weird winter

It's been a weird winter so far.

This time last year we had had snow on the ground for well over a month, and temperatures were dipping well below freezing on a nightly basis.

This winter we have only had a handful of frosts, and my garlic bulbs that I planted in the late Autumn are already sprouting.  I'm assured by some that this is all fine, but I'm worried if it does suddenly, finally turn cold, that my garlic will shrivel and die.

In the horses fields the grass is still growing, which means there may not be a Spring grass sugar rush, and the hay quality for next year may be poor.  The kids are enjoying the milder weather, Eb has been up his tree sketching, although they all lament the lack of snow - of course, this would be the year that we have enough sledges to go round, as well as plenty of waterproofs...

I'm worried about what this all means on a wider scale for the planet, and I feel for those in the South who are experiencing flooding.  When we lived in Wales, our small stream burst it's banks and flooded the stable.  That was traumatic enough, I can't imagine how it feels to have your home underwater.

In other news, I'm about to start a Beekeeping course in February, which I'm nervous about.  This is one of those "face you fears" things, as I was one of those people who would run about like an idiot whenever a bee or wasp came near me.  I managed to get over this - for the most part - over the past two years, so I decided to take it one step further and learn how to actually keep them.  Whether I will ever actually have the nerve to keep them myself remains to be seen.

I've also been having a bash at knitting again, having been inspired by Ginny and her Yarn Along.  I haven't actually taken part in it yet, but I like the idea.  So far this year I have knitted a terrible hat. 

It is really awful.

It has two peaks.  It wasn't supposed to have any peaks.

After getting Mr Wah to model it and crying tears of laughter at what is a sad and tragic example of a hat, I have cast on the stitches for a Pixie Hat for Lb.  I can happily link to this picture, safe in the knowledge that it will look nothing like this when finished. I'm enjoying having something I can take with me out and about, and that is the main thing, I think.

In other news ::

Mb is still very much into everything Harry Potter, and his home made wand and cloak are still his favourite things.  I also found the Pottermore site, which he is enjoying exploring.

I have finally moved ALL the Lego into one room.  It was up in the Attic and bedrooms, which was originally my studio space (ha!) But the boys found it too cold to play in, so I've moved it all in to a downstairs room where the small woodburner is, and it is proving very successful with both my boys and various cousins.  We even sorted all the pieces out into categories, which made me happy.

The big three all attend Bushcraft once a month.  This is very expensive, but so worth it.  It isn't your usual Bushcraft as it is run through home educators, which means that they are learning how to catch and gut fish, tan deer hides, made whistles out of antlers and carve things out of green wood.  When I first saw my nine year old wielding an axe, I had a little panic but he seems to coping just fine.  This Summer there are plans for a 4 night stay in the wild.  Yikes.

Mr Wah is still working extremely (too) hard, and we are both trying not to think about the closing date for the land that is just a few sleeps away.