There may be talk of ‘milder weather’ afoot, but I’m a cold-blooded soul, who is still layering up for warmth. I am addicted to these base layers from the marvellous Howies. Their fab colours make me feel a little less like an old man in thermals. As you may know, I’m a big fan of wool, and starting with thermals just means I get to load up on another layer of my favourite fibre. I certainly needed it on our long walk on Sunday. It may be bright, but it is still very windy out!
Tom has been at it again, exploring new corners of the Island and tree-spotting. On this walk to Quarr, he came across a fellow tree-lover..
This squirrel is the closest I’m getting to anything red on this 14th of Feb. Tom and I are meeting for a date after work tomorrow and trying out a new country pub. Any date of the year is special with him .)
Happily, living with Tom means that my head is often filled with incidental knowledge and new ideas. Whether it’s over a strong brew, or walking up a hill, Tom is always sharing the best bits from a recent read, or his latest classroom topic. This term’s topic on plants had us exploring woodland and looking at beautiful books, whilst the last classroom space exploration had us looking up at the stars and thinking big. I have been the subject of many mini maths lessons (and I think I finally get fractions!) and my dad’s Christmas present had confusion on particle physics whizzing round our home. Tom has so much enthusiasm for learning; and I’m so glad I get to share it with him.
Tom returned from his Hook Court field trip on Friday, with talk of rockets, aquaducts and balloon races. Whilst I was at home by the fire, he was attending tudor banquets, ghost walks and snowball fights. His return filled our heads with plans for adventure and endeavour, which I can’t wait to begin. Tom is a world explorer; and I’m so happy I get to be his travelling companion.
I love my guy!
Last weekend my neighbour (and fellow allotmenteer) popped his head over the garden wall to to ask the dreaded question: “How’s the allotment going?” He informs me that I should be digging up ground, and planting broad beans. But, with ground like this, we’ve had every reason not to..
It was a beautiful, frosty morning down on the allotment today, but the ground was far too hard to dig. The fact that we were the only people down there gave us a little hint that today is not the day for allotmenteering.
And with winter walks, homemade projects and bitter cold, we’ve found plenty to distract us from the serious business of vegetables.
Allotment plans on hold, we wandered through Northwood Park, for some serious tree appreciation. Tom pointed out the London Plane, the Lebanese Cedar, the Turkey Oak, and the Robin Hood Oak. (The latter name being our own invention.) The texture of the bark, the way they spread their canopy, the various occupants; trees are pretty inspiring.
Well, we didn’t get any snow. But, we did get a beautiful starry night. Tom has been sharing some star knowledge with me, and I’ve enjoyed learning some new things. Now, I can spot Orion, and just make out the Pleaides on a clear night. I have a better idea of how enormous our galaxy is, and how many others there are. It’s daunting, but inspiring. After all, we are all made of stars.