As we pass through the latter half of January and approach early February we are in the coldest weeks of the year. The first few days of next month mark Imbolc, the Celtic festival celebrating mid-winter and the slowly returning daylight. Tuesday already seemed to feel like the light is returning at pace with a bright sun and blue sky dotted with white fluffy clouds. Those clouds were being pushed rapidly by a strong southerly wind which brought warmer air that reached towards double digit temperatures. The birds seemed to be enjoying it with buzzards and red kites playing in the breeze and parties of rooks and jackdaws feeding in the fields.

This was all in stark contrast to the weather a couple of weeks ago when we had a light covering of snow (others not far away had a lot more). The weather then seemed fitting for winter and even thigh snow isn’t something we see that often. During some recent winters we have barely seen a snow flake let alone have a covering.

As I write, a couple of days later, we are back into the wet and windy kind of winter, a continuation of the autumn experience, albeit with lower temperatures. This gloom combined with the short days, doesn’t make it particularly attractive to set a foot outside but as the weekend comes around, spending some time away from the house is one of the best ways to fight the mid-winter blues.