January...... The Winter Solstice has come and gone, and the light is slowly returning. Days are already growing longer, but the effects of December's turning are still almost imperceptible here, and it will be some time before we see a real change in the length of our days and nights, or until we notice a real difference in our native landscape.January is the coldest month here in the north, a time of deep snow and penetrating icy cold. It is tempting to remain indoors and just curl up by the fire with tea and books every day, but I need long woodland rambles in Lanark - my snowy ambles nourish and sustain me, and I am still taking them, even on the coldest days in winter.
"Crunch, crunch, crunch" went the snowshoes this weekend as I made my slow and meandering way across the fields and up through the woods. It could be my imagination, but during the last few days, the snow has seemed brighter and even more brilliant. During the precious moments when we had sunshine, my fields of snow sparkled like a desert made of gold and diamonds, and I felt as rich as old Croesus - I felt as though every jeweler's vault on the planet had been harvested and spilled at my feet.
Even the shadows in the countryside seem to be changing, and yesterday morning I sensed a subtle shifting in the shaded hollows around the old rocks of my home place, a movement which is seasonal and very welcome. Shadows were less attenuated, but at the same time, they seemed deeper, more intense, and even more blue.
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