Monday 08 February
When I drove home from seeing Dad late yesterday afternoon, I thought we had seen the back of the usual one-day snowfall we usually get. But I was wrong. Overnight it piled in and drifted along the lanes, blowing hard and cold through the gaps in the hedgerows and between the trees. The result? Schools closed, icy cold winds and a persistent sprinkling of snow throughout the day.
So, this morning we woke in the dark as usual. But as the decisions were being made to close our schools, so the day broke to produce that very odd light you get when snow is all around. Firstly, things are much brighter, the light is more concentrated and unfiltered. Only reflected off the white, all covering sheet of white. The other oddity is that the light is coming from the ground as well as the sky, albeit through a layer of cloudy, and earth bound snow flakes.
So, all four of us at home today, on a school day! Plus the dog and the two cats. But everyone was able to find their own bit of space. Strange, and an indication of how things have changed in the past year. First of all, me and Lisa had a sense of what it has been like for Stan and Adora. This past year they have been learning from home, that’s really hit me today. All of those young people unable to be at college socialising, growing and learning with friends they know and ones they haven’t met yet.
Secondly, our kids are growing so quickly. Stan is eighteen in three months time. He’s leaving for university four months after that. Adora will be doing likewise the following year. And the lead up to this massive change for them? Three bouts of national lockdown.
So, they were upstairs in their rooms doing their lessons online. Lisa was in one room doing her meetings on Teams and I was Googling it in another. Thank God I sorted the broadband recently – a snag of country living. Oh, and today, an odd experience. A full-on belly laugh, whilst at a staff meeting, all forty or so staff. I won’t explain what happened but there was a noticeable release from many people, myself included, who haven’t had much to laugh about for the past year or so
The birds have been feeding wildly in the back garden. All the usual suspects were there including a veritable army of blackbirds and starlings. I put some halves of apple out – that always works. And a treat today was a local walk with Mabel. It was cold though, we raced around pretty sharpish, but it was beautiful.
The Bald Birder 