In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;– Christina Rossetti
– the opening lines of a well-loved Christmas poem, set to music and now sung as a carol. Those lines, originally written in 1872, are a true description of my part of the world today, the midwinter solstice. So, I thought I’d post this close to noon, the turning point of the year: the middle of the shortest day of the year.
Wishing everyone all the best for the next year – as the growing days bring the promise of spring even in the darkest times. Just look at the hazel bushes in the hedge and see the new catkins forming already!