All that Glitters

Beautiful day (albeit hovering just above freezing!) and a morning expedition to Wrabness, near Manningtree and Mistley on the estuary of the River Stour. A little nature reserve there, you can walk down to the beautifully wild beach which was a glorious mixture of mud, sand, pebbles, corroded cliff and marshiness. As we walked down, all the little rivulets of water had frozen at the edges and were sparkling in the blazing winter sun .. fantastic! And well-worth the ten to fifteen minutes it took getting everyone dressed up for the expedition (nobody was allowed out of the car without 2pairs of gloves and socks, hat, hood and wellies etc).

As we walked round onto the beach the tide had pushed up piles of diamond-like ice crystals into drifts of frozen foam which made beautiful patterns and the sand was decorated all the way along the shoreline with wading bird footprints. I don't know whether there's some scientific explanation to do with the precise mix of salt and non-salt water here in the estuary that made this frosty wondrousness .. I don't need to know, it just was and we were there to see it and it was beautiful!

Definitely having a lucky day today - on the way back I was treated to a kingisher flypast.. so fast I thought I had imagined it, a flash of brilliant turquoise, then as it turned a glimpse of crimson underbelly. It can't be, I thought.. but when I looked it up in the books back at home, it could be nothing else and this was just the type of habitat they like and apparently in Britain in the winter migration season they often head for coastal areas. I am letting nature herself be my teacher .. and slowly, I'm learning!

Soup Magic

January has not been great... everyone is sick and/or grumpy. But there was a moment of magic today! In my constant effort to not waste food, eat more veg and cook from scratch, etc I knocked up a soup for lunch. I had a slightly wrinkled and unappetising-looking celeriac languishing in the basket of roots, so I looked up a recipe for celeriac soup. I wasn't expecting much - the list of ingredients looked so innocuous, nothing exciting. You know, an onion, a stock cube, a bit of milk.

But it totally rocked!

And so I am reminded of the power of soup to be more than the sum of its ingredients. We had it in giant mugs with crunchy slices of bread toasted under the grill with a drizzle of oil and pinch of thyme. It was full of flavour and it cheered me up and made me feel better about the world and everything in it.

And the little'un dunked his crunchy toast in the soup and scooped it up and yummed it down with great enthusiasm (before falling off his chair while attempting to imitate the washing machine which just went into spin cycle - its OK, I caught him by the ankle - no harm done!)

So there we are .. whatever the problem is, I think the answer is probably soup.

Solar Power Campaign

Friends of the Earth would like you to help put pressure on David Cameron over the government's intentions with regard to solar power .. you can read the full details here.

Just thought I'd spread the word .. please pop along and sign the letter if you've got a minute!

Rosehips and Ice

Beautiful freezing (literally!) morning and a walk along Alresford Creek, about 3 miles from home. No-one about, really peaceful and the air was full of birdsong. Stopped to listen to a robin singing to us from his perch up in a bush just a few feet away, such a beautiful sight and song.

Little'un loved the new game of cracking the ice where the muddy puddles had frozen over (there is no better fun than muddy puddles when you are nearly 3, and this was a whole new take on them!)

Collected just a few rosehips and took photos so I can try to identify the type, having been inspired by Moongazing Hare's interesting wild rose post. Am determined to start learning these things! There were several rose bushes which all appeared to be the same and towered high over my head with the reddest plumpest fruits right at the top out of reach.

The hips are about 2cm long and the bushes had backward facing hook-shaped thorns. I am wondering whether this makes them rosa rubiginosa, as many of the hips appear egg-shaped and the bushes had red-tinted stems?

January Skies

Tuesday morning this week, I pulled back the bedroom curtains to a stunning sky ..

in the east the most colourful sunrise you could ever imagine full orange and peach, lilac and purples turning pink and lighting up the sea to the south on the skyline..

then directly opposite in the west a beautiful white disc full moon sitting snugly on top of the early morning houses in a picture postcard blue sky.

I grabbed these snaps on my mobile phone whilst leaning out the bedroom window, but they don't really come anything close to capturing the colours.

So wonderful to see both the sun and the moon both in their full glory in the sky at once. Happy New Year to you all and wishing everyone clear skies and plain sailing in 2012!

Evergreen

I love the tradition of bringing greenery into the house during the darkest part of the year.. a reminder that the earth is only sleeping and will burst into life once more once she has shed her old layers, rested and renewed herself.

I made this little wreath for the front door from the evergreens in the herb garden, its just bay and rosemary. They both smelled divine while I worked with them. Had intended (indeed, still intend!) weaving a scarlet ribbon and adding pine cones, berries and other decorative bits later this week.. but it just looked so simple and fresh and green that I couldn't bring myself to do it yet.

This year we finally have an eco christmas tree which is actually growing in its pot and will live beyond the Christmas festivities. Yes, before you ask, it drops needles.. but I don't see that as a problem. I hoover them up. I like the ritual of watering it a little every day. Its nice to have something to nurture at a time when we are no longer out working daily in the garden.

Yesterday, driving through the winter countryside I saw mistletoe growing high up in trees for the first time.. a magical sight and it made me determined to look up some of the folklore surrounding this and other plants associated with this time of the year. I filled the hanging baskets by the front door with lovely variegated ivy which, like mistletoe, had its use banned by the church for its strong pagan (ie pre-Christian) associations.. yet they are still widely used, along with holly, though I am sure not many folks would now know why.

Share with me anything that you know .. and I'll add links or a new post if I find anything interesting?

UPDATE (Dec 30th 2011):

Found this wonderful Susun Weed article about Rosemary which includes the following:

"Old herbals hint that rosemary exerts its influence magically as well as physically. Burned as an incense, twined into a wreath, or grown in a pot, rosemary protects the house and those who live in it, especially the women..

Rosemary is a traditional Christmas decoration – partly because it smells good, and partly because pruning rosemary back mid-winter makes it stronger and healthier. So don’t hesitate to cut bunches of it for beauty."