Winter Greetings
My little winter gift to you all is this short video of some beautiful garden birds visiting the feeders on a snow day.
I’m starting with a warm welcome to everyone who has recently subscribed to Side Quests. It seems Dean the fox has captured many hearts across the world, and rightly so; he’s a beautiful boy. Here he is today, visiting the garden while I was prepping the vegetables for the soup I always make on Christmas Eve for the family on Christmas Day. He seemed rather interested in the carrots as his snout was sniffing the air, so I threw a few chunks out to him.
Winter is my favourite time of the year, and I’m spending this holiday season hibernating in my own way. I have finally caught the cold that has been visiting nearly everyone this year in Scotland. So I plan to snuggle up and watch lots of winter wildlife documentaries (I just recorded a three-part series about polar bears…).
My little winter gift to you all is this short video of some beautiful garden birds visiting the feeders on a snow day.
Winter is beautiful, isn’t it? I find winter gives me clarity. It gives me rest and a retreat. I seek the cold weather every month of the year, shying away when it’s too hot in summer, and visiting northern countries, or dreaming of visiting them. Winter is a protector to me and my home.
I also love how wildlife adapts to and survives the harsh season, like Red Squirrels have spent the last months foraging and caching stores of seeds, nuts and much more to nourish them through to the spring. Birds have migrated from across the world and have landed at my local lochs - Whooper Swans, Smew, Redwing, Fieldfare. And I get to see more garden birds visiting the feeders, some I haven’t seen for months, like Redpoll, Greenfinch and even the Great Spotted Woodpecker, looking for chunky bites of suet and peanuts to keep them well fed and warm through the cold months.
And then there is the light, the gorgeous, crispy blue and purple at first light, to the mix of pink and orange at last light. Watching the birds fly in the low light is beautiful, their wingspans cutting through the mix of colours.
Whenever I think of winter, I think of mountains, ice, snow, quiet, solitude, wildlife, the north, and the colours of blue and purple. When you hear the word winter, what comes to your mind?
Winter is just beautiful, and I am ready to embrace my favourite season after I have had a much-needed rest, so I hope you all have a lovely holiday season, whichever way you celebrate, and I will speak to you all soon.
Take care,
Rebecca
Merry Christmas Eve and thank you for this post! It gives me joy!
Thanks for this post, Rebecca, I'm also a winter lover at heart! ❄️🤍 I love how snow changes the outlines of the surroundings and softens the landscape, the angular, the hard, the man-made, how it covers signs of civilisation. I love how the world becomes quiet. Snow itself also doesn't come with noise, but subtle, at the same time with an unmistakeble impact. I also love the harshness of winter, like the remoteness, the isolation, the superficially beautiful but underneath harsh conditions, nature in its true power, where civilisation, human arrogance of being in control of everything doesn’t necessarily apply, but where you are thrown back to the simplest things. I love reading and watching documentaries set in Norway, Greenland, Svalbard, Alaska, Canada, the Arctic and the Antarctic. Winter as a time of retreat is so welcome and necessary. This week especially is my favourite, the quiet time between Christmas and New Year. It's freezing cold here in Northern Germany (-7 degrees Celsius), and although snow has been rare so far, I love being outside, at sunrise especially, the colours, the light, taking a solo walk while the world is still sleeping, then to come back to my warm, cosy home, having a marzipan cocoa and snuggling up under my blanket watching the birds at the bird feeder. The perfect start to the day. Have a good rest, Rebecca, and enjoy your favourite season! 🦊