There is something really beautiful about a low winter sun and we had a few of those days in January.
January had some cold snaps, heavy frosts and frozen pond. I found some ducks looking a bit lost on the ice.
But who decides its spring? Of course there is the official calendar view of March 1st or the astronomical view March 20th, but there is also the view of the plants and trees that decide its time to put up shoots and declare, at least for them, its time to grow again.. In the first week of January I spotted the first daffodils and seeds on the hazel tree so at least for them spring has begun.
These signs reminded me that it was time to 'prune' the hedges and shrubs that have been neglected for a long time. So I started with the beech hedge. Two sides of a 40m long by 5m high hedge, overgrown with ivy and in places tangled with brambles and a mass of creepers is a big job by any measure. I chipped away at it a couple of hours a day, most days for the best part of three weeks but by the end of January it was completed and burning what I had cut gave me a lot of satisfaction.
These signs reminded me that it was time to 'prune' the hedges and shrubs that have been neglected for a long time. So I started with the beech hedge. Two sides of a 40m long by 5m high hedge, overgrown with ivy and in places tangled with brambles and a mass of creepers is a big job by any measure. I chipped away at it a couple of hours a day, most days for the best part of three weeks but by the end of January it was completed and burning what I had cut gave me a lot of satisfaction.
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