At long last it feel like we might be turning a corner, springward. I can feel the hours of light lengthening now and the gentle warmth of sunshine when the wind drops. The snowdrops carpeting churchyards and just a little feeling in the air. Something detectable, but inexplicable. An energy.

I've been clutching at straws to pull me through the interminable winter weeks. Mud, winds, snow, drizzle, cold, darkness. Bleak greys and browns. Thank goodness change is coming. Not a minute too soon. Stir crazy indoors with nothing significant to do outside. No point mostly.

Pictures from an evening walk as the last of the sunlight lit up the landscape. The light was incredible and made for dramatic effect, especially against the black clouds to the East.







Crab apples looking rather unwell.










Following the deluge of rain the ford filled up and spilled across the road.
Take care,
Sophie

We're tiptoeing dangerously close to March. Spring is within touching distance!
I took a picture of this beautiful barn owl which we see on a fairly regular basis. My attempts to take a good shot have been numerous but they're usually thwarted by the lens*, the light, the obstructions and the speed of flight.
*I refuse to use another lens so this will always be an issue.
This is possibly my best result yet. It's a privilege to be able to watch such a majestic beast hunting and I enjoy the experience immensely.

My assumption is that the barn owls stay on the same hunting grounds all year round although I recently discovered that the little garden passerines migrate over winter to warmer climes. The lovely little blue tits and blackbirds head off and the ones which are resident over the winter are from Sweden and Norway! How puzzling, but here's the reason. Birds need to find the similar type of temperatures to those in which they were raised in. So although blackbirds live in the UK all year round for the summer lightweights it's a normal warm bird and the winter hardy ones it's their warm retreat away from the nippier northern climes in which they were raised.
Well I found that fascinating.

Take care,
Sophie

Let's get the week off with some beautiful pinky skies from a walk I took not lot ago. The day had been one of those with persistent rain only punctuated my reprieves of drizzle. The winds had thankfully subsided but the prolonged precipitation made for a day of indoor activities. I finally cleaned and polished my favourite walking boots that I had been meaning to tend for....months. A couple of years ago I sadly had to let go of my Magnums as attempting to dry them too close to a fire had lead to the heel shrinking wildly which made them unwearable. I already had a 'second' pair that didn't have a comfortable fit so I decided to invest in a new pair and make a fresh start. The last time I rummaged around for my boots at the last minute must have been less than thorough should we say as I realised after putting my boots on the side for a clean that there was the left of one pair and the right of another. Must do better at being organised.



Take care,
Sophie

So far so wintry this winter. We've had frost, mist, gales and snow. A healthy mix of seasonal weather. I took this lot of pictures on my phone.
I love the feel of crisp grass under my feet and to see frozen over puddles. The thin ice creaking and squeaking under weight before splintering.

 The blinding sun, like a slow motion sweeping searchlight.

 Weeds and remnants from summer all getting coated in ice crystals.




Defrosting back inside after a walk. Numb fingers and toes being coaxed back into life. Hot coffee and a blanket.

Take care,
Sophie

Whatever happened to my jumper dress collection? I'm sure I used to have several but now, nada. Not until I picked up this yellow knitted beauty in a charity shop snoop earlier in the month. It's a comfortable fit, shape and size. The neck is lovely, I could even pop my big denim jacket over the top. What is happening with the sleeves? A slit up six inches from the wrist with loose plain tassels. Am I to tie these somehow? They seem impractically short, yet dangle uselessly as a decoration. It defeats me.
Bet you thought I had broken or given away these boots but no - they were in the 'not for the moment' boxes of footwear which harbour too many pairs of footwear that are out of season/just infrequently needed/technically will never wear but feel obliged not to part with them.
They seem pretty nice to wear and all was going well until the weight of bags being carried round town built up and up thus making each footstep rather painful. I can't take this out on the boots, more just a wake up call that maybe a granny trolley would be a better idea for weightier shops.
Here's me struggling to wear a bag. It catches on belts/necklaces/long hair/wild sleeves.

I didn't know what to wear underneath so this raspberry long sleeved top was selected with a vest top underneath. The thermal tights as always. I was boiling indoors! Outside was fine with an additional jacket but I hadn't realised how hot it would keep me in the house.
I am trying to be more mindful in what clothes I buy this year. This was a £4 purchase from a charity shop. I haven't bought much this month. Hazel keeps meticulous records and I don't intend to be quite so precise but a rough record will suit me.
Take care,
Sophie

I've been meaning to write about making soups for a while, years even. Soup making has become a sort of ritual for me.
The making of soup serves multiple purposes in my life:

• Utilising allotment vegetables, especially when there's a glut.
• Using up vegetables in the fridge which have lost all appeal and need to be finished
• Creating lunches for weekdays, to be re-heated in a few minutes
• To share, in that curious way that sharing food seems to make you feel good about yourself

My soup repertoire is not exactly limited but I more base the soup on what I have rather than the soup I'd like, whereas C would find a recipe and buy ingredients accordingly. For me it's very much the opposite.

Just about the best use of pumpkins is soup - it's a bland fleshed old thing and this was my last year of growing them. I'm focusing on squashes this year as they have great flavour and tend to be more versatile.
My first key tip is to whatever you are making - make as large a portion as you can. I have a 5 litre stock pan and if I'm doing better than expected use my largest saucepan in tandem. Up to 15 portions inn one go? Genius. Freeze everything in 1 portion tubs. Always label (contents and how nice it is eg 'best squash soup 30/1/19' which is super helpful when you find one and cannot remember what it was or when made.
Tip 2 is to use onions sweated in butter as a base. I do this most of the time and although it takes a while, I have sacks of onions to use, it starts the cooking with an amazing smell and the flavour of the soup will be much nicer.
When I made pumpkin or squash soup over the years I tried various methods. Boiling cubes is quick but brings the least flavour. Roasting two halves is middling but peeling it, cubing and roasting with about 4 cloves of garlic and sprigs of fresh time will be amazing. After roasting for around 20-35 minutes - low and slow is better really, you don't want to burn them but the caramelising of the squash on the baking sheet is flavour.
Remove thyme sprigs and tip in the leaves but the stems are woody so chuck those.
Add homemade stock, a can of full fat coconut milk, bring to a bubble for a while, stir and blend.
Tip 3 is make your own stock. It is delicious. If we have a roast chicken C picks all the meat off and we pop all the bones in a stock pan and boil it up for around 30 minutes. Lovely and free. You can freeze this too.
Tip 4 is after a roast chicken, make the stock and use some of the leftover chicken meat to make soup. Just add a can of sweetcorn and salt (I never bother with pepper as I don't much fancy it) for the most simple and satisfying soup.
Obviously soups with cream, creme fraiche or coconut milk will be thicker and more full of calories but it depends on your objectives. Usually I don't put any in unless I happen to have some in the fridge and that's rare.
Borlotti beans are sometimes cooked and added after blitzing. I don't always blitz but it does save you the bother of keeping ingredients tidy if they'll all be whizzed together afterwards. That's tip 5.

C sometimes takes hot soup to work in a soup flask and that saves time/bother heating it up.
Many of my soups turn out as 'green' or 'orange' or 'off-white' for the more parsnip or celeriac based ones. Add herbs and seasoning to taste.
Actually I did make a nice squash soup with a large spoonful of curry paste and coconut milk. Gently spiced, but not too hot.
Be creative.
Soup has so much potential to feed.
Take care,
Sophie