Beautiful winter!

As I have been out and about these last few days, the first comment anybody makes is, "brrr, it's very cold isn't it!" But that is not the first thing that strikes me when I step outside, it is "how stunning!" "how beautiful!" and "how fragile!"

I couldn't help but take some photos of our neighbourhood, and how it is transformed by the frost.

These silver birch leaves remind me of a stained glass window, nearly translucent leaves edged with frost.

I have marvelled at how the frost has developed over the last few days.

The tree on the green has looked majestic in its frosty cloak.

And what better time to get around to doing one of our advent activites. Ice art.

Here's the tree in the front garden decorated with our ice art. I can see this becoming a winter long activity. So easy, and so effective.

The extreme weather has made me think how winter drives us all to our homes, how frightening those times must have been for our ancestors who were more reliant on the land for their food, and how stark these times would have been for them. How thankful this makes me that I have warmth, food, and a loving home to retreat to.

Hoping you are all keeping warm, but also seeing the beauty around us.