The Garden in January

With such changeable weather this month there wasn't much gardening done.  Mr P pruned a few more rose bushes in the front garden and cleared more leaves.  Most of his gardening was done in the shelter of the covered yard and I had my pot plants to look after.

From the window we could see some lovely skies and views across the valley on some days if it wasn't misty.  Then came the snow, rain and windy conditions which kept us indoors.  We had decided to order our food shop online, but one delivery was delayed and then we had two deliveries within ten days which kept me busy sorting out the store cupboards and freezer.  

The stalwart postman with his van got through every day even though we had no council gritter come to grit the side roads.  We have a council owned container at the end of the road (almost empty of grit) so that residents can use it on slippery paths.  We had some grit in a bag in the garage so we gritted our sloping driveway and front door step. 

We have a chip on the windscreen of the car probably a piece of grit did the damage when we've been out and about elsewhere.  We have a specialist coming to replace it as part of our car insurance cover. However, there's good news as we've been booked in for our Covid vaccinations, both the first one and the second.  Of course we shall continue to stay indoors most of the time during these cold days. 

I've been watching the birds who are usually huddled on tree branches.  When the snow was really deep

I couldn't go out to feed them and I'm low on bird seed.  I could reach out and replace the iced up bird bath with fresh water and I skirted around the snow to rig up a temporary bird feeder.  After the snow had melted I shelled some raw peanuts and put a few in a regular bird feeder.  

The strip of lawn is waterlogged now, but there's plenty of greenery growing in the raised flower beds, mostly variegated shrubs and herbs such as rosemary and sage.  The snowdrops are now beginning to appear, but there are less of them so some day I shall have to replace them with new bulbs.  

I found one snowdrop bulb that was on top of the soil.  It had sprouted new shoots so I planted it in a pot and brought it indoors and placed it on the mantel shelf along with the catkin twig.  As I moved the twig showers of pollen fell from the catkin flowers.

I've been tidying the books and reading short stories rather than long novels.  I found a pile of children's books including this one above.  We haven't any young children around now, but they're still fun to read especially the lift-the-flap to see what's hidden beneath ones. The rhymes that are a format of such writing are loved by small children.   Some of them are now considered classics.  The illustrators of these books are well known.  There was a poster of the months of the year tucked into the pages that I had forgotten about.

The days go by and what with all the administration stuff happening all at once I'm behind once more with reading and commenting on your blogs.  I hope all is well with you and I'll catch up with you soon.  I hope that February is a good month for you.

Another Local Walk

 

Now that the snow has gone, the wind has died down and my aching knee is a lot better yesterday seemed like a good day to go for a short drive and a walk.  We headed down into Loxley Valley.  I returned to a trail that's easy-going with a flat, wide path beside a water channel that feeds into the Loxley River and where there's an interesting mill and mill pond.

The wheat in this field was beginning to show substantial growth. 

However, in places where the farmer had driven across the field it looked very waterlogged.

 

On my right hand side as I walked there was the tributary of the River Loxley and one of the many weirs along it.

I walked over a wooden bridge, but did not go over the one above which I think goes uphill to Acorn Hill.

Instead I could see the mill at the end of the mill pond.  There were patches of ice on the water.

There were piles of wood and tree branches stacked up probably being used by those who now live at the mill. 

The trail is a right of way for walkers so I passed the back of the mill buildings, crossed the stone bridge before turning back to our car which was in a parking area at the beginning of this trail.

This is the former mill called Olive Mill or Olive Wheel Mill. It sounds Mediterranean doesn't it, but in this rural area of small industries it started life as a forge and grinding works before becoming a paper mill.  Then it was taken over by a company that produced metal items. I could have walked on by the water or up the lane above, but that will have to wait for another day. I may even see the water wheel that powered the mill if it's still there?

Walking back passed the mill pond I caught a glimpse of a pretty mid Victorian, white-painted house.  It's called Olive House and belonged to the mill owner. Later it became the home of a local general practitioner doctor.

Another house across the field is also a private dwelling. It's on a lane leading to another village and apparently is was once an inn called Rowell Bridge Inn.  I saw some walkers going along the public footpath between the wall surrounding the field and the stone wall of the house so that would be another interesting trail to explore one day.  

Hazel catkins from my walk.  I didn't pick it,

 this small twig was on the ground.

Once more I shall be catching up with reading your blogs.  I sometimes  have a break from the computer over the weekend so I'm behind with all your news.  As always I hope you have a good day and week.