Entering Hibernation

It's been wet and cold and horrid here and I have officially entered hibernation.

 

It's been far too wet to do anything on our soggy clay, so weekends have been spent having leisurely lie-ins, flicking through the paper over brunch and seeing friends and family.

 

Aside from my morning dog-walk, I haven't spent much time outside at all.

 

I noticed this morning that most of the leaves were finished off by the storm at the weekend.

The brambles persist, though.

The trees are back to their skeletal state again.

Everything around is decay and death.

That's absolutely fine with me though. This is the time for rest, recovery, 'downtime', for cosy nights at the pub next to the wood burner, for not doing much and not feeling guilty about it.

It is so beautiful to have this cycle of life each year, and the zingy, fresh joy of spring and summer wouldn't be as precious without this chance to stop, pause and recuperate from a busy year. That verdant green colour, bright sunshine, smells and abundance of the summer feels a million years ago.
To think that the days are still getting darker and darker until midwinter, still a month away!

One thing I have been enjoying as I snuggle up in the evenings, is binge-watching a Danish drama called 'The Legacy' (or 'Arvingerne' in Danish). It is the story of a family who are ripped apart by the death of the matriarch and the division of her estate. More enjoyable than it sounds! I highly recommend it if you missed it when it was on BBC4 a few years ago.

This is just the most recent symptom of my general and inexplicable love for all things Danish,including learning the language (another thing to do during long dark nights).