enough for four people every day then noticing the scales glaring at me from their corner by the fridge.

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Wendy Turner's avatar

Thanks Lia and everyone else. Such a precious, wintery week here in the Midlands. Three things:

Keeping company with my shadow and those of the trees on crisp woodland walks; a sky so pure and blue it makes my heart hurt; (though that might also have to do with:) my boy finally returning to University after four generous weeks, and being left with a him shaped hole everywhere I look.

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Sue Armstrong's avatar

Oh Wendy 🫂🫂

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Jo Loring-Fisher's avatar

The night sky in rural Norfolk studded with stars like I’ve not seen for many years since moving to the city of Bath.

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Sally Ann's avatar

Loving this cold brightness the freezing temperatures have brought ❄️. My 3 things this week;

My first snow this year, felt like a child so excited, watching it from my kitchen window as I sat at the table in candlelight hugging my mug of coffee.

A very, very cold glorious sunny afternoon spent at the local nature reserve, all the water fowl gathered where the breaks in the ice were. A rare sighting of the little owl sunning itself on the wall.

A warm bath by candlelight to warm me up, after a long cold walk listening to Spell Songs. ❄️

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Sarah's avatar

I love Spell Songs, especially 'Blessing' the most beautiful piece of music 🙂

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Sally Ann's avatar

Both albums are amazing, soo beautiful. I have recently discovered the live album ❄️

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Sarah's avatar

Ah I didn't know about that, I wonder if it was recorded at Folk by the Oak where I saw them?

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Sally Ann's avatar

I think it was live at the Natural History Museum , Jackie Morris is on one of the tracks ❄️

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E Burns's avatar

Frost so thick my young daughters insist it’s snow

Starting each morning with thyme and licorice tea to soothe a sore throat

Beautiful curls of steam pouring from houses and settling down the sunlit morning hills we pass on the school run

Dry winter skin - lots of lotion and lip balm applied!

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Helen's avatar

Yes! My 6yo and 3yo have found heavy frost a bit of a mind-bender. ‘But it’s white... it’s very cold... it’s on the ground...?!’

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E Burns's avatar

aww! Mine are so desperate for proper snow that it feels sad to correct them!

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Rosamund Saunders's avatar

Loving January for the first time. So many things to see after dark. Having fun like never before lockdown.

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Aster's avatar

Hooray!

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Sarah's avatar

On a frosty walk in the park I saw a flock of what I later learnt were Redwings searching for food amongst the leaves, a first for me and such a lovely sight.

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Sally Ann's avatar

Love a red wing 💖. We are hoping for a sighting of the wax wings 🤞

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Emma Adams's avatar

A day of workers strikes( no schools / public transport/ roads ungritted) and a frost so hard it didn’t thaw all day meant hunkering down in the house - watching the busy bird feeders , candles lit , books & blankets all round - peak January !

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Anne Murray's avatar

We’ve had a lot of snow. One morning doing yoga to the sunrise these words emerged out of my post Christmas fug.

Ice crystals come to life lit

by the rising sun;

plants and birds quiver.

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Lia Leendertz's avatar

Beautiful! x

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Amy's avatar

My daughter’s face smiling through the frosty car window. The icy patterns teasing at the snowflakes that have been forecast.

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Penelope's avatar

Walking in the woods...the lovely symphony of winter sounds: wind crisping through the leaves, birds chirping, my feet crunching along the trail. I love every step and sound.

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Sue Armstrong's avatar

Love that - symphony of winter sounds!

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Penelope's avatar

I love the sounds of winter!

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Lieke S's avatar

Revelling in the close approach of the half moon and Jupiter at night. Loving spotting Venus the next dawn shining over a snow-bedecked city while standing on my roof terrace. Magical.

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Kat's avatar

What a joy to read everyone's comments and picturing such loveliness and comfort for those struggling also. I've noticed so many beautiful little things this week which when added together given me such a boost...frozen puddles in nornally clarty dirt tracks that look like glassy sharks frozen in time...the pure white geese swimming in a line across the River Wear and three white ducks joining the procession from behind hoping they can carry it off without getting busted...a beach fire at low tide on a bright sunny freezing day and the moon reminding me that all is well...sun, sea, fire, ice, the moon and sharing it all with my besty.

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Anne's avatar

Oh I love the north east coast! Which beach were you on?

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Kat's avatar

We love to visit the East Durham Heritage coastline Anne and especially love Blackhall Rocks and Hawthorn Dene which are really secluded and quite dramatic...but this week we went to Crimdon for a change as it was low tide and we wanted to explore a new bit of the beach where the river joins the sea. It was so gorgeous but also very shocking to see how it has been transformed from a sandy beach to a very pebbly one after some bad storms we had last year.

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Anne's avatar

I don’t know those places, but they sound pretty special.

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Su's avatar

Oh the amaryllis ! Having beautiful evening fires and preparing for our annual Burns Supper where we declaim and note the beauty of poetry prose and performance -this year I will tangle the love of roses held by Robert Burns , George Orwell and Benjamin Zephaniah all now members of the Dead Poets Society loved for their care and attention to Nature in their lifetimes both poetically and in their own landscapes 🍃🌱🌿🎼

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Lia Leendertz's avatar

Love the idea of reading a benjamin zephaniah tomorrow night. Can you recommend any in particular?

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Su's avatar

Nature Trail is a great one !! Su 🙏

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Lia Leendertz's avatar

Thsnks Su x

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Gemma's avatar

Long shadows in the beautiful winter sunshine.

Frosty footpaths and the stunning Jay, busy raiding her acorn stash.

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