It’s New Year’s Eve as I write this, and the last few days have been perfect examples of nature at its most … wintry. My long-standing clients know that I like to hibernate in the winter, for 2-3 weeks if possible – but for the last three mornings I’ve made sure I’ve been up and dressed in my thermals, thick jacket, hat and gloves in time for sunrise (8.13am this morning), so that I could be out walking across the fields in the frost.
Why do this? Well, apart from the sheer and stunning beauty of the landscape on the large scale – and the minutiae of the natural world on the small scale – when sparkling with ice crystals and held in silent suspension as the day gradually breathes itself awake?
For me it’s because it provides a moment to acknowledge that sense of the year turning towards the light, once the winter solstice has passed. The depth of the winter is still with us, but it holds the germ of the new year within it. Even the gloomiest mood or the most troubling internal issue will be washed with a sense of the potential of hope, of new possibilities, when I walk in the frost in the light of the rising sun.
If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to give it a go – even if it’s just around the block, or in the local park. A frost-dusted ivy leaf on an industrial estate is still a thing of wonder.
May 2015 bring good things to you all!
It’s so lovely to read this post, full of hope & gratitude – I’ve been following your walks on Facebook for a good while & love your photos and musings – wishing you beauty and good things in 2015!!!